School of Medicine expands research focus with new strategic leadership

As the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine deepens its commitment to interdisciplinary, translational research, it’s launching a major initiative aimed at transforming how health care is delivered and studied.

The Smart Health Care Hub, funded through Virginia Tech’s Destination Area 2.0 program, will support collaborative research that connects technology, human-centered design, and clinical care.

Joining this effort is Tom Martin, who has been named the school's associate dean for strategic research advancement. Martin will support the school’s growing research enterprise, building cross-disciplinary teams, identifying funding opportunities, and supporting research training for faculty and students.

“This is a transformational opportunity for the school,” said Dean Lee Learman. “We are investing in research that crosses boundaries between medicine, engineering, and human-centered design. Tom’s experience and expertise will help us identify potential research collaborations, partnerships, and funding streams to fuel our success.”

Martin, professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering who was recently named interim co-executive director of the Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology (ICAT), is known for pioneering wearable technology with medical applications. His interdisciplinary background makes him well-suited to help the medical school scale its research in new and impactful ways.

“My goal is to understand what faculty are passionate about and help connect them with collaborators and funding across Virginia Tech and beyond,” Martin said. “This is about building bridges and growing ideas that matter.”

The Smart Health Care Hub builds on years of collaboration between Martin and Sarah Parker, chair of health systems and implementation science at the school. The two first worked together on a project with office design company Steelcase to examine how clinicians interact with technology in data-rich hospital environments. Their research team included experts from engineering, architecture, industrial design, and computer science.

“Tom helped bring together people who wouldn’t usually find themselves in the same room,” Parker said. “That ability to shape truly interdisciplinary teams is what led to the Destination Area funding.”

Their work evolved into a National Science Foundation planning grant and ultimately, Virginia Tech’s investment in the Smart Health Care Hub, a universitywide initiative aimed at solving problems such as clinician burnout, inefficient data systems, and workflow breakdowns.

“One of the most exciting aspects of this work is its potential to support the people delivering care,” Parker said. “We’re not just building better tools — we’re focused on getting the best tools to work well within the context of daily clinical activity.”

Martin’s recent experience as a program director at the National Science Foundation gives him additional insight into shaping successful research strategies. There, he reviewed hundreds of proposals and advised teams on aligning their work with funding priorities.

“That lens is something I want to bring back to Virginia Tech,” Martin said. “It’s about finding the right story to tell and the right partners to tell it with.”

His new role also connects to his ongoing work with ICAT’s Center for Future Workplaces and Practices, which is currently engaging on a focused effort to improve health care innovation. The center and the medical school are directly aligned through the Destination Area 2.0 initiative, creating a shared platform for simulation, systems design, and applied research.

As the medical school builds its research enterprise, much of the work will take place in active clinical environments through the school’s close partnership with Carilion Clinic. For example, researchers recently used an immersive simulation space known as the Tesseract to study how environmental noise affects nurses’ performance during triage. The project included emergency physicians, engineers, and graduate students.

“These kinds of projects show the value of combining clinical experience with research expertise,” Parker said. “We couldn’t do this work without partners like Carilion.”

Martin also sees Virginia Tech’s location as a strategic advantage.

“We’re uniquely positioned — both geographically and institutionally — to bridge some of the biggest divides in health care access and outcomes,” he said. “If any university can do that, it should be us.”

The Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine (VTCSOM) is already recognized for its strength in student research. Its innovative curriculum supports the development of three identities essential for creating patient-centered physicians who are prepared to improve health care through inquiry and humility. Those identities are scientist physician, system citizen, and lifelong master adaptive learner. 

The curriculum for developing the scientist physician identity relies on completion of a mentored research project designed and implemented through all four years and fulfilling the requirements to earn a Virginia Tech Certificate for Research in Translational Medicine.

Martin’s appointment supports the school’s next step: scaling its research infrastructure and increasing access to external grants and interdisciplinary mentorship.

“The foundation of research in VTCSOM was already strong,” Parker said. “Tom brings the energy, insight, and experience that will help differentiate the next phase of our research growth.”

Martin agreed. “If people read our proposals and say, ‘That’s bold. That’s different,’ then we’re doing it right.”