Faculty Research News

Shijun Zhang, Ph.D., a professor in the School of Pharmacy, is pioneering drug discovery research focused on an essential component of the immune system. (Christopher Kendall)

Alzheimer’s, antennas and AI are highlighted in VCU faculty research receiving new Commercialization Fund awards

Feb. 19, 2025

Five projects are selected in the latest round of funding that helps bring campus innovation to the marketplace.

School salad bars encourage kids to make healthier choices, according to new VCU research. (Getty Images)

School salad bars raise fruit intake among kids and benefit economically diverse schools, VCU researchers find

Feb. 13, 2025

Their latest study, centered on a Virginia school district, adds to evidence that salad bars are encouraging healthier dietary choices in the school cafeteria.

Daniel Morales, an assistant professor of history, examines the creation of transnational migratory networks across Mexico and the United States in the 20th century in his new book. (Photos contributed by Daniel Morales)

VCU author investigates U.S.-Mexico migration in the early 20th century – and its enduring legacy

Jan. 23, 2025

In his new book, history professor Daniel Morales examines how large-scale movement became rooted in both countries’ socioeconomic fabric.

Ka Un Lao, Ph.D., is the first recipient at VCU to receive CAREER award recognition from the NSF’s Chemical Theory, Models and Computational Methods Program. (Contributed image)

Chemist Ka Un Lao receives prestigious National Science Foundation honor for early career faculty

Jan. 22, 2025

The CAREER award recognizes his innovative research that could boost clean energy and other fields.

Fantasy Lozada has received the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the highest honor given by the federal government to those early in their careers. (Kevin Morley, Enterprise Marketing and Communications)

VCU researcher Fantasy Lozada receives early career honor from U.S. government

Jan. 17, 2025

The psychology professor, who is exploring emotional development among African American youth, has been honored with the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers.

A new study shows that students at schools with salad bars have healthier dietary intake compared with students at schools without. (Getty Images)

Salad bars in school cafeterias boost students’ dietary quality, new VCU study finds

Dec. 16, 2024

Researchers compared before-and-after photos of student lunches in a Virginia school district.

Outstanding Faculty Award recipients Fadi Salloum, Ph.D., a professor of physiology and biophysics, and Xuewei Wang, Ph.D., an associate professor of chemistry. (File photos)

Professors win state’s Outstanding Faculty Award

Dec. 16, 2024

Fadi N. Salloum, Ph.D., a professor in the School of Medicine, and Xuewei Wang, Ph.D., a chemistry professor in the College of Humanities and Sciences, are among 12 faculty members honored from across Virginia this year.

Psychology professor Bryce D. McLeod, Ph.D., was awarded a four-year, $1.8 million grant from the National Institute of Mental Health to study youth mental health treatment. (Getty Images)

VCU professor Bryce McLeod receives $1.8M federal grant for research into youth mental health care

Dec. 12, 2024

The psychology researcher’s study will delve into measurement-based care and how clinicians deliver it.

Installation view of “Virginia & the Vietnam War” exhibit guest-curated by VCU history professor Emilie Raymond. (Photo provided by the Virginia Museum of History & Culture)

Museum exhibition curated by VCU’s Emilie Raymond presents multifaceted picture of Virginia and the Vietnam War era

Nov. 26, 2024

At the Virginia Museum of History & Culture, the history professor brings together narratives and objects that tell a wide-ranging story of veterans, families, refugees, activists and others.

Massimo Bertino, Ph.D., a professor in the Department of Physics at the VCU College of Humanities and Sciences, is the first physicist to be named Innovator of the Year in the 17-year history of the award. (Photo: Karl Steinbrenner)

VCU Innovator of the Year is ‘proof of pathway’ to success for physicists

Nov. 22, 2024

Massimo F. Bertino is the first physicist to receive VCU’s highest honor for faculty researchers.