Dear Friends and Colleagues,
Roughly one in 10 Americans lives with a rare disease, yet many conditions remain understudied, underfunded, and without effective treatments. Rare Disease Day, recognized today, Feb. 28, is an opportunity to show how investing in research can change lives.
At the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC, our teams are tackling rare disease research that spans neurological disorders, heart defects, pediatric cancers, and innovative treatments with the potential to transform patient care. I am honored to serve on the Virginia Department of Health’s Rare Disease Council, which advises the General Assembly and the Office of the Governor on the needs of individuals with rare diseases, many of them children, and their family members.
In our Neuromotor Research Clinic, Associate Professor Stephanie DeLuca and her team are pioneering new ways to help children with cerebral palsy and other neuromotor movement disorders. In a recent study, they shared findings on the clinical use of ACQUIRE Therapy for children diagnosed with CASK-gene related disabilities, a rare condition that includes motor impairments.
In our Center for Vascular and Heart Research, Professor Steve Poelzing and his colleagues are developing new insights into the mechanisms of Brugada syndrome — a rare congenital heart disease that can cause abnormal patterns of electrical activity and sudden cardiac death. It often goes undetected until a critical event.
At our Cancer Research Center in Washington, D.C., Assistant Professors Kathleen Mulvaney and Fred Wu are identifying targets and developing new therapeutic approaches to treat rare but devastating forms of pediatric brain cancers — diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) and diffuse midline glioma (DMG). Dr. Wu is a featured speaker at this year’s Brain School, scheduled for March 10, which will explore exciting new applications of focused ultrasound in treating a variety of brain disorders. He will be joined by Professor Jenny Munson, director of the FBRI Cancer Research Center in Roanoke and co-director of the Virginia Tech Focused Ultrasound Center of Excellence, and Assistant Professor Wynn Legon. Dr. Legon investigates low-intensity focused ultrasound as a therapy for health issues ranging from memory dysfunction to addiction to chronic pain to PTSD.
We hope you’ll join us for this annual event, one way we express our appreciation for the community’s support. Tonight, the Wells Fargo Tower in downtown Roanoke will be illuminated with a show of pink, green, purple, and blue, the colors of Rare Disease Day, to shine a light on important but uncommon diseases.
We are grateful to the patients, families, and researchers who are working together to advance discoveries and improve lives, and more broadly to those who share our mission of advancing health for all through rigorous science.
Yours truly in the spirit of Ut Prosim,
Michael J. Friedlander, Ph.D.
Executive Director, Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC
Vice President for Health Sciences and Technology, Virginia Tech
Senior Dean for Research, Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine
Professor, Biological Sciences, Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine and Affiliated Faculty, School of Biomedical Engineering and Science
|
|
Children’s National Hospital, Virginia Tech expand research partnership to advance pediatric health
The expanded partnership will focus on accelerating discoveries in pediatric cancer. Read Story
|
|
|
Statewide initiative aims to position Virginia as a leading hub for biotechnology innovation
Project VITAL will direct $4.9 million to strengthen Southwest Virginia’s position in fields such as medical devices, oncology therapeutic research, and neurotechnology. Read Story
|
|
|
Virginia Tech neuroscientists discover mitochondria’s role in shaping memory circuits
In a new study, researchers uncover a key mechanism that supports brain function. Read Story
|
|
|
Building better biomaterials for cancer treatments
Modifying the physical characteristics of microscopic biomaterials to interact seamlessly with the body’s tissues could unlock safer and more effective cancer treatments. Read Story
|
|
|
Novel research reveals how adversity shapes the developing brain
Virginia Tech’s Jungmeen Kim-Spoon and FBRI's Brooks Casas found that negative early life experiences can lead to delayed brain development in adolescents as well as a higher probability of future disorders. Read Story
|
|
|
One in 10 Americans is living with a rare disease
On Rare Disease Day, we recognize Virginia Tech researchers working to identify, treat, and support patients diagnosed with conditions that individually affect 200,000 or fewer in the U.S. Read Story
|
|
|
Can foods be addictive? Can sound heal?
"Pocket Science," the research institute's new short-form podcast, digs into these questions and more in its first three episodes, with answers from the institute’s world-class investigators. Listen Now
|
|
|
How do bold ideas become health breakthroughs?
The Seale Innovation Fund is fueling innovative projects targeting heart disease, memory, mental health, brain development, and sugar-sweetened drinks. Read Story
|
|
|
Maury Strauss Distinguished Public Lecture
March 6, 5 p.m., 2 Riverside Circle, Roanoke, Virginia
Suicide by Firearm in the United States: A Collaborative Path for Prevention
Speaker: Marian "Emmy" Betz, M.D., M.P.H.; Professor, Departments of Epidemiology and Emergency Medicine; Deputy Director, Injury & Violence Prevention Center; University of Colorado School of Public Health; Member, National Academy of Medicine
|
|
|
Brain School 2025: Focus on Focused Ultrasound
March 10, 5 p.m., 4 Riverside Circle, Roanoke, Virginia
Want to see a human brain? In recognition of Brain Awareness Week, the institute welcomes the public for tours, demonstrations of Virginia Tech research, and a live panel featuring our scientists. To attend this year's Brain School, please register in advance.
|
|
|
- Wynn Legon spoke with Washington D.C.-based FOX 5 about his research on low-intensity focused ultrasound neuromodulation.
- A Cardinal News series about technology as a driver of Roanoke's economic growth highlighted Michael Friedlander, Read Montague, and Robert Gourdie.
- Research by Rafaela Fontes and Allison Tegge on the number of attempts it takes to quit substances was featured on WFIR and in the policy periodical Alcoholism & Drug Abuse Weekly.
- Childhood neglect can lead to delayed working memory development, according to new Virginia Tech research involving Brooks Casas. Futurity, PsyPost.org, and the Roanoke Star.
View the full list of media mentions.
|
|
Here's how you can support the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute in advancing human health through science:
|
|
|
|
|
|
