First Wright Center faculty scholar in health disparities targets inequities in cancer screenings
Growing up in rural southeast Arkansas, Michael Preston, Ph.D., M.P.H., saw the value of early screening for colorectal cancer firsthand. His grandfather was screened early, and doctors were able to stop the cancer before it progressed. Preston credits the screening for getting to enjoy many more years with his grandfather than he would have otherwise. […]
Ten years later: How the KL2 Program at the Wright Center trained a generation of research leaders
More than a decade ago, the VCU Wright Center inaugurated its first class of KL2 Scholars, a cohort of talented junior faculty members looking to advance the world’s knowledge of health through clinical and translational research. Since then, 14 researchers have enjoyed the mentorship, protected research time and general support of their research careers that […]
Physics postdoc Sean Koebley receives Spring 2021 VCU Science Communication Award
The 2021 VCU Science Communication Award was awarded to Sean Koebley, Ph.D., for his presentation: “Goodbye, P-value: Practical Bayesian Statistics To Replace Frequentist Statistics.” Koebley is a postdoctoral fellow in the Physics Department at VCU where he works with Jason Reed, Ph.D., studying novel methods for detecting genetic mutations using biophysics. This talk is the third Koebley […]
Studies supported by the Wright Center connect mammary hormone to breast cancer progression
The hormone prolactin has long been understood to play a vital role in breast growth and development and the production of milk during pregnancy. But a pair of recent studies conducted at VCU Massey Cancer Center finds strong evidence that prolactin also acts as a major contributor to breast cancer development and that the hormone […]
Wright Center series trains next generation of community-engaged researchers
How would you react if someone started a conversation by saying what was wrong with you and your family? Probably not well. And that’s exactly what health researchers often do, when they try to talk to community members, said Maghboeba Mosavel, Ph.D, an associate professor at the VCU School of Medicine’s Department of Health Behavior […]
The Wright Center is here to help with your research resolutions
Last year did not go as planned for anyone. But 2021 will slowly, we hope, bring a return to the new normal in our professional lives. If more or better health-related research at VCU is one of your 2021 resolutions, the Wright Center can help. Find your research resolution below and see how. Wright Center […]
New K Award Seminar Series will help VCU early career faculty apply for NIH grants
The Wright Center introduces a new seminar series that will serve as an insider’s guide to the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) K Awards. Successful K Award applicants will share tips and tricks that attendees can apply to their own writing in a five-part series beginning in December. Attendees will be prepared to tackle their […]
Wright Center hosting series of town halls for VSU undergrads
The Wright Center is co-hosting a series of virtual town halls with Virginia State University this summer, bringing Virginia Commonwealth University physician-scientists to undergraduate students interested in pursuing careers in medicine and research. Robert Winn, M.D., director of VCU Massey Cancer Center and a Wright Center faculty member, kicked things off on Friday, speaking to […]
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 […]