Research

COVID-19 accelerated how one community-driven partnership is reimagining the way care is provided to vulnerable older adults through inclusion, inquiry and innovation.

COVID-19 upended and refocused research at VCU Health. And the great pivot led to valuable collaboration on new projects that have helped respond to the pandemic.

Faculty play a leading role on the MCV Campus in studying and addressing health disparities, and the effort often bridges research and practice, with an eye for training future professionals to center equity in their work.

Grateful for the years of care he and his family have received at VCU Health, Bruce Gottwald and his wife Nancy recently donated $250,000 to honor several doctors who’ve been the experts they’ve needed at various times in their lives.

The challenges and adaptations of 2020 have reminded us constantly to be grateful for the incredible efforts of our health care workers and the generosity fueling advances in research and patient care.

A new clinical trial begins with funding raised by MCV Foundation board members that will advance research on Vitamin C and how it might be a safe and effective treatment for patients with COVID-19.

“We came home from vacation on a Saturday, and a week later he was on a ventilator,” Carol Fox said.

On March 8, Carol and Carter Fox returned to their home at Westminster Canterbury Richmond, a retirement center, from a trip to Florida.

Smell loss, a key symptom of many COVID-19 patients, is being studied by a national project based at VCU. Recent support from the MEDARVA Foundation has enabled this important research to continue.

This year, unlike any other in memory, has reminded us of the importance of gratitude, both as an act of hope and an acknowledgement of abundance during hardship.

It was a joy this month to provide some good news about the resources in place to support Central Virginia healthcare today and in the future. Our annual endowment report, which outlines the performance of more than 1,700 endowed scholarships, professorships, research and program funds, showed encouraging growth and more scholarships available for aspiring physicians, nurses, dentists, pharmacists, therapists and others.

One inspiring thing during the pandemic has been experiencing the generosity of neighbors, alumni, staff, friends and family of the MCV Campus at VCU Health who wanted to help the frontline healthcare workers and researchers in meeting the unique and evolving challenges of the time.

Philanthropic leadership has given Massey Cancer Centers’ immunotherapy research program a booster shot of more than $6.6 million to support immuno-oncology research, clinical trials and the recruitment and retention of talented physician-scientists.