VCU Clinical Research KL2 Scholar designs drug delivery systems to test nanovaccines for brain and skin cancer
While walking between meetings and the lab he maintains on the Virginia Commonwealth University MCV Campus, Wright Center Clinical Research KL2 Scholar Guizhi (Julian) Zhu, Ph.D., often crosses paths with cancer patients in the VCU Medical Center corridors. The encounters serve as daily inspiration for the VCU School of Pharmacy assistant professor. “I sometimes feel helpless […]
VCU and VSU researchers are studying marijuana use and the immune system
By Anne Dreyfuss VCU C. Kenneth and Dianne Wright Center for Clinical and Translational Research While working with HIV-positive patients at an infectious diseases clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, Larry Keen, Ph.D., met many people who used marijuana to treat pain. “They would roll a joint while on pain medication,” Keen said. “I was like, ‘You […]
Wright Center students and staff work with Massey researchers to develop first comprehensive models of “seeds and soil” as a means to combat breast cancer metastasis
With support from the VCU Wright Center, scientists at VCU Massey Cancer Center have identified key biological pathways that regulate the spread of tumor cells to vital organs. These findings may have a significant influence on the development of new therapies that slow or prevent breast cancer metastasis. Metastasis refers to the spread of cancer […]
Meet the Team: Amy Olex
At the Wright Center, we seek to advance science and foster partnerships that accelerate translational research for the betterment of human health. Our team members come to work every day ready to transform laboratory discoveries into treatments for patients, engage communities in clinical research and train a new generation of clinical and translational scholars, all […]
Community engagement transcends translational science spectrum at annual conference
By Anne Dreyfuss VCU C. Kenneth and Dianne Wright Center for Clinical and Translational Research At the Virginia Commonwealth University Community Engagement Institute on May 14, Wright Center Director F. Gerard Moeller, M.D., discussed how he harnesses community-academic partnerships to address the opioid epidemic. “Virginia has succumbed to the opioid overdose epidemic just like the […]
Wright Center hosts Mentorship Academy aimed at creating a culture of mentorship at VCU
By Anne Dreyfuss VCU C. Kenneth and Dianne Wright Center for Clinical and Translational Research At the Wright Center Mentorship Academy on May 3, nearly 50 faculty researchers from eight schools and colleges across the Virginia Commonwealth University MCV and Monroe Park Campuses gathered to discuss mentorship best practices. “We set out to identify leadership […]
Wright Center associate director honored for his contributions toward undergraduate mentorship at VCU
By Anne Dreyfuss C. Kenneth and Dianne Wright Center for Clinical and Translational Research At a study abroad program in Fondi, a city halfway between Rome and Naples in central Italy, Henrico-native Krishna Ravindra discovered a passion for clinical and translational science. “Working with Dr. Abbate allowed me to see how a background in clinical […]
Inaugural Virginia Clinical Research Conference inspires and strengthens the commonwealth’s clinical research enterprise
By Anne Dreyfuss C. Kenneth and Dianne Wright Center for Clinical and Translational Research The ballroom inside the Hilton Hotel in downtown Richmond was standing room only on Friday morning, when more than 200 clinical research professionals from across the commonwealth gathered for the inaugural Virginia Clinical Research Conference. “At the end of every clinical […]
Cancer survivor advocates for clinical trial participation
T.J. Sharpe was diagnosed with metastatic melanoma just weeks after the birth of his second child in August 2012. Sharpe had overcome the most dangerous form of skin cancer 12 years prior, so news of the recurrence came as a shock. What followed was even more shocking, when doctors told him he had less than two years […]