The 2025–26 policy fellows and scholars are (top row, from left) Junghwan Kim and Sophie Wenzel and (bottom row, from left) Lu Zhang and Le Wang.
Four faculty members representing four colleges, one school, and three departments were named fellows or scholars in the +Policy Network’s 2025-26 policy research cohort, each receiving up to $10,000 to turn policy ideas into real-world solutions. 🙌
🔗: brnw.ch/21x0nNv
Faculty members and graduate students from the Institute for Policy and Governance with community partners after preparing Connection to Care backpacks for distribution.
The seed grant, designed to support place-based collaborations between faculty and communities, helped build trusted partnerships that expanded into a coordinated effort to reduce harm and support recovery in the New River and Roanoke valleys. 🙌
🔗: go.vt.edu/ul0Pl
A researcher poses with bamboo. Above him are the words "building with bamboo."
A #VirginiaTech researcher is using design innovation and global partnerships to bring sustainable, multi-story bamboo housing to communities in Ecuador and beyond. 🎍
Learn more ➡️ go.vt.edu/ulTMA
A wild American chestnut in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina.
Using DNA-based predictions, #VirginiaTech researchers show how blight-resistant trees can retain the growth and forest role of the iconic American chestnut. 🌰
🔗: brnw.ch/21x0hwX
Sanjay Vuttarapally poses in the Project Design Studio located on the fourth floor of Newman Library.
Through the University Libraries’ Studios Network, Sanjay Vuttarapally discovered leadership, community, and a new vision for engineering. 🙌
🔗: go.vt.edu/ulTLP
Cannabis affects us differently than alcohol. How do we know when it’s safe to drive? A recent study from #VirginiaTech explores how cannabis use influences real-world driver behavior.
25.02.2026 14:43 — 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
Electra held the first public test flights for its hybrid-electric EL2 ultra-short takeoff and landing technology demonstrator aircraft in Blacksburg last summer.
Electra.aero Inc. is the first aircraft manufacturer to join the Virginia Advanced Air Mobility Smart Airspace Program, which researches low-level routes and instrument procedures for advanced air mobility departures and arrivals. 🛩️
🔗: brnw.ch/21x0fxP
Qi Ye, assistant professor in the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute’s Cancer Research Center — D.C., is part of an emerging field that studies brain cancer progression through a neuroscience lens.
Cancer researcher Qi Ye investigates how brain tumors can hijack other cell systems to promote their own progression. 🧠
🔗:https://brnw.ch/21x0dy3
Isabelle Boyd looks over a world map in Newman Library, recalling the international experiences that continue to shape her perspective.
An abrupt evacuation from Kyiv, Ukraine, changed the course of Isabella Boyd's life. Now at #VirginiaTech, she reflects on how years spent across eight countries continue to shape the way she sees conflict, community, and belonging.
🔗: go.vt.edu/ulSav
New York City's transportation infrastructure includes subway, highways, and airports.
New York City's transportation infrastructure faces a growing risk from sinking land. 🌆
🔗: go.vt.edu/ulLJC
A researcher tends to tomato plants in a greenhouse. It reads, "Inside the greenhouses of the future."
From solar-powered greenhouses to hydroponic tomatoes engineered for flavor, research from #VirginiaTech points to a future where farming happens indoors. 🌱
🔗: go.vt.edu/ulI2b
A graphic shows Torgersen Bridge and reads "Virginia Tech generates $4.7 billion in economic impact across Virginia."
Virginia Tech’s impact is reaching new heights. 👏
Highlighted during yesterday's State of the University, Virginia Tech generated $4.7 billion in statewide economic impact in fiscal year 2025 according to a new report.
🔗: news.vt.edu/articles/2026/02/CM-State-of-University-2026
The same veterinary medicine condition can have dozens of names across different laboratories, regions, and software systems.
A three-person team at #VirginiaTech is the only organization in the world maintaining the standardized terminology that eliminates that ambiguity.
Working together to study the genetic causes of Down syndrome are (from left) Meike van der Heijden, an assistant professor at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC, and Kuangfu Hsiao, a principal investigator at the Center for Neuroscience Research at the Children’s National Research Institute. In addition, Erin Gloag, an assistant professor of biomedical sciences and pathobiology at Virginia Tech, and Andrea Hahn, an attending physician in infectious diseases at Children’s National Hospital, will focus on the underlying causes of persistent lung infections.
Two cross-institutional teams will study brain circuit changes in Down syndrome and persistent lung infections in cystic fibrosis.
🔗: go.vt.edu/ulDWu
With support from a James R. Carter Sr. Memorial Award, Mayd Alsalman will carry out research on how certain cell types in the brain are uniquely vulnerable to Alzheimer’s disease pathology.
A fellowship will help Mayd Alsalman investigate the neurobiology behind memory disorders like Alzheimer’s disease. 🧠
🔗: brnw.ch/21wZZhG
Scientists have found that the signaling between two neurotransmitters can predict whether and how quickly honey bees respond to new information. 🐝
16.02.2026 14:20 — 👍 5 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
Whether advancing satellite communications, developing MIMO antenna arrays, or spearheading spectrum sharing, #VirginiaTech researchers have consistently led the way. Their research continues to influence how we live, work, and connect every day.
12.02.2026 15:50 — 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
Blakely Lockhart, a doctoral student in Virginia Tech’s Translational Biology, Medicine, and Health Graduate Program, received a fellowship to support her research and advocacy. Lockhart works alongside Brittany Howell, associate professor at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC, to investigate how infant nutrition and feeding influence early growth and brain development.
A James R. Carter Sr. Memorial Award is supporting doctoral student Blakely Lockhart as she studies how maternal health and infant nutrition shape early neurodevelopment. 🧠
🔗: brnw.ch/21wZTgl
As a child, Marcella Kelly was fascinated by large cats and other carnivores. Years later, as a professor at Virginia Tech, she recognizes that her research could potentially save an endangered species.
10.02.2026 18:05 — 👍 4 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0
The entire Chesapeake Bay region is sinking.
A recent Virginia Tech-led study reveals how much - and how quickly.
At #VirginiaTech, researchers are using real-time sensors, machine learning, and global partnerships to give water managers forecasts that help safeguard drinking water and ecosystems. 💧
09.02.2026 17:50 — 👍 5 🔁 2 💬 0 📌 0
Students standing behind food they made. Students get to enjoy their meal at the end of every class.
Each semester, hospitality and tourism students gain real-world experience through communication and learning culinary operations. 🍽️
🔗: go.vt.edu/uk0Bs
A #VirginiaTech researcher is transforming how Arctic research is conducted, prioritizing listening to Indigenous leadership to create sustainable solutions. 🧡
06.02.2026 19:19 — 👍 3 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
A Ray A. Gaskins graduate fellowship will support translational biology, medicine, and health doctoral student Md Ruhul Amin as he investigates new heart therapies at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC.
With support from a Ray A. Gaskins graduate fellowship, Md Ruhul Amin is exploring the therapeutic potential of milk-derived exosomes in treating heart attacks and tissue damage.🫀
🔗: brnw.ch/21wZGxl
A James R. Carter Sr. Memorial Award is supporting Yunruo “Trista” Ni’s Alzheimer’s research in Assistant Professor Wynn Legon’s lab at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC.
A fellowship will help support Yunruo 'Trista' Ni’s graduate research at @fralinbiomed.bsky.social as she investigates how low-intensity focused ultrasound can modify brain circuits to treat memory disorders. 🧠
🔗: brnw.ch/21wZCOx
Sahitya Biswas, a graduate student in Virginia Tech's Translational Biology, Medicine, and Health Graduate Program, was the lead author for a study published in EMBO Molecular Medicine. Text reads "Research findings may lead to earlier diagnoses of genetic disorder."
#VirginiaTech researchers discovered an indication hidden in the brain that may help doctors identify children with a rare genetic disease earlier. 🔬
🔗: go.vt.edu/ukk7H
After a traumatic horseback riding accident left Elena Mantis hospitalized and concussed, the saddle felt like a place she wasn’t sure she belonged.
Now, resilience is driving her toward a career as an equine surgeon thanks to a scholarship opportunity.
Amrinder Nain’s team used AI to map the movement of cells, demonstrating the importance of testing in a fibrous environment similar to living tissue.
A group of scientists led by a #VirginiaTech Professor has discovered that the behavior of cells in petri dishes can differ dramatically from those in living tissues. The findings could explain several long-standing medical mysteries. 🧫
🔗: go.vt.edu/uj26Z
#VirginiaTech has climbed in national research rankings in the latest National Science Foundation Higher Education Research and Development Survey. 👏
Learn more. ⬇️
Graduate students fabricating semiconductors are part of the reason why the Bradley Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering's online program was ranked No. 4 nationally by U.S. News & World Report.
#VirginiaTech’s College of Engineering and the university’s Master of Information Technology program received high praise in the latest 2026 U.S. News and World Report Best Online Programs rankings. 🏆
🔗: go.vt.edu/ujPcd
