C. KENNETH AND DIANNE WRIGHT CENTER FOR CLINICAL AND TRANSLATIONAL RESEARCH VCU BLOG

The M.D.-Ph.D. student is using microfluidic chips to simulate the environments metastatic prostate cancer travels through — and to find the chinks in its armor. Gevick Safarians remembers the conversations. Patients dealing with cancer and other diseases with very poor prognoses, hoping not for years but for months — a little more time to settle […]

Her research was propelled by a Wright Center biomedical sciences initiative, and her M.D. is next as she continues in VCU’s Medical Scientist Training Program.

The five-year training award, a complementary grant to VCU’s $27.5 million Clinical and Translational Science Award, will support postdoctoral fellows who will work with federal healthcare datasets covering millions of veterans, service members and civilians. Virginia Commonwealth University and the Central Virginia Veterans Affairs Health Care System have received a five-year T32 Ruth L. Kirschstein […]

Through the Honors Summer Undergraduate Research Program, co-hosted by the Wright Regional Center for Clinical and Translational Science and VCU Honors College, students from VCU, Old Dominion University and Virginia State University spend nine weeks immersed in scientific research. Madison Bivins didn’t expect to spend her summer studying ultrasound images of hip muscles. A rising […]

Every year on May 20, the global research community observes International Clinical Trials Day, commemorating the date in 1747 when Scottish physician James Lind conducted what is widely recognized as the first controlled clinical trial — a systematic test of scurvy treatments aboard a British naval vessel. This year, the C. Kenneth and Dianne Wright […]

Last week in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the Wright Center’s own Emily Zimmerman, Ph.D., M.S. and Leah Gregory, M.P.H., M.S.W. brought VCU’s innovative community engagement strategies to a national audience of peer institutions. They presented at the Association for Clinical and Translational Science (ACTS) annual conference, Translational Science 2026 (TS26), one of the most significant annual gatherings […]

"I consider this to be an investment in our workforce, and ultimately an investment in our patients." Meet the six Virginia State University honors students who recently visited VCU’s medical campus for a milestone day of mentorship and discovery. From one-on-one sessions with mentors in different medical fields to deep dives into big-data research tools, discover how this VCU-VSU partnership is helping future doctors find their "why" and prepare for the rigors of medical school.

VCU is setting the pace for the future of research professionals! At the annual meeting of the National Council of University Research Administrators (NCURA) in August, Elizabeth Fortune, MBA, CRA Wright Center administrative director and Shirley Helm, MS, CCRP Wright Center senior administrator for Network Capacity & Workforce Strategies secured a national distinction, earning the […]

As the research landscape grows increasingly interdisciplinary and complex, Virginia Commonwealth University is taking bold steps to ensure its graduates are not only academically prepared but career-ready. A new undergraduate minor, Research Ecosystems, has been approved and will launch in Fall 2025, providing students with a comprehensive introduction to the operational, regulatory, and strategic aspects […]

The ever-evolving landscape of clinical and translational research demands a workforce that is not only highly skilled but also adaptable to the interdisciplinary nature of modern science. Recognizing this need, the Wright Center, working closely with the VCU College of Health Professions, piloted a new course designed to enhance translational workforce development, aligning with the […]