Roanoke is getting new investment in medical education, research and biotechnology, with two projects expected to strengthen connections between Virginia Tech, healthcare and research communities.

The Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine is receiving funding from the state for a new building, along with renovations to its current space. Once the medical school moves into the new building, the existing space will be used by the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at Virginia Tech Carilion to expand its research facilities. The budget also provides $13 million over two years to support enrollment growth and tuition assistance for in-state students.

Meanwhile, the City of Roanoke and Carilion Clinic opened RoVa Labs, a biotechnology incubator in downtown Roanoke, in May 2026. The facility is expected to create 250 jobs within five years with Virginia Tech as one of its partners, alongside the Roanoke Blacksburg Innovation Alliance and Virginia Western Community College.

Although the projects serve different purposes, both are part of a larger effort to connect education, healthcare and business across Southwest Virginia. The medical school expansion will also help train future doctors and physicians and expand biomedical research, while RoVa Labs will allow researchers and companies to further develop new technologies and bring them to the market.

The new medical school building is planned to include lecture halls, classrooms, patient exam rooms and instructional labs where students can learn and practice medical skills. The school currently shares a building with the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute, but once the medical school moves into its new space, about 51,000 square feet of the existing building is expected to be renovated for the research institute and will include wet labs. 

Wet labs are hands-on for scientists who work directly with biological materials, such as cells and tissue, or other drugs and chemicals.

While the medical school project focuses on education and research, RoVa Labs is designed to help researchers turn scientific discoveries into products and businesses. As a biotechnology incubator, the facility gives startup companies and research teams access to resources they might not be able to afford or maintain on their own. These include shared laboratory space, specialized equipment, offices and support for developing medical devices and other technologies.

RoVa Labs also offers mentorship and resources to help companies move their ideas from the research stage toward products that can be sold and used. By bringing researchers, businesses and regional organizations together, the facility aims to support the growth of biotechnology companies and create more jobs.

The medical school expansion and RoVa Labs represent different areas of the growing health sciences industry with a shared goal of strengthening connections between Virginia Tech, healthcare providers and businesses across the state.

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