VCU Wright Center for Clinical and Translational Research

08/14/2026

Madison Bivins is studying biomedical sciences at Old Dominion University, one of the Wright Center’s regional partners in our Clinical and Translational Science Award.
She was one of 16 students who participated in VCU’s Honors Summer Undergraduate Research Program this summer. Hear her story, and read more about the program: https://blogs.vcu.edu/cctr/2026/08/03/ultrasounds-glowing-molecules-and-the-brain-a-summer-in-vcus-research-labs/

08/13/2026

Planning to submit a grant in February 2027 (Cycle 1)?
The Wright Center’s Research Design Studio can help you strengthen your grant’s:
✅ specific aims
✅ study design
✅ analytic plan
✅ community engagement
✅ biostatistical power

The Research Design Studio provides feedback from a panel of 2-3 experts.

Applying is easy! Click the link to get started.

https://cctr.vcu.edu/support/consultation/research-design-studio/

08/12/2026

Congratulations to Nour Abosamak, M.D., doctoral candidate in the Wright Center's clinical and translational sciences program, and co-authors Asmaa Namoos, M.D., M.P.H., Rana Ramadan, M.D., Amy Olex, Ph.D., and Tamas Gal, Ph.D.

Their paper, “AI-Powered Chatbot as a Health Literacy Tool for Enhancing Oral Cancer Awareness: Expert Feedback,” was named the July 2026 Paper of the Month by Clinical and Translational Science (CTS).

Please join us in congratulating the entire team of authors on this achievement.

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1HNNXnc1xK/

08/11/2026

💰 Thinking about applying for a Wright Center Translational Science Pilot Award?
Start here. Join us for an informational webinar covering what prospective applicants need to know:
✅ Eligibility criteria
✅ The application process
✅ Funded research areas
✅ Example projects from past cycles
✅ Key information for prospective applicants

Our pilot awards are designed to generate the preliminary data and proof-of-concept that turn a promising idea into a fundable federal grant. In 2025, we awarded $100,000 across four interdisciplinary projects at $25,000 each — spanning cardiac digital twins, AI-assisted brain imaging, lung cancer diagnostics, and statewide health data infrastructure.

🗓️ When: August 26, 2026 │ 12:00 PM
📍 Where: Virtual via Zoom
🔗 Register: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/yjet1DEvQ6ChwFG6DmvBDg #/registration

08/10/2026

We are proud to award a multi-school CCTR Endowment Fund grant to a multidisciplinary VCU team exploring how astrocytes act as agents of brain aging.

Congratulations to:
✅ Mathula Thangarajh, M.D., Ph.D. (VCU Neurology Department in the VCU School of Medicine on the MCV Campus and 2021 Wright Center KL2 Scholar)
✅ Tomasz Kordula, Ph.D. (VCU Department of Cellular, Molecular, and Genetic Medicine)
✅ Preetam Ghosh, Ph.D. (VCU Department of Computer Science in the VCU College of Engineering)

Their cross-campus collaboration spans medicine and engineering to study neuroinflammation through the lens of dystrophinopathy.

Read more about the project: https://blogs.vcu.edu/cctr/2026/08/04/multidisciplinary-vcu-team-awarded-cctr-endowment-fund-grant-to-investigate-accelerated-brain-aging/

08/05/2026

How do you ensure community-engaged research is a true partnership?

That’s one of the questions that Alex Krist, M.D., M.P.H. and Leah Gregory, MPH, MSW tackle on this episode of Inside the Scholar’s Journey with hosts Pat Nana-Sinkam, M.D. and Gretchen Neigh, Ph.D., M.B.A.

🎧 Watch/Listen to the full episode:

📺 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13NyykRmm9o
🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3hU4OZTFsIJ8WvQOoxpG4I?si=09lHaOMGQui2FyZdujvLag&nd=1&dlsi=2afc90e6b6744ef4

08/04/2026

💻 Stuck on a data question? Wednesdays, 1 p.m. No appointment needed.

The Wright Center's Health Informatics team hosts open office hours every Wednesday from 1–2 p.m.

Investigators are welcome to drop in with questions about:
✅ Cohort feasibility
✅ Data availability and structure
✅ TriNetX
✅ The Virginia All-Payer Claims Database (APCD)
✅ Chart review
✅ Regulatory workflows — IRB, DMS, Privacy Board applications, PI assurances
✅ Honest broker involvement

It is the fastest way to get quick guidance without scheduling a full consultation.

🔗 Bookmark the Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83169218841

08/03/2026

Congratulations to Elizabeth Fortune, M.B.A.!

Elizabeth Fortune, administrative director of the Wright Center, has been appointed to a three-year term on the National Council of University Research Administrators (NCURA) Traveling Workshop Faculty following a competitive national selection process.
Beginning in 2027, Fortune will serve as a national instructor, training research administrators across the country on the fundamentals of managing sponsored projects.

Research administration is the infrastructure that makes science possible — and it is a real point of pride to see one of our own teaching this topic nationally.

🔗 Read more:

A three-year appointment to NCURA places VCU expertise into the national network that trains research administrators across the country. Elizabeth Fortune, MBA, administrative director of VCU’s C. Kenneth and Dianne Wright Center for Clinical and Translational Research, has been appointed to the N...

08/03/2026

Congratulations to all the students from Virginia Commonwealth University, Virginia State University, and Old Dominion University who participated in the Honors Summer Undergraduate Research Program (HSURP) and presented their summer research last Friday at the Larrick Student Center.

HSURP is a 9-week mentored research experience that pairs undergraduates with VCU investigators for hands-on work in an active lab — the kind of experience that turns curiosity into a research career. HSURP is co-sponsored by VCU Honors College and the Wright Regional Center for Clinical and Translational Science.

Thank you to the mentors who made room in their labs, and congratulations to every student who presented. 👏