Research

We develop and advance scholarship, research and initiatives to promote health, prevent disease and eradicate health disparities.

Our students and faculty research on an extraordinarily diverse set of topics, including patient safety, chronic illness, integrative health and self-management, interprofessional education, and biomarker discovery. They lead community-based health research initiatives, direct transdisciplinary research collaborations and spearhead nationwide multi-partner projects.

Their findings influence the future of health care delivery, patient care and nursing practices.

Office of Research, Scholarship and Innovation

The Office of Research, Scholarship and Innovation is dedicated to provide resources, opportunities and community for nurse scientists through:

  • Creating a collaborative, productive research and scholarship environment that fosters rapid discovery, dissemination and implementation
  • Providing innovative solutions that promote health, prevent disease and eradicate health disparities
  • Integrating research into the fabric of nursing education to stimulate curiosity, problem solving and discovery earlier in the nursing education process
  • Creating a culture of collaboration across specialties and priorities within the School of Nursing to prepare for a rapidly changing research environment

In addition to supporting nurse scientists with administrative resources, hosting workshops and facilitating mentoring opportunities for researchers, the office is home to the Biobehavioral Research Laboratory and the Langston Center for Innovation in Quality and Safety.

Research News

aerial view of the v.c.u. health campus at night

March 7, 2025

22 VCU health sciences schools and departments rank in top 50 for NIH research funding

Among public institutions, VCU has two units — the School of Dentistry and Department of Family Medicine — in the top 10 of the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research’s 2024 rankings.

hannah khan

March 4, 2025

Doctoral student featured on Patients Come First podcast

Hannah Khan, a VCU School of Nursing clinical research coordinator and doctoral student, discusses how her research on mobility and brain health could transform dementia care by linking movement patterns to cognitive decline.

Phillip Glass, a physics graduate student, shows off pressure sensors on a glove, part of a suite of wearable prototypes to help patients with Parkinson’s disease.

Feb. 11, 2025

From fingers to toes, wearable and vibrating technology from VCU inventors could help Parkinson’s patients and others

The flexible, lightweight glove and 3D-printed shoe sole might restore the brain-body feedback loop that mobility conditions can disrupt.