The Richmond-based Red Gates Foundation has committed $50 million to Virginia Tech’s Fralin Biomedical Research Institute to advance health sciences research at Virginia Tech, one of the university’s largest gifts ever.
“The Red Gates Foundation is committed to funding transformative research that has the potential to make a real difference in the world,” said Jeff Galanti, executive director of the foundation. “The Fralin Biomedical Institute is a world-renowned research institution that pushes the boundaries of what’s possible. We are confident that the institute’s agile research approach, focused on the intersection of science, medicine, engineering and data analytics, will lead to significant advances that will benefit humanity for years to come.”
The Red Gates Foundation was established by the legacy of Hunter Goodwin in 2020. The Foundation’s overarching mission is to effect change by supporting innovative programs and community-led efforts that boldly tackle seemingly insurmountable challenges.
“The Red Gates Foundation’s philosophy is rooted in the recognition that true progress requires more than money alone — it requires innovative thinking, collaborative partnerships, and a commitment to a deep understanding of the unique needs of those we support,” the foundation said in a statement.
“We are grateful for this incredible gift from the Red Gates Foundation, which supports Virginia Tech’s health and biomedical sciences efforts,” said University President Tim Sands. “We are working to significantly increase the impact of our biomedical research, and this gift will accelerate our timeline and help us recruit world-leading researchers to work with us to fight diseases that affect millions of people around the world.”
Sands added, “This is a strong endorsement of the Fralin Biomedical Institute’s rapid growth as one of the nation’s most innovative and productive companies in translational brain and heart research, and its focus on similar innovation in cancer research under the leadership of founding president Michael Friedlander.”
“We are extremely grateful to the Red Gates Foundation and excited to be able to do more to address cancer and brain disorders, two of the biggest categories of health challenges that affect millions of people around the world,” said Friedlander, who is also Virginia Tech’s vice chancellor for Health Sciences and Technology and has led the development of the partnership with the Red Gates Foundation. “This transformative gift will create new opportunities for our already highly successful neuroscience research programs at the Institute and across the Virginia Tech campus. It will also serve as a critical foundational launching pad to grow our cancer research programs and transition our cancer research alliances across Virginia Tech into a stronger, integrated alliance, while also building stronger relationships with our clinical partners at Carilion Clinic and Children’s National Hospital.”
The bulk of the donation will go towards recruiting 14 researchers, primarily focused on cancer, but also neuroengineering and computational neuroscience. One-third of the gift will support six major research projects targeting adult and pediatric cancers and brain disorders. Each of the six projects will be led by a senior professor at the Roanoke-based Fralin Biomedical Research Institute.
