Roanoke initiative shapes next generation of health science researchers

When not in class, a select group of undergraduate students are running experiments, shadowing physicians, and operating state-of-the-art biomedical research equipment.

Through a unique opportunity available at Virginia Tech’s Health Sciences and Technology campus in Roanoke, these students are not just learning — they are receiving hands-on training to help them prepare for careers in research, medicine, and beyond.

This year, a third cohort joins the interdisciplinary experience, which began in fall 2022.

“The Integrated Health Sciences and Research initiative began as a collaboration between the Virginia Tech College of Science and the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC,” said Sarah Clinton, co-director of the program and associate vice president for health sciences planning and strategy. “However, we now have students majoring in biomedical engineering, biochemistry, public health, psychology, and human nutrition, foods, and exercise.”

The most recent cohort brings total enrollment to 51 students representing nine majors and four colleges. Though from different academic disciplines, these students are united by shared interests in clinical work and health research.

Jack Horton is a third-year biochemistry major who was accepted in the spring.

“I’ve always been interested in science,” said Horton, who joined Professor Steven Poelzing’s lab at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute this summer. It marks the pre-med student’s first laboratory research experience. “But this is the first time I’m learning science by working with people who are at the peak of our understanding of the subject.”

The Integrated Health Sciences and Research undergraduate experience is designed as a three-year commitment. After applying in December, accepted students participate in a spring orientation. The academic curriculum officially begins the following fall, the start of sophomore year for most students in the cohort. That semester, students take an introductory course in biomedical and health research and match with labs at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute, where they earn academic credit and work in research labs for the duration of the experience.

Through elective courses, students can shadow Carilion clinicians, analyze and interpret scientific literature, and build skills for presenting and writing about their scientific discoveries.

“I would love to get published,” said Horton, whose lab responsibilities include culturing human kidney cells. “It's cool that I am contributing to something that could eventually become a solution for everyday patient treatment.”

Harbal Rai also hopes to see her efforts translate into improved patient outcomes. Now in her final semester, Rai balances lab responsibilities with her senior course load and her work as an EMT. The undergraduate student has commuted from Blacksburg to Roanoke weekly since joining Assistant Professor Sharon Swanger’s lab.

“I’m someone who always wants to try new things,” Rai said. “The program captures all of the things I’m really interested in, and the faculty really want you to do well. Right off the bat, I was already starting my own experiments and doing my own data analysis and seeing projects all the way through.”

Recent Integrated Health Sciences and Research graduates have gone on to careers with INOVA Health and doctoral programs at Virginia Tech's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine, the Medical College of Wisconsin, and Johns Hopkins University. One graduate is a trainee at the National Institutes of Health.

“We look for first- and second-year students who are passionate about biomedicine, aspiring to become health professionals, or eager to delve into clinical and translational research,” Clinton said.

Applications for the fall 2025 cohort open Dec. 2 and close Jan. 31.