Felicia Spencer
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Category: research Bed bugs are most likely the first human pest, new research shows , articleA team led by two Virginia Tech researchers compared the whole genome sequence of two genetically distinct lineages of bed bug, and their findings indicate bed bugs may well be the first true urban pest.
Date: May 28, 2025 -
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Category: academics Career exploration program cultivates student success , articleA combined 14 graduate students and postdoctoral fellows took part in the Translational Plant Sciences Center's Career Explorations Initiative's annual industry tour, which took place in St. Louis, Missouri, this year.
Date: May 27, 2025 -
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Category: research Flood risk increasing in Pacific Northwest , articleA powerful earthquake combined with rising sea levels could significantly increase flood risks in the Pacific Northwest, impacting thousands of residents and properties in northern California, Oregon, and Washington, according to new Virginia Tech research.
Date: Apr 28, 2025 -
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Category: research Researchers find first evidence of potential bed bug insecticide resistance in gene mutation , articleA study published in the Journal of Medical Entomology detailed how a team of Virginia Tech researchers, led by urban entomologist Warren Booth, discovered a gene mutation that could contribute to their insecticide resistance.
Date: Apr 21, 2025 -
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Category: research Deadly rodent-borne hantavirus is an emerging disease with pandemic potential , articleVirginia Tech researchers recently gained a better understanding of hantavirus by studying its rodent hosts in North America using National Science Foundation data.
Date: Apr 10, 2025 -
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Category: research Genomics Sequencing Center offers personalized research resources , articleOne of several research infrastructure facilities supported by the Fralin Life Sciences Institute, the Genomics Sequencing Center hosts a team of molecular biologists and uses next-generation sequencing technologies that will save researchers time, money, and risk.
Date: Feb 21, 2025 -
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Category: research Cold temperatures promote spread of a bird pink eye pathogen at winter feeders , articleA recent study by two biological science researchers that was published in Ecosphere found that a pathogen for bird pink eye remained viable on bird feeders in winter months much longer than in summer months, without losing any of its severity.
Date: Feb 10, 2025 -
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Category: research Organic collaboration propagates National Science Foundation grant , articleJames Westwoods research of invasive interlopers weeds with multiple long-time collaborations has led to a $1 million National Science Foundation grant to study the use of parasitic plants for a new method of plant genetic manipulation that could enhance food production.
Date: Dec 23, 2024 -
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Category: impact Harvested apple crops tap into sustainability network , articleWhen Associate Professor Susan Whitehead asked for help harvesting apples from her research orchard, she tapped into an established chain of events that provides food security for students and families throughout the New River Valley region.
Date: Dec 05, 2024 -
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Category: research Scientists suggest amping up efforts to mitigate effects of climate change , articleIn an article published in Nature Climate Change, three Virginia Tech Center for Ecosystem Forecasting researchers were among 23 global experts to call for scaling up current near-term iterative ecological forecasting.
Date: Nov 11, 2024 -
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Category: academics Education modules build student and instructor skills , articleFrustrated with a gap of available data science training opportunities for environmental science undergraduate students and instructors, in 2017 Virginia Tech researchers built a new educational program and extended it to other universities.
Date: Oct 25, 2024 -
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Category: research Community embedded ecologist helps bridge gap between researchers and locals , articleHaldre Rogers has been researching the impact of the invasive brown tree snake on the limestone forests of Guam for 22 years. Through this, she has learned the value of working with local and Indigenous people.
Date: Oct 11, 2024 -
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Category: research Researcher receives grant to study and restore tropical rainforest ecology , articleJ. Leighton Reid received a $600,000 National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development Program award to research the restoration of a tropical rainforest in Ecuador.
Date: Oct 09, 2024 -
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Category: research Researcher explores mechanisms behind the antifungal resistant infections to find new curative therapeutics , articleJosé Vargas-Muñiz received a five-year $2 million grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to better understand the role of the septins within the fungus Aspergillus fumigatus when exposed to the antifungal drug caspofungin.
Date: Sep 30, 2024 -
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Category: research Research team discovers molecular mechanism for a bacterial infection , articleDaniel Capelluto and his research team have discovered the mechanism by which the bacterial pathogen Shigella flexneri, the causative agent of dysentery, manipulates molecular activity to assure its survival against its host’s natural defenses.
Date: Sep 19, 2024 -
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Category: research Graduate student’s love of science leads to prestigious national fellowship , articleKaylee Petraccione received a National Institute of Health award to further her research on the molecular mechanisms enabling the Rift Valley fever virus to cause disease.
Date: Sep 17, 2024 -
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Category: impact Restoration Ecology Working Group provides guidance for Town of Blacksburg , articleThe group, based in Virginia Tech's Global Change Center, has been instrumental in helping the town restore Heritage Park to its native ecology.
Date: Aug 23, 2024 -
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Category: impact International scientists converge at Virginia Tech to further plant health research , articleVirginia Tech hosted the International Conference on Plant Pathogenic Bacteria, bringing 250 plant health scientists from 27 countries to Blacksburg for an exchange about the global food chain.
Date: Aug 16, 2024 -
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Category: research Students dive into summer microplastics research experience , articleProfessors Austin Gray and Tina Dura have developed the first microplastics summer research experience of its kind to train the next generation of environmental scientists, with intended ripple effects to impact government policy and help protect ocean ecosystems.
Date: Aug 06, 2024 -
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Category: research Virginia Tech seismologist gets to the core of historic West Coast earthquake , articleTina Dura's research team, which is examining core sediments and diatoms to help reconstruct the seismic history of the Cascadia subduction zone, was featured in a broadcast episode on the Oregon PBS program "All Science. No Fiction."
Date: Jul 18, 2024 -
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Category: research New period product offers progress in women’s health , articleMatter, Hsu and his team have created an eco-friendly, blood absorbent biomaterial that improves the performance of menstrual products. Their work was published in the Cell Press journal.
Date: Jul 10, 2024 -
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Category: impact Programs inspire tomorrow’s scientists today , articleAs an investment institute, the Fralin Life Sciences Institute has been stimulating young minds about science for 16 years through its education and outreach programs geared toward children ages 9-12.
Date: Jun 17, 2024 -
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Category: research Subduction zone splay faults compound hazards of great earthquakes , articleGroundbreaking research has provided new insight into the tectonic plate shifts that create some of the Earth’s largest earthquakes and tsunamis.
Date: May 20, 2024 -
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Category: research Researchers confirm scale matters in determining vulnerability of freshwater fish to climate changes , articlePh.D. student Samuel Silknetter and Associate Professor Meryl Mims recently led a team that explored the influence the spatial extent of research – the geographical coverage of data collected – has on evaluating the sensitivity of fish species to climate change.
Date: May 16, 2024 -
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Category: research Invasive species sound off about impending ecosystem changes , articleA team of researchers led by Grace O’Malley, Ph.D. candidate in biological sciences, and Gabrielle Ripa, Ph.D. student in plant and environmental sciences, have discovered that the silent growth of non-native invasive plants can affect the soundscape of an ecosystem.
Date: Apr 17, 2024 -
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Category: research New center showcases Virginia Tech's strengths in global sustainability , articleCayelan Carey and Quinn Thomas, co-directors of the Virginia Tech Center for Ecosystem Forecasting, are striving to stay ahead of ecological hazards and broadly extending their efforts to encompass partners both home and abroad.
Date: Apr 09, 2024 -
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Category: academics Investigators collaborate to enrich undergraduate research experiences at Virginia Tech , articleDavid Schmale and Shane Ross teamed up with faculty at three minority-serving institutions to offer more students impactful, hands-on undergraduate research experiences.
Date: Mar 19, 2024 -
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Category: academics Graduate students commit to research despite early challenges , articleStudents in the first cohort of the Molecular and Cellular Biology graduate program are preparing to graduate.
Date: Mar 12, 2024 -
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Category: research Novel discovery may benefit severe immune conditions , articleDiscovery of a DNA shift in the innate immune memory of cells may aid in the fight against one of humans’ most deadly foes – sepsis.
Date: Mar 11, 2024 -
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Category: research Researchers receive National Science Foundation grant for long-term data research , articleThe five-year grant will support three Virginia Tech researchers working to help better predict the future of ecosystems.
Date: Feb 26, 2024 -
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Category: research Low oxygen in lakes may breathe new life into conservation efforts for water quality , articleAbigail Lewis and her international team analyzed 656 lakes across five continents to provide empirical evidence supporting a long-held theory regarding low deep-water oxygen concentrations, or anoxia.
Date: Feb 15, 2024 -
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Category: research New center director eyes burgeoning growth over the next three years , articleDavid Schmale of the Translational Plant Sciences Center has plans to focus on growth in three main areas: broadening collaboration within and outside of the university, enhancing workforce development opportunities, and harnessing pathways for real-world impact.
Date: Dec 14, 2023 -
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Category: research A new approach to creating an ancient tree of life , articleCarolina Martinez-Gutierrez and Frank Aylward have created a genetic tree that establishes a timeline for when 13 clades – the lineages of bacteria and archaea – colonized in the ocean.
Date: Dec 14, 2023 -
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Category: impact Global change interdisciplinary Ph.D. program trains the next generation of leaders , articleGraduates of the Interfaces of Global Change Interdisciplinary Graduate Education Program, which is celebrating its 10th year, return to the Blacksburg campus to share their experiences and offer advice to current students in the program.
Date: Nov 13, 2023 -
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Category: impact Graduate students vie for top prizes in science fair with a twist , articleElementary students judged Virginia Tech graduate students' research presentations at the Flip the Fair event held at the Melrose Branch Library in Roanoke.
Date: Oct 17, 2023 -
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Category: research Translational Plant Sciences Center sows seeds for new research , articleThe center recently awarded four projects seed grants of up to $10,000 a year for up to two years to support the development of innovative research leading to extramural support.
Date: Sep 26, 2023 -
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Category: research Not all viruses are harmful , articleAn assistant professor of biological sciences, Bryan Hsu received a five-year $1.9 million Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences to develop a model to test the role of viruses attacking bacteria within the gut microbiome.
Date: Sep 22, 2023 -
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Category: impact U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science director to speak at distinguished public lecture series , articleAsmeret Asefaw Berhe will speak on Oct. 3 at 5 p.m. at the Moss Arts Center.
Date: Sep 22, 2023 -
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Category: research Researchers cross international boundaries to predict better water quality , articleAwarded a $250,000 National Science Foundation grant, Virginia Tech researchers Cayelan Carey and Quinn Thomas have teamed up with researchers at three Australian universities to lay the foundation for a water quality forecasting center that can be scaled for all bodies of water.
Date: Sep 22, 2023 -
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Category: research Undergraduate students SURF into research this summer , articleNine undergraduate students were paired with Fralin Life Sciences Institute-affiliated faculty mentors for the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship program, a 10-week training program designed to give motivated undergraduates full-time research experience that mirrors real-world graduate work.
Date: Sep 13, 2023 -
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Category: research Virginia Tech has seismic role in earthquake center , articleThe National Science Foundation has awarded a $15 million grant over five years for the establishment of the Cascadia Region Earthquake Science Center, and Tina Dura is the principal investigator for Virginia Tech.
Date: Sep 08, 2023 -
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Category: research Virginia Tech is fertile ground for a new rural environmental health training program , articleA $500,000 institutional research training grant from the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences will support Virginia Tech’s new Rural Environmental Health Ph.D. Fellowship Program by providing a two-year assistantship for six qualifying graduate students during the next five years.
Date: Sep 05, 2023 -
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Category: research Researchers prepare for the next earthquake in Oregon , articleThe Cascadia Subduction Zone fault line last experienced an earthquake in 1700. Some 300 years later, geoscientist Tina Dura and her team are taking core samples to reconstruct the seismic history of the coastal region to help its residents prepare for the next earthquake and resulting tsunami and flooding.
Date: Aug 15, 2023 -
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Category: impact Innovative entrepreneur melds personal and professional lives to mentor students , articleAs the director of strategic initiatives for the Fralin Life Sciences Institute, Kiyah Duffey knows how to cultivate creativity, nurture growth, and implement innovative ideas. in her spare time, she's shared that knowledge with students in the Creativity and Innovation District.
Date: Aug 04, 2023 -
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Category: research Technology-enabled water surveillance and control project earns grant , articleAtop a new wave of support from the Fralin Life Sciences Institute, Peter Vikesland is leading a research team in creating wireless sensor networks to survey microbial threats to water quality and to enable operational control and provide real-world feedback for public transparency.
Date: Jul 19, 2023 -
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Category: research Collaborative seed grants nurture high-impact social and environmental research , articleEach year, the Fralin Life Sciences Institute’s Global Change Center and the Institute for Society, Culture, and Environment allocate seed funding program to support researchers who are interested in tackling major global change issues from both biophysical and sociological perspectives.
Date: Jun 23, 2023 -
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Virginia Tech Advantage Research faculty invested in economics of students success , articleChanit'a Holmes cares so much about her students that her research focuses on how to best help them succeed in college. Holmes recently completed two studies exploring the success weekly electronic feedback and support might have on students’ academic success.
Date: Jun 22, 2023 -
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Category: research Fralin Life Sciences Institute initiates long-term seed investments for future centers , articleTwo research teams have been awarded the institute’s first center planning grants. The inaugural effort will provide a significant investment over three years in support of affiliated faculty’s quest to pursue federally funded, prestigious multi-million dollar center or program project grants.
Date: Jun 08, 2023 -
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Category: research Seed funding enables researchers to address environmental and societal challenges , articleFor its signature seed funding program, the Institute for Society, Culture, and Environment has awarded up to $30,000 each to seven interdisciplinary teams.
Date: May 03, 2023 -
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Category: research Whole Health Consortium expands traditional focus of health and well-being research and practices , articleWeaving together research, education, and practice, Virginia Tech faculty and community members are developing a consortium focused on the transformative concept of whole health.
Date: May 03, 2023 -
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Category: research A personal perspective on policymaking during the COVID-19 pandemic , articleLinsey Marr, the Charles P. Lunsford professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, recounted her experiences interacting with governmental and health policymakers as the guest speaker for this year’s Science, Technology, Engineering, and Policy program.
Date: May 03, 2023 -
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Category: research Lack of access to clean water impacts economic and health disparities , articleAn interdisciplinary research team aims to quantify the economic and health implications of using multiple water sources, such as natural springs and bottled water, when in-home water is not accessible or the quality is questionable.
Date: Apr 26, 2023 -
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Category: research +Policy Network to sponsor half-day virtual symposium on the governance of new and emerging technologies , articleIn a time when technological advancements are breaking new ground in health, artificial intelligence, and transportation, one factor that must be considered yet is often overlooked: the social impact. Virginia Tech faculty will discuss such social implications of emerging technologies in a variety of fields during the Governance of New and Emerging Technologies virtual symposium on April 6 beginning at 9:30 a.m.
Date: Mar 30, 2023 -
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Category: research Spring Forum focuses on new and emerging directions for behavioral and social sciences research , articleChristine Hunter, the acting director of the Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research at the National Institutes of Health, will provide a virtual presentation during the event on March 31.
Date: Mar 20, 2023 -
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Category: research +Policy Fellows program supports new research to improve lives globally , articleRural farmers living in poverty in Zimbabwe and small-scale farmers in Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, and India are the ultimate beneficiaries of +Policy Fellow seed grants awarded to Virginia Tech faculty who proposed research with broad applications and strong policy implications.
Date: Feb 28, 2023 -
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Category: research Transdisciplinary research network addresses policy research and education , articleA new community has emerged as a result of the work of Virginia Tech’s Destination Areas. An outgrowth of the Policy Destination Area, the +Policy Network, reflects the original Destination Area’s mission and expands the breadth of engagement across Virginia Tech.
Date: Feb 16, 2023 -
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Category: research Researchers explore human-centered solutions to environmental grand challenges , articleFinding a solution to challenges such as climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution requires addressing a host of transdisciplinary research and a human-centered approach. Convergence researchers aim to address such large-scale societal problems by working with a broad range of both scientists and stakeholders.
Date: Feb 08, 2023 -
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Category: research Nutshell Games offer a fun speaking competition for graduate research students , articleAre cows afraid of the dark? Are bees OK with weedkiller? Do mothers really know best? These are only a few of the research topics that will be explained as 30 Virginia Tech graduate students compete for $500 in professional development funding in this year’s event.
Date: Feb 02, 2023 -
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Category: research Social science faculty recipients of Institute for Society, Culture, and Environment’s first PREP awards , articleThe institute launched the Preparing your Research for an Extramural Proposal Program this fall with a call for applications. The program helps faculty develop the skills and experience needed to lead projects regarding human, societal, and environmental research.
Date: Dec 20, 2022 -
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Category: impact Fulbright program brings 100 international students to Virginia Tech , articleThe German Fulbright Summer Institute program Communicating across Disciplines was back in person for its “most exciting and robust year,” according to Patty Raun, director for the Center for Communicating Science. Over the summer, 26 German students immersed themselves in American culture and the Virginia Tech campus experience in Blacksburg.
Date: Nov 11, 2022 -
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Category: research Transformative whole health ambassador to speak at Virginia Tech , articleTracy Gaudet, past executive director of the Veterans Health Administration's National Office of Patient Centered Care and Cultural Transformation, will speak at Virginia Tech on Tuesday, Nov. 15, at 2 p.m. in the Fralin Hall Auditorium. Sponsored by the Institute for Society, Culture, and Environment, Gaudet’s presentation is free and open to the public.
Date: Nov 04, 2022 -
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Category: research Researchers probe neural connections for age-related decline , articleTae-Ho Lee and Ben Katz have earned a five-year $3.8 million grant from the National Institute on Aging to study attention networks in the brain with the goal of examining those networks when one is trying to focus in a distracting or stressful environment.
Date: Oct 26, 2022 -
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Category: academics Blacksburg campus institute names liaison in D.C. area , articleThe Institute for Society, Culture, and Environment welcomes Shalini Misra as its new administrative fellow. Misra is an associate professor of urban affairs and planning in the School of Public and International Affairs, which is located in the Virginia Tech Research Center — Arlington.
Date: Sep 20, 2022 -
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Category: research Eminent researchers around the country help launch the new Center for Rural Education , articleImagine a gathering of the most innovative and prominent scholarly researchers who are offering their intelligence, experience, and time. That describes the Rural Education Summit, held at The Inn at Virginia Tech and Skelton Conference Center on Aug. 26, which officially launched the new Center for Rural Education.
Date: Sep 20, 2022 -
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Category: impact Virginia Tech sustainability research impacts retirement community residents , articleThrough seed funding provided by the Institute for Society, Culture, and Environment, Jennifer Russell and her students are working with a retirement company to study how it could increase its sustainability efforts.
Date: Sep 06, 2022 -
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Category: research Now is the time to work on improving cognitive health, Virginia Tech researcher says , articleBen Katz studies executive function — working memory, inhibitory control, and cognitive flexibility — throughout the lifespan. How people stay sharp as they grow older and what happens to the brain during the aging process are questions he contemplates.
Date: Aug 22, 2022 -
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Category: research Scholars program supports research addressing critical human and societal concerns , articleWith up to $30,000 each, the research teams will conduct preliminary studies to make themselves more competitive for external funding from agencies such as the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and other sources of public and private funding.
Date: Aug 01, 2022 -
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Category: research STEP program keynote addresses climate change and policy solutions , articleSolving environmental and societal problems through scientifically backed policy was the focus of the Science, Technology, Engineering and Policy (STEP) keynote seminar featuring Claire Kremen, professor and President’s Excellence chair of biodiversity at the University of British Columbia.
Date: May 31, 2022