Featured News
Every day College of Health Professions students, alumni, faculty and staff do extraordinary things. Read more about our latest achievements below.
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.
‘I can still do the things I want to do’
How VCU OT students helped a young man return to the water
VCU researcher leads interdisciplinary NIH-funded effort to build fairer measures of value for Alzheimer’s drugs
As the federal government prepares to negotiate prescription drug prices for the first time, a VCU College of Health Professions researcher is leading an effort to determine whether current methods for judging the “value” of new Alzheimer’s treatments are accurate — and whether they disadvantage vulnerable older adults.
CHP simulation lab upgrades raise the bar for PT and OT training
When they stepped into the simulation lab on the second floor of the College of Health Professions this fall, physical and occupational therapy students found it had undergone considerable changes. Thanks to a $108,000 allocation from the Higher Education Equipment Trust Fund, it now features a more immersive, hands-on training environment that reflects the evolving demands of modern health care.
Here is how VCU plays an unparalleled role in training Virginia’s health care workforce
The state’s top producer of health sciences graduates is treating the critical need for more providers. (VCUHealth News)
