News

Fralin Biomedical Research Institute officially opens $90 million addition

State and local officials gathered for the grand opening of the newest building at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute in Roanoke.

The COVID-19 pandemic delayed the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the 139,000-square-foot addition, which opened to researchers and staff last summer. The building, located at 4 Riverside Circle on the Virginia Tech Carilion Health Sciences campus, will accommodate at least 400 more researchers, students and staff.

“Today was worth the wait,” Carilion CEO Nancy Agee said. “We’re putting Roanoke on the map for biosciences.”

The $90-million building houses advanced MRI and CT imaging machines, 3D printers, and microscopes that can see down to the nanometer. One researcher said the microscope he uses for his research costs as much as two Lamborghinis — about $750,000.

Researchers are using this technology to study brain formation, cancer cells, heart disease and memory.

The facility is also home to Virginia Tech’s molecular diagnostics lab, which has processed more than 160,000 COVID-19 tests since April 2020. The facility also holds the Virginia Tech Animal Cancer Care and Research Center to provide medical, surgical and radiation oncology treatments to cats and dogs.

Rachana Somaiya, a graduate student at the institute, said she has been studying how circuits in the brain form and how that could connect to solutions for brain-centered diseases. She said her parents, who live in India, never got the opportunity to attend college and she is grateful to be able to study at the institute and in its newest facility.

“I feel thankful to be a scientist studying the stunning complexity of the brain,” Somaiya said.

“It’s because this institute gave me a chance for quality education and more importantly, a welcoming environment to conduct extraordinary scientific research.”

Learn more here.

Recent News

11/30/2023

ATCC Announces Award from NIAID to Consolidate its BEI Resources and NIH HIV Reagent Programs

ATCC, the world’s premier biological materials management and standards organization, today announced a seven-year contract from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), to continue the management of the BEI Resources Program. NIAID has made an initial award of over $21.5 million, with further funding

11/30/2023

Acclinate Collaborates with Merck to Increase Clinical Trial Diversity

Acclinate, an expert in health equity through inclusive research, is collaborating with Merck, known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, to help increase participation by members of the Black/African American community in Merck’s oncology clinical studies. “We’re proud to be working with Merck because being a champion for health equity through inclusive research

11/27/2023

cultivate(MD) Capital Funds LP Announces Investment into Nanochon

cultivate(MD) Capital Funds LP, funds that are focused on investments into early-stage medical device companies with innovative technologies, announced today that they have made a significant investment into Nanochon, a Washington, D.C.—based regenerative cartilage innovator. Nanochon develops solutions utilized by sports medicine physicians to treat active patients requiring cartilage restoration.  Nanochon’s Chondrograft™ replaces lost or damaged