Dr. Carla V. Finkielstein is Professor of Biological Sciences at Virginia Tech and Scientific Director of the Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute. Her interdisciplinary research integrates cancer biology, circadian rhythms, molecular diagnostics, and precision medicine to understand how circadian disruption influences cancer development and therapeutic response.

Her laboratory has produced numerous peer-reviewed publications, book chapters, patents, and translational innovations spanning basic science, public health, and genomic medicine. She led the development of Virginia Tech's CLIA- and CAP-accredited Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory, transforming a COVID-19 emergency testing program into Southwest Virginia's first cancer genomic diagnostics laboratory, an achievement recognized with Virginia Tech's Ut Prosim Scholar Award.

Dr. Finkielstein also founded Virginia Tech's undergraduate Nanomedicine program, established interdisciplinary initiatives in molecular diagnostics and translational oncology, and is committed to mentoring the next generation of biomedical scientists.