News

Leah Spangler, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the College of Engineering, and her team are advancing a synthetic protein that is engineered to selectively bind rare earth elements while ignoring more common metals found in mining and industrial waste streams. (Photo by Christopher Kendall, Kelley & Co.)

Rare earth elements, joint pain and addiction treatment are highlighted in VCU faculty research receiving new awards

March 5, 2026

Five projects are selected in the Commercialization Fund’s latest round of funding that helps bring campus innovation to the marketplace.

Michael Hindle, Ph.D., (left) and Worth Longest, Ph.D., in the aerosol research lab. (Photo by Karl E. Steinbrenner)

VCU research project competes for national title in STAT Madness

March 3, 2026

Voting is now open in the annual competition featuring 64 of the most innovative biomedical research projects from across the United States, including VCU’s entry for helping premature infants breathe.

Autumn Ly, a sophomore at VCU, is excelling in her studies in the School of Pharmacy while baking new creations for the business she started when she was 10 years old. (Contributed image)

Autumn Ly writes her own recipe for success in pharmacy and entrepreneurship

March 2, 2026

Ly, a sophomore majoring in pharmaceutical sciences, has shown ‘extraordinary’ drive at VCU while continuing to bake custom creations for her business, Autumn Kakes.

Twenty-three VCU health sciences schools and departments rank in top 50 for NIH research funding among public institutions

Feb. 27, 2026

Eleven units ranked in the top 25 among public institutions in the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research’s 2025 rankings.

Get to know Nick Williams, Ed.D.: Fun facts and more

Feb. 20, 2026

Introducing the School of Pharmacy’s director of alumni engagement

Why pursue a Pharm.D. concentration in digital health

Feb. 9, 2026

Take an inside look at our new digital health concentration and how it can set you up for success in your career.

Taylor Mitchell, a third-year Pharm.D. student, founded the VCU chapter of the American College of Veterinary Pharmacists. (Contributed image)

Taylor Mitchell pursues a career in veterinary pharmacy and promotes the unsung field

Feb. 5, 2026

The third-year Pharm.D. student has taken university and national roles in advocating for a critical component of animal care.

Beloved mentor and champion of Pharm.D./Ph.D. dual degree program Jürgen Venitz dies at 70

Feb. 3, 2026

Generous with his time and ‘an authentic leader,’ Venitz was a role model for the students, postdocs and colleagues he mentored in his more than 30 years in the Department of Pharmaceutics at VCU School of Pharmacy.

Umesh Desai, Ph.D. (left), chair of medicinal chemistry in the VCU School of Pharmacy, and Bhaumik Patel, M.D., of the Central Virginia VA Health Care System, are developing novel therapies that target cancer stem cells to help prevent tumor recurrence. (Photo by Karl E. Steinbrenner

No short cuts – but a bit of sugar – in the quest to fight cancer relapse

Jan. 16, 2026

VCU medicinal chemist Umesh Desai has spent decades exploring a frontier of biology, and the molecule he helped develop shows notable promise.

Peter Pidcoe, Ph.D., a physical therapist and biomedical engineer with appointments in the College of Health Professions, College of Engineering and the School of Medicine, works with Susan Haynes, surgical simulation administrator in the Department of Surgery. Haynes said, “Peter has helped us bring surgical practice closer to the reality of the operating room.” (Kelley & Co.)

VCU innovators create device to mimic real blood flow to surgical training simulations

Jan. 8, 2026

Recent invention disclosure highlights a pump that could benefit physicians, military medics, educators and, ultimately, patients.