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Research
Discover the many great research opportunities VCU School of Medicine has to offer.
Below are several areas of Basic Laboratory Research that VCU School of Medicine supports.
Strengths are in behavioral and molecular studies of central nervous system agonists and antagonists of receptors for cannabinoids, opiates, nicotine, and alcohol as well as the identification of genes involved in addiction.
Ph.D. and Master's degrees are awarded in Pharmacology and Toxicology, and Human and Molecular Genetics. An Institutional Training Grant supports pre- and postdoctoral students doing research in this area. Basic research is conducted in the Center for Drug and Alcohol Studies, an NIH Center that is part of the Institute for Drug and Alcohol Studies. Investigators are located primarily in the following Departments:
Strengths are in immediate hypersensitivity, mast cell biology, tumor immunology, T cell biology and cytokine signaling.
The Departments of Microbiology and Immunology, and Biochemistry and Molecular Biology award advanced degrees to students doing research in this area. An Institutional Training Grant supports predoctoral students. Faculty are in the following Departments:
Strengths are in therapy of hematologic malignancies, cell signaling, cell response to radiation, epigenetic control of hematologic processes, cancer immunology and cancer genomics.
The faculty performing research in this area are members of the Massey Cancer Center and most have their laboratories in the new Goodwin Research Building. Two Institutional Training Grants support pre– and postdoctoral students doing research in this area. Students who work with these investigators can get degrees in the following Departments:
In addition to the Departments listed above that grant Ph.D. degrees, faculty have their primary appointments in the following Departments:
Strengths are in cell signaling in cancer and bacterial cells and, in particular, in the role of lipids in cell signaling.
Students doing research in this area can get Ph.D. and Master’s degrees in:
An Institutional Training Grant supports postdoctoral students doing research in this area. In addition to the Departments above, faculty doing research in this area are also in the following Departments:
Strengths include the entire nervous system, enteric ion channels, hepatic and gut cholesterol metabolism and hepatic steatosis. An Institutional Training Grant supports postdoctoral students. Advanced degrees are awarded in:
Faculty performing research in this area are also in the Department of:
Strengths in this area include glial cell biology, neural plasticity and circuits, traumatic brain injury, substances of abuse, cellular and genetic basis of behavior and neurological disease, and neurodegeneration.
A Ph.D. degree in neuroscience is awarded in this discipline. The Departments of Pharmacology and Toxicology and Anatomy and Neurobiology have Institutional Training Grants (T32) that supports pre-doctoral students. The integrated program is directed by John W. Bigbee, Ph.D., and involves faculty from the following departments:
In addition to getting a Ph.D. in neuroscience, students can get a master’s or Ph.D. degree in:
Strengths are in the pathogenesis of infectious diseases, staphylococcal infections, vaccine development and evaluation, microbial genomics and the resistance of pathogens to antiinfective agents.
Students can obtain Ph.D. and Master’s degrees in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology. An Institutional Training Grant (T32) supports both predoctoral and postdoctoral students. Faculty doing research in this area are in the following Departments:
Strengths include the molecualar basis of preeclampsia, regulation of steroidgenesis, the genetic basis of polycystic ovary syndrome, mechanisms of fetal membrane rupture, the molecular basis of sperm motility and folliculogenesis. Advanced degrees are awarded in:
Faculty doing research in this area are also in the Departments of:
Below are the areas of clinical and translational research supported by VCU School of Medicine
CCTR is an incubator for all clinical research to be performed in the five schools on the MCV Campus. VCU has received an NIH Planning Grant to develop the Center and formulate curricula for advanced degrees (both Master's and Ph.D.) in Clinical and Translational Research.
Clinical Research Programs in the School of Medicine include:
The Institute for Women's Health sponsors multidisciplinary research into women's health and sex/gender issues and has received federal funding to support these studies. The following are examples of the research supported by these grants:
Postdoctoral scholars are an essential component of the research program at Virginia Commonwealth University. The Office of Postdoctoral Services (OPS) was established in the summer of 2007 in recognition of the important role postdoctoral scholars fulfill within the university.
The goal of the OPS is to support postdoctoral training at VCU by:
For more detailed information see VCU’s Office of Postdoctoral Services.
The VCU Institutional Research and Academic Career Development Award is a unique three-year postdoctoral program designed to train fellows in biomedical research and in teaching. IRACDA is funded by the National Institutes of Health/National Institute of General Medical Sciences, and combines a traditional mentored postdoctoral research experience with an opportunity to develop teaching skills through formal pedagogic training and mentored assignments at minority-serving institutions. The program facilitates the progress of postdoctoral candidates toward research and teaching careers in academia. Other goals are to provide a resource to motivate the next generation of scientists at minority-serving institutions, and to promote linkages between research-intensive institutions and minority-serving institutions that can lead to further collaborations in research and teaching.
Eligible applicants must hold a Ph.D. or M.D. and must complete the degree before starting the program. IRACDA trainees must be U.S. citizens, permanent residents or non-citizen nationals. Proof of citizenship status or resident status will be required before the start of the program.
Interested applicants should visit the Center on Health Disparities' website for the IRACDA program for more information and submitting an application.
Applicants should submit their curriculum vitae, a statement of career goals, graduate transcripts and three letters of reference. Applications open on November 15. The priority deadline is April 1, but applications will be accepted at any time. A successful candidate must demonstrate an interest in teaching, excellence in research and an interest in increasing diversity in the biomedical sciences workforce.
IRACDA fellows will have a research mentor at VCU and a teaching mentor at a partner university: Virginia Union University, Virginia State University or Elizabeth City State University.
For questions or inquiries, please contact COHDTraining@vcu.edu
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