Student Research News

A year-end review of students and alums who earned prestigious scholarships through the National Scholarship Office

Nov. 11, 2024

Recipients represent a variety of fields and backgrounds, and their scholarships will provide invaluable opportunities to deepen their studies, gain new perspectives and grow in their fields.

VCU student Anirudh Mepperla (seated) and Kirk Richardson, associate professor in the Department of Focused Inquiry, with one of the nap pods recently installed on the fifth floor of Grace E. Harris Hall. (Thomas Kojcsich, Enterprise Marketing and Communications)

The bearer of good snooze: Undergrad’s research project is behind the new nap pods on campus

Oct. 30, 2024

Anirudh Mepperla and his Focused Inquiry professor, Kirk Richardson, put classwork into action.

Hope Ward’s work as a professional actor has inspired her research as a Ph.D. student at VCU. (Kevin Morley, Enterprise Marketing and Communications)

How I found my research: Hope Ward studies paths to more equitable actor training programs

Oct. 23, 2024

Ward, a Ph.D. student, actor and director, finds inspiration in theater but also recognizes where it needs closer study and a commitment to marked improvement.

Moira Neve, a VCU graduate student in English, said their current research project has helped them develop a more complicated understanding of time and history. (Kevin Morley, Enterprise Marketing and Communications)

How I found my research: Moira Neve studies visions of a queer utopia as described in an early 20th-century journal

Oct. 9, 2024

Neve said, 'I love the feeling of being in my own niche corner of this larger literary tradition, sifting through the archives only to arrive at new surprises every day.'

Aditya Kotha, a senior at VCU, researches alternative and affordable treatments for inflammatory immune disorders. (Thomas Kojcsich, Enterprise Marketing and Communications)

How I found my research: Aditya Kotha is exploring if some medications can be repurposed to treat other ailments

Sept. 25, 2024

Kotha, a Goldwater Scholar, hopes that his research in VCU’s Ryan Immunology Lab will one day help ‘improve and advance patient care.’

VCU alum Anna Carter digitally scans the last Genuine Smithfield Ham during a trip to the Isle of Wight County Museum. (Photo provided by Bernard Means)

Nothing ham-handed about this project: VCU helps digitally preserve the last Genuine Smithfield Ham

Sept. 17, 2024

Bernard Means of the Virtual Curation Laboratory and his summer field school students hit the road to scan a serious – and slippery – hunk of Virginia history.

Aleah Nguyen pursued her interest in pediatric cancer research this summer through the Honors Summer Undergraduate Research Program. (Contributed image)

Undergrad Aleah Nguyen embraces the chance ‘to write my own story’ in pediatric cancer research

Aug. 13, 2024

The rising junior in VCU’s Honors College participated in a summer program that paired her with a School of Medicine researcher.

Zachary Hodgen’s lifelong goal of becoming a doctor has led him to a research lab at the University of Virginia this summer where he is researching worms that might offer insight into human biology. (Contributed photo)

Pre-med student Zachary Hodgen is examining what worms can tell us about the aging process

July 25, 2024

In an internship at a lab at UVA, Hodgen has developed a love of research and gained new insights into the medical field he one day hopes to join.

Student Tamara Eddy learned canoe skills on the third day of Virginia Commonwealth University’s Footprints on the James class this summer. Sitting in the front of a canoe, Eddy ran one of her first white water rapids at Powhite Ledges. It can be seen upstream from the Powhite Parkway. The image was taken with a GoPro mounted on the bow of the boat. (Photo: James Vonesh)

Footprints on the James continues to make a deep impression on VCU students

July 10, 2024

With the river as a classroom, the monthlong experiential learning program marks a decade of combining undergraduate research, teamwork – and plenty of paddling.

Skye Thurston, a senior majoring in mechanical engineering and physics, was among the student researchers to feature their work at two recent poster symposiums. (Photo by Dina Weinstein, Enterprise Marketing and Communications)

Hundreds of posters reveal one compelling story of VCU student research

May 7, 2024

Undergraduate and graduate symposiums, part of annual VCU Research Weeks, highlight projects that touch on an array of disciplines, notable history and scientific potential.