February 2024 Inside the Institute Newsletter

A Message from Rob McCarley
Executive Director, The Fralin Life Sciences Institute

As we approach a period of time in popular Western culture focused on team activities, I want to draw attention to some of the players in the Institute who have come together on the life sciences court in the research arena and are providing us with a great deal of excitement. Their commitment to transdisciplinary research, education, and engagement—underpinned by partnerships and team science—is only outshone by the synergistic "wins" emanating from their integrated efforts.

As pointed out by Morss and colleagues, interdisciplinary research across the entire translational spectrum requires mutual respect and "full intellectual participation by each contributing field." Such multipartite partnerships between Institute affiliates (and beyond) are taking the life sciences at Virginia Tech to unexplored destinations and frontier intellectual areas, yielding unprecedented discoveries, and creating new knowledge.

We are pleased to share with you vignettes of new people and roles in the Institute, as well as a sampling of recent happenings. Notable are the tremendously successful Institute activities at President Sands' State of the University address highlighting the contributions of the university's four investment institutes; I want to thank all who helped elevate the Fralin Life Sciences Institute stature at this venue. See photo below of stakeholders at the State of the University event, proudly wearing their FLSI "jerseys."

Our newsletter is also more predictable and more exciting than the road to the Final Four. Yet again, the Institute players are consistently hitting the points, from all over the life sciences court.

Let’s go Hokies, and let’s go FLSI!

Around the Institute and Affiliated Centers

Around the Research Facilities

Meet Hannah Egan and Owen Mont, two talented undergraduate researchers working in the GlycoMIP user facility in Steger Hall. Both, under the guidance of Dr. Rich Helm and GlycoMIP laboratory staff, are learning new skills while at the same time, contributing to the productivity of the laboratories and supporting client needs.

Hannah is a senior in the Department of Biochemistry. Her lab work focuses on the characterization of glycomaterials. In the past year, she has learned to operate multiple instruments, including several mass spectrometers and a high-performance liquid chromatography device.  

Owen is a junior studying microbiology in the Department of Biological Sciences. He works on the synthesis of polysaccharides using flow and batch chemistry methods to produce potential glycomaterials.

New Faces and Roles