Featured News
Every day College of Health Professions students, alumni, faculty and staff do extraordinary things. Read more about our latest achievements below.
Rewriting the story of heart disease, one immune cell at a time
When most people think about heart disease, they picture clogged arteries and “bad” cholesterol. Michael Lacy thinks about the immune system.
Training the next generation of counselors – and serving Virginia in the process
Each year, thousands of Virginians gain access to vital mental-health and rehabilitation services they might not otherwise receive, thanks to VCU’s Department of Rehabilitation Counseling.
Deans do research, too: College of Health Professions’ Darragh continues work on pediatric stroke rehabilitation trial
Infants and toddlers in intensive therapy are at the center of a groundbreaking national stroke study that has the potential to shape pediatric rehabilitation for children with perinatal arterial ischemic stroke.
VCU innovators create device to mimic real blood flow to surgical training simulations
Recent invention disclosure highlights a pump that could benefit physicians, military medics, educators and, ultimately, patients.
Same class. New stories. 40 years later.
On a beautiful fall weekend, October 18–21, 2025, former Virginia Commonwealth University occupational therapy classmates—most of whom had not seen one another since graduation—returned to Richmond to celebrate the 40th anniversary of earning their Master of Science degree in Occupational Therapy.
VCU OT leads hands-on lymphedema training for practitioners across Virginia
Nearly 1 in 30 people worldwide live with lymphedema, a chronic and often debilitating condition that can complicate daily activities and increase risks for infection. Yet few occupational and physical therapists receive specialized training to identify and address it early.
OT researcher earns pilot grant to uncover how the brain adapts movement
When Brooke Dexheimer, Ph.D., OTD, OTR/L, joined VCU Occupational Therapy, she built her research program around a deceptively simple question: How do we learn to move? Her newest grant – a $75,000 pilot award from the VCU Parkinson’s and Movement Disorders Center – takes that question deeper than ever before, quite literally.
Mader receives VCU Excellence in Pedagogical Innovation Award
Kerry Mader, OTD, OTR/L, CLA, c/NDT, assistant professor in the VCU Department of Occupational Therapy, was named among the inaugural recipients of the university’s Excellence in Pedagogical Innovation Award (EPIA) on September 10.
Bringing new insight to how the brain sees the world
When Timothy Rich, Ph.D., OTR/L, describes spatial neglect — the complex, often hidden cognitive condition he studies — he starts with a simple statement: “Imagine ignoring half your world without realizing it.”
Health care leader Eric Conley urges future health leaders to ‘disrupt with humanity’ in annual Mick Lecture series
It was perhaps no coincidence that Eric Conley opened his lecture about leading with humanity by telling those in attendance about his kids.
