Research and Innovation at the College of Health Professions

MLS Students lined up holding equipmentCHP faculty do more than just provide a world-class education in health professions. They also perform groundbreaking research to improve patient outcomes, increase efficiency in healthcare delivery, reduce health disparities, and maximize population and community health. Internal and external funding has enhanced knowledge and spurred discovery in a variety of fields and topic areas including physical therapy treatments, alternatives to ventilators, geriatric workforce enhancement and interprofessional education, abuse in later life, nurse anesthesia training, chaplaincy research literacy and training, physical and mental health rehabilitation, workplace culture, financial consequences of healthcare reform, process improvement initiatives, health informatics, speech assessment, and person-centered care.

New policies and seed funding in the College have led to a growing level of extramural research and scholarly activities supported by funding from a broad range of government agencies and nonprofit foundations such as the National Institutes of Health, Department of Justice, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Defense, Department of Agriculture, the State of Virginia ,American Society for Clinical Pathology, and Commonwealth Transfusion Foundation.

Wide Ranges of Research - Telerehabilitation, TBI and parenting, pain management, prison healthcare, geriatrics in the workforce, nurse anesthesia traineeship, interdisciplinary training, virtual immersive gamingDiverse Sources of Funding from USDA, US Dept of Ed, Dept of Health and Human Services, NIH, VA Dept of Social Services, DCJS, NSF, Commonwealth Transfusion Foundation and Senior Connections

As part of the strategic plan for the College of Health Professions, our goal is to promote research, teaching, and community engagement that impacts health care delivery and health outcomes across Virginia and beyond.

[Aligns with VCU QUEST Themes I, III]

Research Objective: Promote scientific inquiry impacting health care delivery and health outcomes.

  • Build transdisciplinary research models and collaborations with clinical and public health affiliates;
  • Foster the development of research that improves health, rehabilitation, longevity, and quality of life;
  • Expand the role of predictive and decision analytics as a foundation for knowledge generation;
  • Conduct research to understand and effectively address the social determinants of health disparities and health equity;
  • Advance the adoption and integration of evidence into routine health care and public health settings to improve our impact on population and community health; and 
  • Translate and disseminate research findings to subject matter communities.

One VCU Research Strategic Priorities Plan