Biomedical and Translational Sciences is ma
de up of 45 basic scientists who contribute to the educational, research and administrative missions. Twenty faculty members focus primarily on developing and expanding research programs. These faculty members are organized into four divisions:
- Woman & Child Health
- Tumor Biology
- Cardiopulmonary & Metabolic Diseases
- Neurological Sciences
Research opportunities
The research programs investigate the mechanisms underlying diseases such as infertility, high-risk pregnancy, cardiac muscle dysfunction and injury, hypertension, diabetes, obesity, epilepsy, sleep and traumatic stress disorders and various cancers (breast, prostate and pancreatic), atherosclerosis, pulmonary fibrosis, benign prostatic hyperplasia as well as HIV and other pathogens. These issues are global concerns but also significantly impact our local communities, particularly underrepresented minorities.
Faculty also collaborate with a radiation oncology researcher whose program, funded by NASA, to examine the impact of ionizing radiation on aspects of behavior, fertility and cognition as well as sleep. In addition, there are opportunities to collaborate with an NIH-funded program that examines protein-protein interactions using cryo-electron microscopy.
Research support
The research programs in each division receive funding from multiple external sources, including the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Defense, the American Heart Association and local funding sources like the Commonwealth Health and Research Board.
The research is supported by Macon & Joan Brock Virginia Health Sciences at Old Dominion University′s state-of-the-art core facilities, which include proteomics, genomics, molecular biology, flow cytometry, ultrasound imaging and a biorepository.
