Joshua Drake stands in a sand volleyball pit, with three individuals playing in the background. Photo by Christina Franusich for Virginia Tech. — Assisatant Professor Joshua Drake's research in the Department of Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise focuses on improving health, one of the top priorities of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Photo by Christina Franusich for Virginia Tech.

Meet the Fabulous Fralin Five

Jenise L. Jacques

15 Oct 2025

Five groundbreaking researchers are pushing the frontiers of life sciences across disciplines that shape our world and our health, earning them the distinction of being named members of the inaugural Fralin Fabulous Five class for the Fralin Life Sciences Institute.

Together, these scientists exemplify the power of interdisciplinary research to address humanity’s greatest challenges, from advancing innovations that could secure the future of the global food system to uncovering the potential to detect neuromuscular decline as an early warning sign for Alzheimer’s disease — a breakthrough that could transform how we diagnose and treat one of the nation’s most costly and devastating conditions — to revealing critical insights into emerging infectious diseases.

They were honored at Fralin Fall Fest on Oct. 8. Over the next year, they will be working in advising leadership roles with the Institute Executive Director Rob McCarley as part of the Fralin Life Sciences Faculty Leadership Scholarship and Innovation group, called FLSI-Squared.

“This is a phenomenal group of individuals who represent the future of life sciences at Virginia Tech. I look forward to working with each of them to generate ideas about future endeavors that may benefit early career and other faculty in the life sciences,” said McCarley. “This group will also help me identify institute projects that will advance Virginia Tech's path to global distinction.”

In the summer, academic leaders across the university received a call for nominations for the new initiative, seeking individuals who demonstrate research and teaching impact and a curiosity for cross-disciplinary collaborations both within and beyond the university. The program aims to become an annual event celebrated each fall.

Meet the five:

Courtney Leisner with a row of potted plant seeds in a greenhouse. Photo by Christina Franusich for Virginia Tech. — Courtney Leisner, assistant professor in the School of Plant and Environmental Sciences. Photo by Christina Franusich for Virginia Tech.

Assistant Professor Courtney Leisner

School of Plant and Environmental Sciences in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Global Change Center and Translational Plant Sciences Center

Leisner's research program uses an interdisciplinary approach to solve problems related to how environmental change impacts crop physiology and development, which ultimately lead to nutritional and yield losses.

Started at Virginia Tech in 2023
Authored 35 publications that have been cited almost 1,700 times
Active participation and leadership role in the Translational Plant Sciences Center

"Dr. Leisner has a proven track record with research funding and publications in the area of pathogen-resistant plants," said her nominator, Tim Jarome, associate professor of neurobiology in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. "Most recently, her focus has been on how plants can be bred to also be resistant to increased growing temperatures due to changes in environment."

Dan English stands with AI_generated images of his research in the background. Photo by Christina Franusich for Virginia Tech. — Daniel English, assistant professor in the School of Neuroscience, researches how to understand the neural basis of behavior, in how activity in clusters of neurons drive the behavior of the animals and how those firing patterns contribute to long-term memory formation. Photo by Christina Franusich for Virginia Tech.

Assistant Professor Daniel English

School of Neuroscience in the College of Science

English's research is focused on understanding the neural basis of behavior. This is an exciting and quickly evolving area of neuroscience facilitated by the development of new tools, according to his nominator Michelle Olsen, the ID Wilson Chair and professor in the School of Neuroscience.

Started at Virginia Tech in 2018
Patented a probe — as thin as a human hair — that can be implanted in the brain of a living animal, which has the capacity to transform how to measure activity in the living brain
Garnered six external grants to support his laboratory from the National Institutes of Health and the Simons and Whitehall Foundations

"One of the most exciting aspects of Dr. English's work is the cross-collaboration with engineering at Virginia Tech," Olsen said. "Together, the faculty, postdoctoral fellows, and graduate students across these departments are leveraging the strengths of each unit to inform and advance better and more sensitive neuroscience tools with broader applications."

Nisha Duggal stands in front of the pont near the Virginia-Maryland School of Veterimary Medicine. Photo by Christina Franusich for Virginia Tech. — Nisha Duggal, associate professor of virology in the Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology, is one of the few scientists in the United States able to study infections in novel hosts such as wild birds, positioning her expertise in this area to be at the forefront of potential future outbreaks. Photo by Christina Franusich for Virginia Tech.

Associate Professor Nisha Duggal

Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology in the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine
Center for Emerging, Zoonotic, and Arthropod-borne Pathogens

Duggal studies flaviviruses, which are ribonucleic acid (RNA) viruses that include zoonotic infections, such as West Nile, zika, dengue, and Japanese Encephalitis viruses. These are considered some of the world's most dangerous, yet understudied viruses, according to her nominator, Ira Blader, head of the Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology.

Started at Virginia Tech in 2018
Published close to 30 papers in high-impact journals, including mBIO, mSphere, and the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
Collaborates with engineering and math faculty to study the dynamics of viral transmission

"Dr. Duggal aims to identify virus-encoded factors that impact transmission and disease, " Blader said. "Her most recently accepted paper in mBIO is a great example of the impact and creativity of her research."

Bryan Hsu sits on a toliet to represent his gut microbiome research. Photo by Christina Franusich for Virginia Tech. — Bryan Hsu, the Mary Nolen Blackwood Junior Faculty Fellow in the College of Science and assistant professor in the Department of Biological Sciences, studies the microbiome, where he exploring ways in which genetically engineering bacteriophages can be used as nonconventional therapeutics. Another area of his research focuses on improving women's health. Photo by Christina Franusich for Virginia Tech.

Assistant Professor Bryan Hsu

Department of Biological Sciences
Blackwood Junior Faculty Fellow in the College of Science
Center for Emerging, Zoonotic, and Arthropod-borne Pathogens

Hsu and his team have an intense interest in understanding how bacteriophages influence bacterial communities in the gut and how this relates to human health. This work includes using an interdisciplinary approach — microbiology, synthetic biology, and biomaterials — toward understanding and remodeling the gut microbiota.

Started at Virginia Tech in 2020
Awarded a prestigious National Institutes of Health R35/Maximizing Investigators' Research grant as well as a research grant from the Commonwealth Research Board in 2022
Submitted three patent applications and founded two companies
Received a Virginia Tech Launch Proof of Concept Grant for $50,000

"In his own lab, Dr. Hsu has built a highly interdisciplinary research group where chemistry, materials science, and microbiology are effortlessly interwoven to pursue groundbreaking questions," said Daniela Cimini, professor and head of the Department of Biological Sciences, in her nomination letter.

Assistant Professor Joshua Drake

Department of Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Center for Emerging, Zoonotic, and Arthropod-borne Pathogens

Drake and his research team investigate energetic sensing within skeletal muscle as it is essential for functional independence and healthy metabolism. However with aging, flexibility to changes in energy availability decreases.

Started at Virginia Tech in 2019
Earned three prestigious awards:
- National Institutes of Aging (NIA) R00 Career Development Award in 2019
- National Institutes of Health (NIH) R01 in 2023
- NIH/NIA K02-Independent Scientist Award in 2025, the first K02 award to Virginia Tech in 20 years
Fosters inter-university collaborations, including with the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, Department of Neurology at University of Kansas Medical Center, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison

"Dr. Drake's work has the potential to identify decline in neuromuscular function as a pre-clinical identifier for Alzheimer's disease, which, if successful, could have significant implications for the development of early interventions to treat one of the most significant and costly diseases facing our country," Dean Mario Ferruzzi of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences said in his nomination letter.