Fralin Biomedical Research Institute

DONNUT Lab at Brain School for Brain Awareness Week! @fralinbiomed.bsky.social

Cancer researchers including senior author Christopher Hourigan (at left) and first author Rasha Al-Ali of Virginia Tech’s Fralin Biomedical Research Institute found that a highly sensitive DNA-based test can help doctors predict which patients with acute myeloid leukemia, or AML, are most likely to relapse.

A multi-institutional effort led by @fralinbiomed.bsky.social researchers aims to refine relapse prediction by identifying genetic markers in blood samples from patients with a rare blood cancer. 🧬

🔗: go.vt.edu/ummEq

Can fat fight #diabetes? 🥑

New research from @virginiatech.bsky.social's Sarah Lessard suggests a high-fat #ketogenic diet may help unlock the benefits of #exercise in people with high blood sugar.

Listen and subscribe🎙️
fbri.vtc.vt.edu/newsroom/big...

Read more 📰
go.vt.edu/lessardketo-...

What can honey bee brain chemistry teach us about human learning? A multi-institutional team of researchers led by Virginia Tech’s Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC has for the first time identified specific patterns of brain chemical activity that predict...

What can honey bee brain chemistry teach us about human learning? Cool work from Dr. Read Montague's Lab @fralinbiomed.bsky.social in collaboration with Dr. Brian Smith at Arizona State University. news.vt.edu/articles/202...

A James R. Carter Sr. Memorial Award is supporting Yunruo “Trista” Ni’s Alzheimer’s research in Assistant Professor Wynn Legon’s lab at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC.

A fellowship will help support Yunruo 'Trista' Ni’s graduate research at @fralinbiomed.bsky.social as she investigates how low-intensity focused ultrasound can modify brain circuits to treat memory disorders. 🧠

🔗: brnw.ch/21wZCOx

news.vt.edu/articles/202...

Meet doctoral candidate Caleb Mensah, whose research is uncovering how #glioblastoma — one of the most aggressive brain cancers — evades treatment.

Supported by a Ray A. Gaskins Fellowship, his work seeks to unlock discoveries that could improve patient survival.

More about Caleb in the comments ⤵️

🚨 New episode of Big Science Small Pod 🚨

Listen in as @virginiatech.bsky.social neurobiologist Matthew Weston explains what happens in the brain during seizures and how his lab is researching their genetic roots to help develop new treatments for children.

🎧👇
news.vt.edu/articles/202...

Healing of injured blood vessels is driven by gap junction protein connexin 43 at the wound edge

📷 Meghan W. Sedovy et al Scott Johnstone lab
@fralinbiomed.bsky.social AJP Heart and Circulatory Physiology

➡️ bpod.org.uk/archive/2025... with
@rooph.bsky.social

Neurons within the brain localize genetic messages using simple rules, study finds A new eNeuro study from the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute reveals how neurons organize genetic messages that support learning and memory — and what that means for medical conditions.

A study published in eNeuro from @virginiatech.bsky.social scientists, led by @shannonfarris.bsky.social, shows that neurons organize mRNA based on abundance, helping explain how genetic instructions support learning and memory in the 🧠

📰 @sfnjournals.bsky.social

🔗 news.vt.edu/articles/202...

Multiplexed smFISH Reveals the Spatial Organization of Neuropil Localized mRNAs Is Linked to Abundance RNA localization to neuronal axons and dendrites provides spatiotemporal control over gene expression to support synapse function. Neuronal messenger RNAs (mRNAs) localize as ribonucleoprotein particl...

Happy to share part I of Renesa Tarannum's thesis (my first grad student!) looking at how neuropil localized RNAs are spatially organized in the hippocampus. #Skeetorial #Neuroskyence 🧪
www.eneuro.org/content/12/1...

Neurons within the brain localize genetic messages using simple rules, study finds A new eNeuro study from the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute reveals how neurons organize genetic messages that support learning and memory — and what that means for medical conditions.

Here is the @fralinbiomed.bsky.social write up in @virginiatech.bsky.social news.
news.vt.edu/articles/202...

What if we could measure infant brain activity during social interaction? 👶🧠

@virginiatech.bsky.social researchers have secured significant support from the NIH to push the boundaries of human #neuroscience using wearable brain-imaging technology.

Details ⤵️
news.vt.edu/articles/202...

Jenny Munson has been awarded two new National Institutes of Health grants to advance greater understanding and improved treatment of a deadly brain cancer. 🙌

Full details👇
news.vt.edu/articles/202...

@thelancet.com says 1 in 3 Americans ages 15–24 may meet obesity criteria by 2050.

@virginiatech.bsky.social's @davybrenda.bsky.social and @difeliceantonio.bsky.social tested how young adults ate after two weeks on ultra-processed vs. unprocessed diets.

Results👇
news.vt.edu/articles/202...

Next-generation neuroscience studies the infant brain in motion The Human Magnetometry Laboratory at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC is developing magnetoencephalography techniques to study brain activity during natural social interactions between parents and their babies.

#VirginiaTech researchers are developing techniques to study brain activity between parents and their babies, laying the foundation to identify patterns that point to potential risk for disorders. ⬇️

How does early-life trauma change the brain? 🧠

New research from @virginiatech.bsky.social's Sora Shin reveals a shared biological mechanism linking aggression and self-harm, tied to how the brain processes pain.

Learn more 👇
news.vt.edu/articles/202...

Pushing the Boundaries of Preclinical Research: Inside The Fralin Biomedical Research Institute, VTC YouTube video by Bruker

At the @fralinbiomed.bsky.social, cancer scientists are redefining what’s possible in preclinical #imaging.
Michael Friedlander, PhD, Jenny Munson, PhD, & core manager Maosen Wang, PhD, share their insights.

Watch the full video here: youtu.be/16W2Joqun2g?...

@virginiatech.bsky.social

#Oncology

Surgeons perform nearly 600,000 stent and bypass surgeries in the U.S. each year.🫀

The Johnstone lab at @virginiatech.bsky.social found that the protein connexin 43 helps blood vessels heal — a discovery that could lead to smarter recovery therapies.

Learn more 👇
news.vt.edu/articles/202...

All you can eat: Ultra-processed foods affect young adults differently In a new study, 18- to 21-year-olds put on to a diet high in ultra-processed foods were more likely to overeat — even when full.

In a new @fralinbiomed.bsky.social study, 18- to 21-year-olds put on to a diet high in ultra-processed foods were more likely to overeat — even when full.

⬇️🔬Learn more.

Picture of Good Morning America played on a laptop. Alex DiFeliceantonio at Virginia tech.

Picture of a laptop playing good morning America. Zach Hutelin in lab coat in metabolic kitchen.

Picture of good morning America on a laptop. Mary Fowler drawing blood in metabolic chamber from Darien Sutton.

The lab was on Good Morning America! Absolutely surreal. Everyone did so great on the filming day. I work with the best people ever.

A weightlifting mouse? 🐭💪

@virginiatech.bsky.social researchers in Zhen Yan's lab created a mouse model to compare resistance vs. endurance.

Both helped reduce fat and improve blood sugar, but weightlifting was more effective.

🔗 news.vt.edu/articles/202...

The same drugs used for diabetes and weight loss may also impact alcohol use. 🍷

A pilot study with @virginiatech.bsky.social and @carilionclinic.bsky.social found that GLP-1 drugs such as Ozempic slow alcohol absorption, lessening its impact on the brain.

news.vt.edu/articles/202...

“Chemo brain” affects many #cancer survivors, but why? 🧠

A new @virginiatech.bsky.social study suggests post-chemotherapy memory and focus issues may stem from poor lymphatic drainage triggered by cancer drugs.

Learn more 👇
news.vt.edu/articles/202...

Cancer researchers shape emerging strategies for immunotherapy Nanotechnology, the research shows, could reprogram the immune system and help overcome tumors’ defenses, addressing the limitations of current immunotherapies, particularly in treating solid tumors.

By combining #nanotechnology and #immunology, @virginiatech.bsky.social's DaeYong Lee and his collaborators are redefining how the immune system can be harnessed to battle cancer 🧫

Learn more ⤵️
news.vt.edu/articles/202...

Details | Postdoctoral Associate | Careers | Division of Human Resources | Virginia Tech

Postdoc position available @fralinbiomed.bsky.social working in the Addiction Recovery Research Center examining long-term trajectories of addiction recovery.
Salary at NIH NRSA stipend level along w/ excellent benefits. Apply by Oct 29!
careers.pageuppeople.com/968/cw/en-us...

Glioblastoma is a lethal #brain #cancer.

Patients survive ~15 months on average.

Here at @virginiatech.bsky.social's Fralin Biomedical Research Institute, Jenny Munson's team has built a tool to spot hidden cancer cells & predict where tumors will grow next.

📰 ⤵️ news.vt.edu/articles/202...

Details | Postdoctoral Associate | Careers | Division of Human Resources | Virginia Tech

Two-year #postdoc opening in the Poelzing Lab @fralinbiomed.bsky.social focused on cardiac arrhythmia mechanisms in mouse models. Salary at NIH NRSA rate plus excellent benefits (matched retirement, sub health ins) & training environment.
Apply by 10/10!
careers.pageuppeople.com/968/cw/en-us...

Researchers investigate why memory circuits break down in Alzheimer’s disease With support from the Commonwealth of Virginia’s Alzheimer’s and Related Diseases Research Award Fund, scientists Sharon Swanger and Shannon Farris will investigate the chemical culprits that contribu...

The entorhinal cortex—key for memory, navigation, and the brain’s mapping system—is one of the first regions hit by Alzheimer’s.

With new support from the Commonwealth, @virginiatech.bsky.social scientists Sharon Swanger and @shannonfarris.bsky.social are studying why.

news.vt.edu/articles/202...

Thank you @fralinbiomed.bsky.social for the seminar invitation!