January 2026 Inside the Institute Newsletter

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

Innovo (Latin - to renew, to make an innovation in, to alter)

Exiting my garage one day last week before the winter weather event, I noticed a stored “dormant” plant (I assumed the worst for) had a leaf bud breaking out, indicating its desire to renew itself could just not wait given the favorable conditions of its altered environment.

This newsletter edition is bursting with inspiring stories for the new year, which demonstrate renewed interest in and new outcomes for “vintage” research topics, innovation being at the heart of successes of affiliates in the Institute, and the trajectory-altering impact the Institute community is having on Virginia Tech’s transdisciplinary research endeavors. It is exciting to know these are just the beginning of the outcomes I hope to see in 2026.

All these notable accomplishments — ranging from impactful local and national faculty awards to student success with research team placement, to new infrastructure capabilities in our research facilities — demonstrate the resilience of the FLSI community as it exits a year of tremendous challenges, and importantly, the great potential of your creative approaches in 2026.

Innovation is a key thread in FLSI research, and it is rewarding to see the value Congress places on such endeavors by supporting robust budgets.

In parallel, throughout 2026, FLSI leadership is committed to collaborating across campus and beyond to help culture and catalyze transdisciplinary research, with an eye toward new approaches to bring Virginia Tech life sciences research to new frontiers.

As part of that, I hope to see creative partnerships that yield renewed focus on recalcitrant challenges, enabled by new technologies and integrated approaches, which are facilitated by FLSI, the Office of Research and Innovation, and Provost investments that favorably alter the environment of the FLSI community. Finally, I anticipate Institute leadership fiercely communicating new research from affiliates, which positively impacts the human condition in unprecedented ways.

So, I welcome you to sit back, take in the wonderful Institute news that follows this message, and let those innovative juices flow!

Let's go Hokies, and let’s go FLSI!

P.S. The latest edition of 'The Fralin Fiddler' crossword puzzle is now featured, along with last month's crossword key

Image of Rob McCarley Signature