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2025 MERC Annual Report
Get PDFThis is the annual report of the Metropolitan Educational Research Consortium (MERC) at Virginia Commonwealth University for the 2024-2025 academic year. It includes vignettes depicting MERC activities in the past year that align with each of its five principles: research, relevance, rigor, multiple perspectives, and impact. It concludes with a discussion of MERC\u27s commitment moving forward
Virginia Commonwealth University Undergraduate Bulletin (2025)
Get PDFUndergraduate bulletin for Virginia Commonwealth University for the academic year 2025-2026. It includes information on academic regulations, degree requirements, course offerings, faculty, academic calendar, and tuition and expenses for undergraduate program
Physiological Responses and Plant Trait Interactions with Coastal Dune and Swale Development
No full textVegetation is crucial to coastal ecosystems experiencing climate change and storm-induced disturbance. Plant species interact with the physical environment and are considered “ecosystem engineers.” Sand dunes and barrier islands are at the forefront of climate change impacts as they are barriers that protect landward habitat and communities. Nature based solutions are utilized to protect infrastructure on developed coastlines. Understanding how dominant plant species interact with and alter the physical environment enhances our understanding of the mechanisms of change and consequences to the system. The goal of this research was to quantify physiological and functional trait differences in dominant species found in dunes and swales along the US mid-Atlantic coast to inform species distributions, interactions with the biotic and physical environment, and responses to temperature warming. A mixture of field studies, a field experiment, and growth chamber studies were used to disentangle the morphological and physiological differences between dominant species and how each is affected by or shapes the surrounding environment. Results here find significant species differences in dune morphology, root trait morphology, and physiological limitations. Dune vegetation is changing with a warming climate, which will change the erosion resistance of the dune systems. The final research chapter documents how expanding shrubs alter the species composition along the shrub edge relative to former grassland communities. This research documents how changes in species composition observed in coastal grasslands and dune systems are due to the physiological and functional traits of dominant species. Species impact the physical landscape by altering dune shape/size, modifying microclimate, and affecting resource availability (i.e., water, light, nutrients). Differences in how species and their traits affect the landscape may shift in response to climate warming. Our findings can inform models of dune and barrier island evolution to predict future response of these systems to climate change
Structure-Activity Relationship of Quinazoline Derivatives at OCT3 and PMAT
No full textLow-affinity, high-capacity monoamine transporters OCT3 and PMAT serve as secondary clearance mechanisms for dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine, yet structure-activity relationships for these transporters remain poorly characterized. This study evaluated twelve synthetic quinazoline derivatives for inhibitory activity at human OCT3 and PMAT using fluorescent APP+ uptake assays in stably transfected HEK293 cells. Two complementary modification strategies were employed: (1) systematic alteration of the nitrogen heterocycle through nitrogen atom removal or substitution, and (2) introduction of diverse substituents at position 6. Results revealed distinct structure-activity relationships between transporters. OCT3 activity was primarily dependent on the position 2 primary amine, with its removal (ASH-037) causing a 3.3-fold decrease in potency, while accommodating a bulky trimethylammonium substitution (ASH-091) without much additional penalty. In contrast, PMAT maintained activity despite loss of the position 2 amine but showed extreme sensitivity to steric bulk at this position, with ASH-091 exhibiting 27-fold reduced potency. Position 6 modifications revealed that both transporters require hydrophobic substitution, with the unsubstituted ADQ showing \u3e10-fold reduced potency at both. Furthermore, both OCT3 and PMAT accepted aromatic (NS-187, IC50= 5.35 μM) and aliphatic (ASH-149, IC50 = 5.92 μM) groups equally, representing a 74-fold improvement over ADQ. These findings establish quinazolines as a privileged scaffold for uptake-2 transporter modulation and reveal that OCT3 utilizes a dominant salt bridge within a spacious binding pocket, while PMAT employs distributed interactions within a more constrained binding site that favors large, hydrophobic groups
The Role of HIF-1 Alpha in Immune Regulation During Atopic Dermatitis
No full textAtopic dermatitis (AD), commonly known as eczema, affects roughly 20% of the global population and 10% of Americans, most of them children. Characterized by chronic itching, inflammation, and skin irritation, AD causes emotional distress, social challenges, and sleep deprivation. Current treatments—such as corticosteroids, antihistamines, and costly biologics—only manage symptoms without addressing the root cause. Araba Abaidoo-Myles’s research investigates the immune mechanisms underlying AD, focusing on the role of a key regulatory protein, HIF-1α (hypoxia-inducible factor 1-alpha). This protein acts as a molecular switch that influences immune cell behavior and inflammation. Using mouse models, her team found that activating HIF-1α through topical treatment with the drug roxadustat significantly reduced AD severity. These findings suggest that targeting HIF-1α could offer a promising path toward curative therapies, moving beyond symptom relief to address the underlying immune dysregulation driving atopic dermatitis
VCU Symphony, video
Get PDFEnsemble VideoThe VCU Symphony PresentsSacred SpacesConducted byDaniel MusicFriday, October 10, 2025 at 7:00 p.m.Sonia Vlahcevic Concert HallW.E. Singleton Center for the Performing Arts922 Park Avenue | Richmond, Virgini
MDMA Enantiomers: an Exploration into 5-HT2AR Necessity in Non-Hallucinogen Induced Frontal Cortex Plasticity
No full textEntactogen 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) has gained increasing attention as a potential psychotherapeutic, particularly for psychiatric disorders that have proven to be resistant to traditional treatments. Despite its growing popularity, the complete neurobiological mechanism of MDMA enantiomers, as well as the role of sex in these mechanisms, remains to be fully elucidated. Current ongoing research implicates agonism of the serotonin (5-HT) 2A receptor (5-HT2AR) and neuroplastic growth in the success of other psychoactive and hallucinogenic pharmacotherapeutics, highlighting the importance of understanding the role that the 5-HT2AR plays in the therapeutic mechanism of action of MDMA enantiomers. The culmination of this dissertation research combines in vivo, ex vivo, and in vitro methodologies to parse out the activity of S(+)-MDMA and R(-)-MDMA as it pertains to sex, the 5-HT2AR, and dendritic spine density of frontal cortex (FC) pyramidal neurons. This work demonstrates that both racemic (+/-) and S(+)-MDMA exhibit partial agonism at the 5-HT2AR as measured by in vitro intracellular calcium (Ca2+) signaling in HEK293 cells stably expressing the 5-HT2AR, while R(-)-MDMA does not. In vivo, 5-HT2AR agonism dependent head twitch response (HTR), was observed in a dose dependent manner following administration of both R(-)-MDMA and S(+)-MDMA via intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection of female mice, however only S(+)-MDMA induced HTR in male mice. Ex vivo, inositol monophosphate (IP1), accumulation in the FC was quantified in both male and female mice, with only S(+)-MDMA inducing significant increase as compared to saline in both sexes. Interestingly, this effect was blocked with the IP administration of serotonin transporter (SERT) blocker fluoxetine one hour prior to administration of MDMA, indicating that the S(+)-MDMA induced IP1 signal observed is a result of the SERT mediated influx of 5-HT. Conversely, IP1 accumulation of selective 5-HT2AR agonist 2,5-dimethoxy-4-iodoamphetamine (DOI) remained unaffected following pharmacological blockade of SERT with fluoxetine. Lastly, S(+)-MDMA was found to significantly increase dendritic spine density in both wild-type (WT) and 5-HT2AR knockout (KO) C57BL/6J male mice, while female mice did not exhibit significant increase for either enantiomer in both WT and KO models. Cumulatively, this work highlights the stereoselectivity of MDMA enantiomers at the 5-HT2AR, as well as further elucidates its sex specific neurobiological mechanism of action
S19, E07: Summer of SCOTUS 2025: Looking Ahead (Aired 7/18/2025)
Get PDFAughie gives listeners a preview of some of the cases that have been accepted for adjudication in the next SCOTUS term, including: Louisiana v. Calais, Landor v. Louisiana Department of Corrections and Public Safety, Hamm v. Smith, Elingburg v. U.S., Chiles v. Salazar, National Republican Senatorial Committee v. FEC, Urias-Orellana v. Bondi, and a combination of two cases, Little v. Hecox and West Virginia v. B.J.P.https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/civil_discourse/1280/thumbnail.jp
Methodological Advances in Genetic Epidemiology: Cross-Population Genomic Discovery and Genetically Informed Causal Models, with Applications to Depression and Smoking
No full textGenetic epidemiology advances our understanding of how genetic factors influence health and disease in the population, including psychiatric and behavioral traits, and helps elucidate the causal processes underlying the observed epidemiological associations. This dissertation focuses on two methodological areas in this rapidly evolving field: cross-population genomic discovery and causal inference, with applications to two particularly burdensome public health problems: depression and smoking.
Genome-wide association studies (GWASs) are extremely valuable in identifying the genomic loci associated with complex traits and have identified hundreds of genomic risk loci for depression. However, as is the case for most human genetic studies, extant GWASs of depression predominantly comprise individuals of European descent, limiting the generalizability to non-European populations and exacerbating health disparities. Moreover, the large-scale genetic studies have primarily examined shallow, minimally defined depression phenotypes, with low specificity to clinical major depressive disorder (MDD). Aim 1 of this dissertation addressed these limitations through improvements in trans-ancestry analytical approaches and data with strictly defined MDD outcomes, identifying novel genomic risk loci for MDD and highlighting the genetic differences between MDD and broad depression. This work provides a publicly shareable analytical pipeline to facilitate inclusive, cross-population genetic studies, helping improve genomic discovery, global representation, and generalizability.
Beyond the genetic etiology of a single trait, understanding the causal processes between co-occurring traits is fundamental to disentangling the causes and consequences of these traits. In observational studies, causality may be inferred using family/twin data, longitudinal data, or the associated genetic loci. However, all three approaches rely on different assumptions that, if violated, can lead to biased results. Aim 2 leveraged recently developed models combining genetic and twin data to avoid some of these assumptions and uncovered unidirectional and bidirectional causal influences between cigarette smoking and epigenome-wide DNA methylation. This study illuminates the role of DNA methylation in both the susceptibility to and the adverse effects of smoking. Longitudinal causal models may fail to detect causation if the time interval is too long between the observed cause and effect. Therefore, Aim 3 combined genetic and longitudinal data to estimate additional shorter-term effects that do not persist for the length of the interval. An application of this new model identified shorter-term effects of alcohol consumption on smoking, along with more persistent reverse effects, which may partly contribute to the concurrent smoking and alcohol consumption. Finally, Aim 4 developed novel models integrating twin and longitudinal data to differentiate between longitudinal confounding and causation, as well as between short-term and lagged effects. Applications of these models indicated bidirectional causal effects between smoking and depression in young adults, suggesting a reinforcing feedback loop in the emotion-smoking comorbidity.
In summary, this dissertation introduces several methodological innovations for genomic discovery and causal inference, contributing to our understanding of the genetic etiology of MDD and the causal links between smoking and its biochemical (DNA methylation) and behavioral (depression and alcohol use) correlates
S20, E03: Federalist 78 (Aired 9/19/2025)
Get PDFAughie and Nia discuss the final Federalist Paper in this series, number 78. In this Federalist Paper, Alexander Hamilton tackles the appointment of judges and justices in the Judicial Branch of the proposed government. Brutus (likely Robert Yates) responds in Brutus papers 11, 12, and 15.https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/civil_discourse/1283/thumbnail.jp