Neuroscientist recognized for rural representation in child research
The Fralin Biomedical Research Institute’s Brittany Howell, who focuses on infant and child brain development, was named as the 2026 outstanding researcher by the National Rural Health Association.
The National Rural Health Association has named Brittany Howell the recipient of its 2026 Outstanding Researcher Award for her contributions to advancing rural health through large-scale research on early brain and child development.
Howell, an associate professor at Virginia Tech’s Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC in Roanoke, is among this year’s Rural Health Award honorees. The awards recognize individuals and organizations that have dedicated their work to improving the health and well-being of rural communities. The winners were recognized during the association’s 49th Annual Rural Health Conference in San Diego in May.
Howell’s research focuses on understanding how early life experiences shape brain development. She plays a leadership role in the National Institutes of Health-sponsored HEALthy Brain and Child Development Study, the nation’s largest long-term study examining how prenatal and early childhood environments influence neurodevelopment.
Research teams are following children from 5,500 families nationwide, generating insights into how biological, environmental, and social factors affect outcomes.
Howell spent her early childhood with her mother and sister on a hobby farm in rural New Hampshire, where she learned the value of hard work. The research team she built has been a model for ensuring that rural families are represented, contributing to a more comprehensive understanding of health differences across geographic regions. “Decisions based on the data won’t be made without their involvement,” she said.
“Dr. Howell’s work is helping reshape how we understand early brain development,” said Michael Friedlander, director of the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute and Virginia Tech’s vice president of health sciences and technology. “By putting in place a research program that takes extra steps to ensure that everyone is included in large-scale research, she is generating insights that can drive more equitable health outcomes and inform interventions with leading edge biomedical scientific insights where they are needed most.”
The National Rural Health Association is a nonprofit dedicated to improving the health and well-being of rural Americans. Through advocacy, education, communications, and research, the organization works to address the unique challenges facing rural health systems.
The Rural Health Awards are among the association’s highest honors, highlighting leaders whose work has had a significant impact on rural communities nationwide.
Howell was the Virginia Rural Health Association’s 2025 winner of the Charles Crowder Jr. award for advancing rural health in the commonwealth. She also holds an appointment as an associate professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Science in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences.
Howell and her team continue to recruit pregnant women in their second or third trimester from central and southwest Virginia to participate in the study.
