A taste of Italy: Professor’s clinical research examines whether food really is the best medicine
By Anne Dreyfuss VCU C. Kenneth and Dianne Wright Center for Clinical and Translational Research Virginia Commonwealth University assistant professor Salvatore Carbone, Ph.D., smiles as he fondly recalls dinners with his family during summers spent in Sperlonga, Italy, a coastal town overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. “Extra-virgin olive oil was on everything, from pasta to fish and […]
Wright Center funds pilot study aimed to help patients experiencing post-intensive care syndrome
By Anne Dreyfuss VCU C. Kenneth and Dianne Wright Center for Clinical and Translational Research As a nurse at Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center’s Medical Respiratory Intensive Care Unit, VCU School of Nursing clinical assistant professor Tracye Proffitt met with a former ICU patient when he returned to the hospital a year after leaving to […]
Inside the brains of psychopaths: VCU research aims to understand antisocial empathy
By Anne Dreyfuss VCU C. Kenneth and Dianne Wright Center for Clinical and Translational Research Imagine this: You’re walking down the street in the middle of the day when you encounter a stranger crouched and crying on the sidewalk. Is your instinct to comfort the person or to use their emotional vulnerability to hurt them? […]
Former Wright Center KL2 Mentored Career Development Scholar among 2019’s Blick Scholars
By Anne Dreyfuss VCU C. Kenneth and Dianne Wright Center for Clinical and Translational Research As a Wright Center KL2 Mentored Career Development Scholar, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine associate professor April Kimmel, Ph.D., researched HIV care delivery models and access to care in the South. Among her findings was the discovery that a […]
Philanthropist and businessman C. Kenneth Wright, who helped transform VCU, dies
C. Kenneth Wright, a longtime businessman and philanthropist whose generous giving is credited with helping to build today’s Virginia Commonwealth University, died this week. He was 94. Wright and his late wife, Dianne, who died in 2013, were dedicated supporters of VCU and the VCU Health System, including the VCU Massey Cancer Center. Their gifts were numerous […]
VCU Wright Center-funded study finds family medicine physicians often inaccurately estimate patients’ geographic footprint
Geographic locations affect social determinants of health ranging from access to nutritious foods to housing and education quality, but many family medicine physicians cannot accurately estimate where their patients live. In a study published in the Annals of Family Medicine in August, Virginia Commonwealth University researchers found that family medicine physicians overestimated the geographic footprint of their […]
The gift that keeps on giving
Scientists from the Wright Center stand out among competitors for National Institutes of Health funding, thanks to significant donor support By Brelyn Powell VCU Office of Development and Alumni Relations Electronic cigarette devices are often touted as a safer alternative for smokers looking to quit. Recreational use of e-cigarettes has become more common, especially among […]
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 […]
A VCU researcher is exploring the relationship between sleep and how the mind works
By Anne Dreyfuss VCU C. Kenneth and Dianne Wright Center for Clinical and Translational Research While completing a doctorate in clinical psychology at Virginia Commonwealth University, Amma Agyemang, Ph.D., developed an interest in the effects that chronic medical conditions have on sleep and cognitive functioning. For her dissertation, she tested an online therapy for insomnia among […]
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 […]