February 2026 Inside the Institute Newsletter

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

'Brace for impact' , said the flight attendant on my first airline trip, which took place 47 years ago at the age of 14. We often think about impact as being when two objects are forced into contact (like my DC-9 aircraft being slammed down on the end of the runway during takeoff at O’Hare Airport).

In the January newsletter, I envisioned anticipated outcomes I hope to see in 2026 due to impacts resulting from catalyzed efforts of the Fralin Life Sciences Institute (FLSI) community, which are aimed at new approaches moving Virginia Tech life sciences research to new frontiers.

What we see in this month’s newsletter harks back to previous newsletter iterations, in that there are anticipated impacts, but importantly, unexpected and valuable impacts of your efforts that are rippling through the life sciences community at Virginia Tech and beyond.

Your creativity towards fulfilling our mission of improving the human condition is the source of those rippling effects. Your commitment to collaborating with FLSI folks to yield synergistic outcomes underpins our vision of an institute-catalyzed dynamic environment composed of new destinations and unprecedented knowledge at the interfaces of the life and molecular sciences. This month’s newsletter clearly demonstrates these key elements on a variety of fronts.

In parallel with President Sands’ State of the University address last week, it is obvious that innovation is a pillar of the research enterprise catalyzed by the Institute, which is having rippling effects across Virginia Tech and the Commonwealth.

Finally, your selflessness is evident regarding gifts to the Institute on Giving Day 2026. Your contributions moved us to new frontiers from last year, including coveted bonus funding from leaderboard awards and a 5-fold increase in the number of contributors!

We’re on a roll because of you – I anticipate even more expected and new outcomes in 2026.  

Let's go Hokies, and let’s go FLSI!

P.S. February’s edition of the Fralin Fiddler crossword puzzle can be found here; solutions will be posted next month! Navigate here for answers to the January 2026 edition.  

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Come learn about the latest technological advances in flow cytometry. Join Waters Biosciences (formerly BD Biosciences) for a seminar on the BD FACSDiscover A8 Cell Analyzer with BD CellView SpectralFX. Lunch will be provided to registered attendees following the talk. RSVP to Melissa Makris.

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