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

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.

Two women sitting across from each other at a table. One woman holds up a watch to show the other woman.

Feb. 7, 2025

How I found my research: Hannah Khan studies the connection between brain health and movement

For Khan, a Ph.D. student in the School of Nursing, a research fellowship when she was an undergraduate ‘changed the direction of my life,’ immersing her ‘in a world of possibilities that I had previously overlooked.’

lana sargent

Nov. 21, 2024

Nurse researcher talks dementia care breakthroughs on With Good Reason

Lana Sargent, Ph.D., RN, discusses breakthroughs in Alzheimer’s treatment and how science is shifting from managing symptoms to transforming cognitive health after diagnosis.