VCU news

By Eric Peters

F. Gerard Moeller, M.D., this month was named director of the Virginia Commonwealth University Center for Clinical and Translational Research and associate vice president for clinical research at VCU.

Moeller will serve as principal investigator on VCU’s existing National Institutes of Health Clinical and Translational Science Award as well as on the pending CTSA proposal currently under review by the NIH.

Moeller came to VCU in 2013 after being named professor and division chair of addiction psychiatry. He now holds appointments as professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology and the Department of Neurology in the School of Medicine. He also serves as director of the VCU Institute for Drug and Alcohol Studies. In 2014, Moeller became principal investigator on a five-year, $6 million National Institutes of Health grant for clinical research and education directed toward the identification, evaluation and development of safe and effective treatments for cocaine addiction.

Before coming to VCU, Moeller was Louis A. Faillace Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. He has been involved in research performed under the aegis of UT Houston Center for Clinical and Translational Sciences and the University of Texas Medical Branch Institute for Translational Sciences, including two phase I drug interaction studies and brain imaging studies.

His publications and record of extramural support clearly indicate his strengths in clinical research, including experience in collaborating with basic science investigators with an eye towards translational research.

“His publications and record of extramural support clearly indicate his strengths in clinical research, including experience in collaborating with basic science investigators with an eye towards translational research,” said Francis Macrina, Ph.D., vice president for research and innovation at VCU. “His track record as a scientist administrator is evidenced in his roles as a research center director, including the directorship of multiple NIH-funded center grants. We are pleased that he has accepted this important role.”

In 2010, VCU received a $20 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to become part of a nationwide consortium of research institutions working to turn laboratory discoveries into treatments for patients, also referred to as translational research.

VCU joined the consortium through the CCTR, a comprehensive center working to enhance research infrastructure and promote collaboration across the university. The center also supports VCU’s efforts to strengthen ties with affiliates and community partners to better share resources and respond to community health needs.

Moeller will serve as the CCTR’s second director, succeeding John Clore, M.D.

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