A new Metabolic Research Laboratory will be ready in early 2021 and will allow faculty and students in the Virginia Tech College of Agriculture and Life Sciences to conduct research that addresses current and emerging issues in the animal industry.

On Nov. 7, the One Health Working Group, based in the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, held its annual One Health Case Competition in conjunction with International One Health Day, which falls on Nov. 3 every year. Because of COVID-19 restrictions, this year’s event was held virtually on Zoom.

Funded by the Fralin Life Sciences Institute and Virginia Agricultural Experiment Station, 10 interdisciplinary research teams were awarded team-building pilot grant awards to tackle some of these complex zoonotic and vector-borne emerging infectious disease problems.

“To me, all this says that traditional Thanksgiving celebrations with extended families coming together have the potential to cause substantial harm," says Virginia Tech biostatistician Ron Fricker.

Accommodating the relocation and expansion of the oncology service from the Veterinary Teaching Hospital in Blacksburg, the brand-new Animal Cancer Care and Research Center is a vital part of the Virginia Tech Carilion Health Sciences and Technology Campus in Roanoke, Virginia.

A dual-degree graduate of the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, Dodd continued a family legacy of service when she commissioned in the U.S. Army Veterinary Corps.

Veterinary medicine alumnae Cindy Driscoll ’87 and Karen Meidenbauer ’16 received Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine’s Lifetime Achievement Alumni Award and Outstanding Recent Alumni Award, respectively.

Instead of presenting in front of a Moss Arts Center audience, this year’s Nutshell Games competition will be moving to a first-ever virtual format. You can watch 29 graduate student researchers present their research on Saturday, Nov. 7. Did we mention that they have only 90 seconds to present?

The new program offers graduate students the opportunity to get involved in research as diverse as SARS-COV-2 reverse genetics, treating microbial contamination in drinking water, and reducing mosquito-borne diseases.

The new program will give undergraduates a competitive advantage when applying for international service opportunities.