VCOM Clinical, Biomedical, and Educational Research

The research mission of the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine (VCOM) is to advance scientific knowledge to improve human health. VCOM strives to foster a culture of faculty growth and institutional excellence through support for faculty and student research, innovation, and scholarly work. Through the College’s research programs, multidisciplinary biomedical, clinical, educational, and community-based research is conducted.

• VCOM’s clinical research program focuses largely on behavioral medicine, disease prevention, health education, and the diagnosis and treatment of various diseases, specifically those prevalent in underserved and rural areas of southern Appalachian states.

• VCOM’s biomedical research program focuses on cancer research, neuroscience including neurological injury and neurodegenerative disease, musculoskeletal research including osteopathic neuro-musculoskeletal treatment (NMM) and the benefits of osteopathic manipulation, and genetics and personalized prevention and treatment.

• Educational research at VCOM encompasses the development of best practices to help students excel in their academic work, including advancing innovative educational technology and learning tools including medical simulation, as well as new teaching methods and measurement/assessment tools.

• Population Health research and community outreach programs at VCOM include assessment of environmental health impacts and healthcare disparities, as well as strategies for disease prevention, health maintenance, and healthcare access in underserved communities both at home and abroad. VCOM performs real-time, geographically distributed population health surveillance research using CREDO (Clinical Rotation Evaluation and Documentation Organizer), a cloud-based system to monitor population health.