Michael Friedlander

Michael Friedlander, Ph.D., is a distinguished professor and executive leader at Virginia Tech, serving as Executive Director of the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC, Vice President for Health Sciences and Technology, and Senior Dean for Research at the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine. He holds professorial appointments in the Department of Biological Sciences (College of Science), Department of Biomedical Engineering and Mechanics (College of Engineering), and Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine (School of Medicine).

His research centers on synaptic plasticity, developmental neuroscience, vision, and traumatic brain injury. Friedlander's work explores the cellular mechanisms underlying learning, memory, and neural adaptation during development and injury. His research has been published in premier journals including Nature, Science, Neuron, Cell, and PNAS. The trends in his publications reveal a sustained focus on neural circuit formation, synaptic transmission, and the modulation of cortical plasticity, with recent work extending into neurodevelopmental resilience and climate-related neurobiological adaptation.

• Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Fellowship in Neuroscience
• NIH Fogarty Center Senior International Research Fellowship
• Lucille Markey Foundation Center Award
• W.M. Keck Foundation Center Award
• American College of Physicians’ Menninger Award for Mental Health Research
• University of Illinois Distinguished Alumnus Award
• Distinguished Scientist Award, Society of Experimental Biology and Medicine
• Elected Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science
• Elected Fellow, Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine
• AAMC Distinguished Service Member

Friedlander has been instrumental in building the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute from its founding in 2010 into a powerhouse with over $140 million in grant funding, 35+ research teams, and more than 400 investigators and students. He has served as principal investigator on multiple NIH grants and has held endowed professorships at Baylor College of Medicine and the University of Alabama at Birmingham. His leadership extends to national organizations, including the Association of Medical School Neuroscience Department Chairs and the AAMC Council of Academic Societies. He currently serves on numerous boards including the Virginia Early Childhood Foundation and Children’s National Hospital Research Board. He leads the Friedlander Lab and the Center for Neurobiology Research, fostering a collaborative environment for interdisciplinary neuroscience research.