Featured News
Every day College of Health Professions students, alumni, faculty and staff do extraordinary things. Read more about our latest achievements below.
Healing in the heart of displacement
Associate professor Waganesh “Waggy” Zeleke, Ph.D. conducted Fulbright-funded participatory action research in Ethiopian displacement camps, delivering culturally responsive trauma-healing interventions. Her work focuses on building resilience and empowering communities affected by conflict and forced migration.
CHP faculty member joins national leaders in D.C. to advance brain injury care
Rehabilitation Counseling associate professor Kelli Talley, Ph.D. joined national experts in Washington to shape the future of traumatic brain injury care. The group discussed new research, care models, and strategies to improve outcomes for patients nationwide.
Wilkins: Heart of a PT with vision of a hospital leader
Joe Wilkins is a three-time VCU graduate – two physical therapy degrees and a master's in health administration – who serves as president of St. Francis Medical Center in Chesterfield County. At the December 2024 Commencement, he and wife Tonya Parris-Wilkins received the Edward A. Wayne Medal, which celebrates alums who have made outstanding contributions to the university. Their support includes establishing the Parris-Wilkins Scholarship, which has supported 18 students in achieving their educational goals since 2012.
Paving the way for new therapies for inherited muscle disorders
Department of Physical Therapy assistant professor Michael Kiefer, DPT, Ph.D. is collaborating with the Center for Inherited Muscle Research to establish outcome measures critical for clinical trials in myotonic dystrophy. His work plays a key role in an ambitious international effort to validate new treatments for myotonic dystrophy, an inherited disorder that takes away muscle strength and movement.
Laboratory manager’s career comes full circle
Colin Thibodeau, M.S. (VCU ’23) serves as the office and laboratory manager for the Medical Laboratory Sciences department where he once trained, supporting students by preparing specimens, managing supplies and ensuring labs run smoothly on a daily basis.
From battlefield to X-ray suite: Joe McCampbell’s mission at VCU
After retiring from a 21-year U.S. Army career, Joe McCampbell was drawn to radiation sciences through an aptitude assessment. Today, he applies his leadership, teaching experience and adaptability to support patients as a student in the Radiation Sciences program.
Pioneering a rapid test for rare form of meningitis
A team led by William Korzun, Ph.D., and graduate Stephen Friedrichs in the Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences has developed a liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC‑MS) test that can detect the presence of Naegleria fowleri, a brain-invading amoeba causing Primary Amoebic Meningoencephalitis (PAM). This rapid, cost-effective diagnostic tool has the potential to dramatically improve patient outcomes in a disease where the mortality rate exceeds 96%.
Student pro bono PT clinic cares for community
The Physical Therapy student-run CARES clinic provides free rehabilitation services to uninsured Richmond residents. The clinic offers individualized, compassionate care while giving students valuable real-world experience.
Transfusion Services Summer Scholars aims to grow future lab professionals
A new summer program aims to build the next generation of lab specialists by giving students a front-row seat to a critical and often overlooked area of health care: Transfusion medicine.
Interdepartment collaboration expands student perspective on aging and care
A collaboration between the Radiology Sciences’ Timmerie Cohen, Ph.D. and Gerontology’s Jenny Inker, Ph.D. is examining and hopes to ultimately shift the attitudes of Radiation Sciences students toward aging and older adults. Their work represents some of the first research to directly address ageism across health care professions.
