Rigorous research drives effective teaching, and recent University of Virginia breakthroughs are actively blueprinting more equitable learning environments. The models built today though research at UVA will directly dictate classroom success, teacher retention, and student well-being nationwide tomorrow.
UVA faculty Cristina Richieri Griffin and Kirsten Gelsdorf have secured a National Endowment for the Arts Big Read grant for “Poe at UVA,” marking the bicentennial of Edgar Allan Poe’s time on Grounds. The cross-disciplinary initiative uses Poe’s legacy to spark reading culture through exhibitions, book clubs, lectures and community events across Charlottesville.
Through neuroscience and cross-disciplinary collaboration, Tanya Evans examines the memory systems that influence learning, with the goal of improving outcomes for children who struggle in school.
Kinesiology professor Jason Allen discusses his research on nitric oxide and its role in enhancing cardiovascular benefits from exercise for postmenopausal women. In this EdLab podcast episode, Allen shares current knowledge about women’s heart health after menopause and highlights why more research is needed. Available on Apple, Amazon, and Spotify.
45 doctoral students showcased the wide-ranging applications of their work in UVA’s annual Ph.D. in Data Science Research Showcase.
UVA neuroscientist Tanya Evans investigates why some children struggle with reading or math by studying the brain mechanisms behind learning differences like dyslexia. Through cross-disciplinary collaborations and a $3 million NIH grant, her research explores how declarative and procedural memory systems shape skill development, with findings pointing toward targeted interventions for students who need them most.
Assistant professor or English Piers Gelley encouraged his students in an AI Literacy & Action Lab pilot class last spring to develop ways that AI could be used as teaching tools in literature and writing classes.
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With graduate student volunteers from across neuroscience fields, UVA’s Brain Science Outreach program reached more than 1200 elementary, middle, and high school students in Virginia last year.
UVA education professor Laura Rogers has received a $375,000 Spencer Foundation grant to study how having children affects teachers’ career trajectories, retention, and advancement into leadership. Her team will map family-friendly benefits like paid leave and childcare across 1,300 school districts, examining whether such policies could help solve persistent teacher turnover challenges.
Over the past 20 years, recess has been disappearing from schools across the country — but there’s a movement to bring it back. UVA education experts explain why.
In this episode, Dean Acampora takes on the question: what is higher education for when AI can generate the outputs? We also talk about cultivating human judgment and calling out the moments students exercise it. Plus the AI Literacy and Action Lab, Career Design and Discovery, and her advice for students, faculty and staff.
UVA has launched 15 inaugural Research Hubs, chosen from ninety proposals, spanning fields like hypersonic technologies, quantum photonics, aging, health policy, AI, and supply chains. Open to faculty across career stages and schools, these hubs foster cross-disciplinary collaboration, generating scholarship and partnerships that strengthen UVA’s competitiveness for major research funding opportunities.
Temporary anxiety can often surface before the first day of school. Sometimes, that can help kids get in the right mindset for a big day. But when anxiety becomes a constant feature of children’s and teenagers’ days, that stress doesn’t switch off when they leave the classroom or finish an exam. It can become the body’s normal, staying with learners long after graduation.