Beyond the Lab: Why Brock Lodato ‘25 Felt Personally Drawn to Biomedical Research
Fueled by his own experience with Type 1 diabetes, Lodato is inspired to pursue biomedical research as he tries to understand the “why” behind his own disease and other health concerns.
Brock Lodato ‘25 was 14 years old when he was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. It was a startling, life-altering diagnosis that has left him wondering why.
“I never received a reason why I developed diabetes, other than, ‘it just happens sometimes,’” says Lodato, a Biomedical Engineering student at the VCU College of Engineering. “I became fascinated with research because I wanted to find the ‘why’ behind my disease.”
That fascination led Lodato to attend the VCU College of Engineering, where he started as an undergraduate student in 2021. He chose to study biomedical engineering because he wanted to solve biological and medical problems, ultimately improving health care for individuals with challenges such as his own.
“What interests me about biomedical engineering is its application of every math and science class there is to new technologies that can really help people with disease, disabilities and various conditions,” says Lodato.
Though he has not had the opportunity to take on diabetes just yet in his young career, Lodato has already been able to play an active role in research for a variety of healthcare topics, including cancer and prosthetics.
Getting Started in the Lab
Lodato, a Central Virginia native, was eager to get involved with research and lab work as soon as he came to VCU. As a sophomore, he reached out to Joshua Cohen, M.D. to see what opportunities might be available.
“I had a friend who worked in the Lab for Musculoskeletal Research and Innovation (LMRI) who recommended I reach out to Dr. Cohen and see if there was a spot for me,” says Lodato. “Dr. Cohen was more than willing to meet me and shortly after, he found a spot for me in the lab.”
“Brock is an incredibly eager young person willing to devote his time to learning about a research question and how we go about answering the ‘why’ and ‘how’ of that problem,” says Cohen. “He is inquisitive, hard working and has become an excellent bench-top scientist.”
For three years, Lodato familiarized himself with the different areas of biomedical engineering through hands-on research and mentorship. His biggest research project as an undergraduate investigated the means by which a vitamin D metabolite affected the tumorigenic behavior in laryngeal cancer.
“Vitamin D treatment makes certain cell lines in laryngeal cancer tumors more aggressive,” says Lodato. “This study successfully determined that it is due to different receptors on the membranes of different cell types within the tumor that determine its response to the vitamin D.”
During the vitamin D research project, Lodato collaborated closely with his mentor, Cydney Dennis, a Ph.D. student at VCU who graduated in 2024 and is now a research fellow at the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering. The research was part of Dennis’ doctoral thesis, and Lodato had the opportunity to present their findings at the 2024 Biomedical Engineering Society’s Annual Meeting in Baltimore, Md.
“I pioneered a smaller study of the entire vitamin D study,” says Lodato. “We used a chemical to destroy these receptor complexes on the membrane to investigate if that had changed the cell’s overall response.”
This type of research involvement, as well as summer internships and faculty mentorship, are what Lodato has valued most since coming to VCU. He also holds his classroom learning in high regard, citing Physics 2 and Biomechanics as favorites. As a result of these courses, Lodato’s research interests have shifted from cells and tissues to a focus on forces and mechanics.
“An upper level course I took last semester, Rehabilitation Engineering and Prosthesis, was one of my favorites due to great in-class examples and a really fun project,” says Lodato. “This class is a big reason why I now want to develop prosthetics.”
Lodato took skills that he learned Biomechanics and directly applied them to a problem he was working on in the LMRI with Dr. Cohen, asking whether biomimetic surface modifications on a titanium implant lead to stronger bone healing in a model of osteoporosis.
“Brock conducted mechanical testing on two different implants with specific surfaces used clinically,” says Cohen. “He conducted all of the analysis of the stress-strain curves outputted on a mechanical testing system in the nanocharacterization core, heavily relying on the concepts and skills learned in his Biomechanics course.”
Finding a Future in the Lab
Upon graduating from VCU with his undergraduate degree in May, Lodato will remain at VCU for one more year working towards a master’s degree in either mechanical or biomedical engineering.
“I have hopes to design powered prosthetics and their mechanisms of interfacing with the human body so that users can reap the benefits of a prosthetic device without needing to worry about controlling it manually,” says Lodato.
And should the opportunity arise to contribute to diabetes research, “I would love to do a study about it in the future,” says Lodato.To learn more about the VCU College of Engineering Biomedical Engineering, visit the department homepage.
The Department of Biomedical Engineering provides undergraduate and graduate students with the opportunity to perform real-world research as soon as they enroll. From delving into the intricacies of cell migration in cancer research to exploring tissue engineering in menisci, tendons and ligaments, our students pursue a diverse range of cutting-edge research topics. Browse videos and recent news from the Department of Biomedical Engineering to discover how the College of Engineering at Virginia Commonwealth University prepares the next generation of scientists and engineers for the challenges of the future.
Categories Biomedical Engineering, Student Stories, Undergraduate Student Stories