Researchers from across the nation, including Virginia Tech scientists, have made the first release of data from the nation’s largest long-term study of early brain and child development. The effort, called the HEALthy Brain and Child Development (HBCD) Study Consortium, unites researchers from 27 institutions across the country to explore influences on human brain development in utero and during childhood. In the western Virginia area, the research team is in the process of recruiting 300 pregnant women and following them and their babies through age 10, according to Brittany Howell, associate professor at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC, who is leading the Virginia Tech arm of the study. https://lnkd.in/edSgSbGd
Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC
Research Services
Roanoke, Virginia 3,882 followers
Empowering leading scientists to pursue bold new research questions in health for humankind. #UtProsim
About us
As one of the nation’s fastest-growing research enterprises, the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC is a destination for world-class researchers. The institute’s scientists focus on diseases that are the leading causes of death and suffering in the United States, including brain disease, heart disease, and cancer. In just 10 years, the research institute has experienced unprecedented growth: doubling its enterprise and lab facilities in Roanoke, while also securing laboratory space on the Children’s National Research & Innovation Campus in Washington, D.C., to expand Virginia Tech’s Cancer Research Alliance and study pediatric brain and spinal cord cancers. We are committed to making our workplace inclusive for everyone.
- Website
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https://fbri.vtc.vt.edu/
External link for Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC
- Industry
- Research Services
- Company size
- 201-500 employees
- Headquarters
- Roanoke, Virginia
- Type
- Nonprofit
- Founded
- 2010
- Specialties
- Biomedical Research, Cancer Research, Cardiovascular Science Research, Neuroscience Research, Regeneration and Rehabilitation Research, and Immunity and Infection Research
Locations
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Primary
Get directions
2 Riverside Circle
Roanoke, Virginia 24016, US
Employees at Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC
Updates
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Don't love the gym? Neither does exercise scientist Ryan Montalvo. But he goes anyway. 🏋️ “Every time you #exercise, you’re increasing the demand to your #mitochondria, and the exposure to that #stress makes you better adapted to that stress the next time you encounter it,” Montalvo said. “If your mitochondria adapt to those physiological stressors you’ve given them through exercise, they can be more effective at mitigating or preventing disease.” Montalvo, a Virginia Tech researcher in Zhen Yan's lab here at the Institute, recently received an early career research grant from the American College of Sports Medicine Research Endowment to explore how this response to exercise-induced stress might help overcome noncommunicable diseases. Learn more in the comments👇
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Glioblastoma is a devastatingly effective #brain cancer. Doctors can cut it out or blast it with radiation, but that only buys time. The cancer has an insidious ability to hide enough tumor cells in tissue around the tumor to allow it to return as deadly as ever. Patients diagnosed with #glioblastoma survive for an average of 15 months. What’s needed is a better way of identifying those hidden #cancer cells and predicting where the tumor might grow next. Jenny Munson believes she and her research team at Virginia Tech's Fralin Biomedical Research Institute have developed a tool to do just that. 📰 ⤵️ https://lnkd.in/ed8Zqp6s
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Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC reposted this
Thanks to Washington Business Journal for this 2025 Innovators in Health Care: Research Leader Award today for our work with CIBMTR (Center for International Blood & Marrow Transplant Research) on the nationwide MEASURE precision medicine clinical protocol and for helping build the new Virginia Tech Fralin Biomedical Research Institute Cancer Research Center in Washington DC (fbri.vt.edu/dc). Bringing energy, efficiency, and diverse expertise to deliver on the mission of translating scientific advances to reduce the burden of cancer worldwide is what drives me personally as a physician-scientist; but appreciated this external recognition from our local community here in Washington, DC. https://lnkd.in/ef9YmbJG
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Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC reposted this
✨ Thank you to everyone who joined us for the 10th Annual Women Building Bio conference, hosted by Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC! We spent the day celebrating innovation, collaboration, and the power of connection within the life sciences community. 💡🤝 Let’s keep the energy going, remember to #findyourmentor, #investinwomen, and #celebratethewins every day! Thank you to all our speakers, attendees and sponsors for making the day such a success! #VaBioWBB2025 #womeninbio #biotechevents #10yearsstrong Activation Capital Altria Client Services ATCC Avantor Haleon Hampton Roads Biomedical Research Consortium Johnson & Johnson Prince William Economic Development and Tourism United Therapeutics Corporation VIPC | Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation We Work For Health Michael Friedlander John Newby, J.D., CAE Brandy Salmon Amy Adams Erin Burcham Nikki Hastings Kevin Leslie Nicolai Shuman Cindy Clark Liz Powell James Ramey Lindsay Miles Elizabeth P. Pyle Gloria Sheynkman Alexia Stettinius, Ph.D. Harsimran Kaur Srujana C. Jessica Gilbertie Alyce Linthurst Jones, PhD Carolina Morell-Pérez Sridevi Polavaram, PhD Denise Toney Frank Wilton Caron Trumbo Carissa South All About Presentation
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👏 Huge thanks to Robert Gourdie for kicking off our 2025–26 Maury Strauss Distinguished Public Lecture Series last night with his trademark passion and groundbreaking insights into heart research. What an inspiring way to celebrate 15 years of discovery at Virginia Tech's Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC! 📅 Mark your calendars for October 30: Jenny Munson will share her cutting-edge work on tracking brain cancer cells. 🧠
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Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC reposted this
Happy National Postdoc Appreciation Week 2025! A huge shoutout to the incredible postdocs at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute in Roanoke and DC. I am motivated and inspired every day by each of you. I enjoyed putting together appreciation goodies for our postdocs on my office floor. It reminds me of the good ol’ days of end-of-semester goodie bags or senior night cheer gifts. Floor time can be very grounding 🤪 #NPAW2025
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This summer, Lilyanne Rascher experienced a rare kind of freedom for an #undergraduate student. A junior at Purdue University, Rascher spent the summer in the City of Roanoke, VA as part of the neuroSURF program at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC. It’s one of three programs, along with Cardiosurf and the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine's Early Identification Program, that allow selected undergrads a chance at full immersion in #research projects in #biomedical #science, #health, and #medicine. Read more ⤵️ https://lnkd.in/eYVKFG_z
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On Friday, September 12, we organized a Friends of the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) (FoNIBIB) Congressional Lunch Briefing on Non-Animal Models in Biomedical Research: Current & Future Opportunities. This event was hosted by The American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) and FoNIBIB in collaboration with the Longevity Science Caucus. Groundbreaking advances in engineered technologies have revolutionized our ability to accurately model human physiology, launching a new era of innovative methods known as New Approach Methodologies (NAMs). These cutting-edge tools—including AI-driven drug discovery and patient-specific “organ-on-a-chip” devices—are accelerating the development of safer, more effective treatments for patients. As NAMs increase in sophistication, key technical challenges remain to realize their full potential as complementary approaches to animal models in biomedical research. This congressional lunch briefing highlighted the latest scientific progress in the development and use of NAMs, featuring presentations by: • Bruce Tromberg, Ph.D. (AIMBE College of Fellows '06), Director of the NIBIB at NIH. NIBIB: Accelerating Innovation and Technology Development for NAMs • Wilbur A. Lam, MD, Ph.D. (AIMBE College of Fellows '22), Professor at Emory University & Georgia Institute of Technology. Vasculature-on-a-Chip Systems as Research-Enabling and Drug Discovery Tools • Jenny Munson, Ph.D. (AIMBE College of Fellows '24), Professor at The Fralin Biomedical Research Institute & Virginia Tech. Studying Interstitial Flow. From Bench to Byte to Bedside and Back Our speakers presented biological and computational technological approaches to NAMs. Dr. Tromberg spoke on the Institute’s strategic investments to support NAMs, opportunities for growth, and considerations for validating and commercializing these technologies. Importantly, we highlighted the crucial role of the bioengineering community in supporting these efforts. Our FoNIBIB delegation (Lola Eniola-Adefeso, PhD, FAHA, FAIMBE, FBMES, FCRS,NAI, Wilbur A. Lam, Jenny Munson) and our local AIMBE Fellows (Don DeVoe, and Emilia Entcheva) also took congressional meetings that day, including with: • House Labor-HHS Subcommittee and Caucus (BIOTech, Longevity Science) Staff • Rep. Jamie Raskin's Office • Rep. Danny Davis' Office • Rep. Chrissy Houlahan's Office • Sen. Angela Alsobrooks' Office • Rep. Gus Bilirakis' Office • Rep. Ben Cline's Office • Sen. Mark Warner's Office • Sen. Rev. Raphael Warnock's Office We had productive discussions on the importance of biomedical research, supporting funding for FY2026, and protecting the STEM training pipeline. FoNIBIB looks forward to continuing our advocacy on behalf of biomedical imaging and bioengineering!
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