Turning observations into health interventions: Graduate students continue to make an impact

For translational biology, medicine, and health graduate students, Virginia Tech’s Graduate School Commencement this spring marked another milestone on their path toward contributing to the improvement of health.

Postdoctoral training is on the horizon for a number of graduates, including a pair from the lab of Warren Bickel at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC. Devin Tomlinson has been awarded a position on a National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Postdoctoral Research Training Grant at the University of Michigan, while William Craft will take a postdoctoral position at Johns Hopkins University. Bickel is also director of the Center for Health Behaviors Research and the Addiction Recovery Research Center. 

Other graduates in the class will pursue careers in biomedical research in industry, communications, medical technologies, and emergency medicine.

The graduate program is headquartered on Virginia Tech’s Health Sciences and Technology campus in Roanoke and works with the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute to develop scientists who contribute to research that drives health advancements from lab bench to patient bedside to community. Students serve as graduate research assistants in labs at the research institute, on Virginia Tech’s Blacksburg campus, and at Carilion Clinic.

The program enrolled its first class in fall 2014 and has more than 70 graduates working in academic and health care settings, pharmaceutical industries, and science policy.

The graduates, degree classifications, and thesis advisors for spring 2023 include:

• Grace Blair, doctoral degree,Steven Poelzing, professor, Fralin Biomedical Research Institute, College of Engineering and Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine
• Allison Castaneda, doctoral degree,Lina Ni, assistant professor, College of Science
• William Craft, doctoral degree,Warren Bickel, professor, Fralin Biomedical Research Institute, College of Science, and Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine
• Franklin Edwards, doctoral degree, Sarah Parker, research associate professor, Fralin Biomedical Research Institute, College of Science, and Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine
• Maruf Hoque, doctoral degree, John Chappell, associate professor, Fralin Biomedical Research Institute and College of Engineering
• Jeffrey Marano, doctoral degree, James Weger-Lucarelli, assistant professor, Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine
• Shaga Navabpour, doctoral degree, Timothy Jarome, associate professor, School of Animal Sciences, 
• Demisha Porter, doctoral degree, Paul Morton, assistant professor, Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine
• Walter Tatera, master’s degree, William Howe, assistant professor, College of Science
• K’Ehleyr Thai, doctoral degree, Susan Campbell, associate professor, School of Animal Sciences
• Devin Tomlinson, doctoral degree,Warren Bickel, professor, Fralin Biomedical Research Institute, College of Science, and Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine

The graduates, degree classifications and thesis advisors for fall 2022 include:

• Yang Chen, doctoral degree, Sharon Swanger, assistant professor, Fralin Biomedical Research Institute,   Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, and Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine
• Austin Fergusson, doctoral degree, Richey Davis, professor, College of Engineering
• Lauren Fritsch, doctoral degree, Alicia Pickrell, assistant professor, College of Science
• Fernanda Guilhaume Correa, doctoral degree, Pamela VandeVord, N. Waldo Harrison professor, College of Engineering
• Andrew Kvavilashvili, master’s degree, Sujith Vijayan, assistant professor, College of Science
• Rui-Chi Lin, doctoral degree, Ling Li, assistant professor, College of Engineering
• Xiaobo Wu, doctoral degree, Steven Poelzing, professor, Fralin Biomedical Research Institute, College of Engineering, and Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine