Cancer Research Center – Roanoke
CANCER RESEARCH CENTER – ROANOKE

About the Cancer Research Center – Roanoke
Cancer research is woven through the work of numerous laboratories at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute. Investigators strive to understand the molecular mechanisms underlying the genetic and environmental factors that encourage cancer growth, as well as how cancer multiplies and migrates throughout the body. From childhood cancers to breast cancer to brain cancers, including the deadliest of all, glioblastoma, researchers at the institute are developing methods to make cancer cells more vulnerable to existing treatments and innovating completely new treatments to halt cancer and prevent its return.
The center is led by Jennifer Munson, Ph.D., whose research focuses on the role of interstitial fluid flow in tumor development.
Center Contacts
- Director: Jenny Munson, Ph.D
- Administrative Coordinator: Shelby Yancey
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Home ItemJenny Munson, Ph.D. , home
Professor, Director, Cancer Research Center – Roanoke
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Home ItemFinkielstein Lab , home
The Finkielstein lab studies how disruption of the body's circadian rhythm influences cancer initiation and progression.
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Home ItemLamouille Lab , home
The Lamouille Lab studies ways to deregulate cancer cell communication and is developing new therapeutic strategies to stall cancer stem cell proliferation and metastases.
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Home ItemLee Lab , home
The Lee lab develops various types of biomaterials to enhance anti-tumor immune responses without toxic effects, and to understand their therapeutic mechanisms in a range of cancers.
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Home ItemMunson Lab , home
The Munson Lab studies the tumor microenvironment in cancers, including glioblastoma, the deadliest form of brain cancer. Our research focuses on the emerging research area of fluid flow.
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Home ItemSheng Lab , home
Researchers in the Sheng Laboratory are particularly interested in glioblastoma multiforme.
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Home ItemWu Lab , home
The Advances in Technology and Drug Delivery Initiative Laboratory, led by Cheng-Chia "Fred" Wu, M.D., Ph.D., studies the translation of novel drug delivery technologies to treating children with brain tumors.
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Article ItemResearcher advances new approach to blood cancer treatment , article Date: Sep 30, 2025 -
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Article ItemPredicting where a deadly brain cancer might go next , article Date: Sep 09, 2025 -
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Article Item‘Every time we wait, we lose someone who might have made it’ , article
For every careful step forward in cancer research, there is a patient waiting — a family holding its breath in the middle of the night. That reality was clear at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute’s Cancer Research Symposium.
Date: Jun 27, 2025 - -
Article ItemLymph node on a chip: New immune system model developed to enhance precision medicine research , article
The Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC’s Munson lab completed one element of an engineered tissue model that could advance medical and drug testing and provide a new tool for precision medicine.
Date: Jun 18, 2025 - -
Article ItemVirginia Tech student named Goldwater Scholar , article
Rising senior Lacey Ngo has been awarded a 2025 Goldwater Scholarship, a federal merit award for undergraduate science, mathematics, and engineering students.
Date: Jun 02, 2025 - -
Article ItemVirginia Tech researchers find promise in a new peptide drug to combat a deadly brain cancer , article
Fralin Biomedical Research Institute scientists were able to slow glioblastoma progression in lab and animal studies by targeting treatment-resistant cancer cells.
Date: May 30, 2025 - -
Article ItemAI-backed saliva test shows promise for flagging chemotherapy risk, early results indicate , article
Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC scientists developed a saliva-based artificial intelligence screening method that could flag patients at risk for dangerous side effects from a widely used chemotherapy drug.
Date: Apr 22, 2025 - -
Article ItemResearchers investigate low-intensity electrical pulses to help the immune system fight cancer , article
High-intensity electrical pulses have been medically used to destroy tumors while sparing healthy tissue. But lower-intensity pulses may have a different effect — they reshape the battlefield, making tumors more vulnerable to the body’s own defenses.
Date: Apr 17, 2025 - -
Article ItemResearchers receive $2.17 million grant to study noninvasive treatment for traumatic brain injury symptoms , article
Funding from the National Institutes of Health will allow the team to investigate how a technique called cranial osteopathic manual manipulation might affect brain fluid motion and help balance the autonomic nervous system.
Date: Mar 14, 2025 -
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Redirect ItemeCancer: Predicting where deadly brain cancer may spread next , redirect Date: Sep 11, 2025 -
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Redirect ItemScience Daily: Mapping the secret escape routes of deadly brain tumors , redirect Date: Sep 10, 2025 -
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Redirect ItemTech Fixated: Lab-Designed Peptide Targets Glioblastoma Stem Cells , redirect Date: Aug 19, 2025 -
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Redirect ItemKnowridge: New drug could slow aggressive brain cancer recurrence , redirect Date: Aug 12, 2025 -
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Redirect ItemMSN (Italy): Not just muscles: creatine is also vital for the brain , redirect Date: Jul 10, 2025 -
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Redirect ItemTV Europa: New drug could fight deadly brain cancer , redirect Date: Jun 29, 2025 -
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Redirect ItemBiocompare: Engineered Human Lymph Node Model Developed , redirect Date: Jun 12, 2025 -
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Redirect ItemGeekoo: New Peptide Therapy Targets Glioblastoma’s Most Dangerous Cells , redirect Date: Jun 05, 2025 -
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Redirect ItemNeuroscience News: Lab-Designed Peptide Targets Glioblastoma Stem Cells , redirect Date: May 30, 2025 -
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Redirect ItemNeuroscience News: Glioblastoma Drug Resistance Pathway Identified , redirect Date: May 20, 2024 -
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Redirect ItemVirginia Business: Virginia Tech research institute receives $50M gift , redirect Date: Sep 12, 2023 -
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Redirect ItemMedi Magazine: Glioblastoma: new treatment strategy , redirect Date: Jan 16, 2022 -
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Redirect ItemWN.com: Scientists develop new strategy for brain cancer treatment , redirect Date: Jan 15, 2022 -
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Redirect ItemBioengineer: $100,000 to fund collaborative cancer research , redirect Date: Jan 14, 2021 -
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Redirect ItemScienmag: $100,000 To Fund Collaborative Cancer Research , redirect Date: Jan 14, 2021 -
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Redirect Item7th Space: $100,000 to fund collaborative cancer research , redirect Date: Jan 14, 2021 -
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Redirect ItemSuper Human Radio: Study Shows Jet Lag Impairs The Immune System , redirect Date: Oct 30, 2020 -
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Redirect ItemNeuroscience News: Jet Lag Conditions Impair Immune Response , redirect Date: Oct 14, 2020 -
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Redirect ItemWFIR Radio: FBRI spinoff working on brain, breast cancer treatment , redirect Date: Jul 31, 2020 -
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Redirect ItemThe Roanoke Times: Virginia Tech to launch cancer research initiative , redirect Date: Oct 15, 2019 -
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Redirect ItemWVTF: Potential New Treatment for Deadliest Brain Diseases , redirect Date: Dec 05, 2018 -
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Redirect ItemThe Roanoke Times: VTCRI offshot selected for inaugural RAMP cohort , redirect Date: May 29, 2017 -
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Redirect ItemWVTF: Glioblastoma canine clinical trials , redirect Date: Nov 16, 2015 -
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Home ItemInnovative Strategies for Overcoming Challenges in Brain Tumor Treatment , home
Jan. 16, 2026, 11:00 a.m. | Kristin Huntoon, Ph.D., D.O., Assistant Professor, Department of Neurosurgery, University of Arizona | Co-Sponsored by the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute Cancer Research Center – Roanoke
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Home ItemA Nicotine-Focused Regulatory Strategy: The Science , home
March 13, 2026, 11:00 a.m. | Dorothy Hatsukami, Ph.D., Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and Forster Family Chair in Cancer Prevention, Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota | Co-Sponsored by the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute Cancer Research Center – Roanoke