Eastern Virginia Medical School (EVMS), part of the Macon and Joan Brock Virginia Health Sciences at Old Dominion University, commonly known as Virginia Health Sciences, is a public medical school in Norfolk, Virginia, operated by Old Dominion University. Founded by grassroots efforts in the southeastern part of Virginia known as Hampton Roads, EVMS had historically not been affiliated with an undergraduate institution and therefore coordinates training through multiple medical centers in the Hampton Roads region. Effective on July 1, 2024, the nearby Old Dominion University merged with EVMS to create a comprehensive university with EVMS being the medical school component of the larger university.
The campus includes the Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, the region's only tertiary level 1 trauma medical care facility, and the Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters, a regional pediatric referral care facility and only stand-alone children's hospital in the state. EVMS is the first institution in the US to have produced a viable fetus through in vitro fertilization. EVMS is most known for its reproductive medicine and simulation/standardized-patient education as well as research in pediatrics, geriatrics, diabetes, cancer, and neuroscience.
Judette Louis has served as dean since 2025.
History In 1824, Thomas Jefferson remarked that Norfolk would be an ideal location for a medical school branch of his alma mater, The College of William & Mary, albeit for its less than desirable climate. He wrote “No sir, Richmond is no place to furnish subjects for clinical lectures. I have always had Norfolk in view for this purpose. The climate and Pontine country around Norfolk render it truly sickly in itself.”
In the 1960s, the metropolitan area of Southeastern Virginia known as Hampton Roads recognized that the region did not have enough physicians to support its growing population. In an attempt to close the gap, area leaders decided to found a regional medical school to both attract physicians from outside areas and to produce "home-grown" practitioners. It was thought that a university medical center operating in conjunction with previously operating regional health care facilities would effectively end the shortage and more importantly, bring a bevy of experts and specialists to the area. The idea gained the support of the Virginia General Assembly and the city councils of Chesapeake, Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk and Virginia Beach. March 31, 1964, the General Assembly authorized the formation of what was then known as the Norfolk Area Medical Center Authority.Chapter 471 of the 1964 Acts of Assembly. H 444. Acts and joint resolutions of the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Richmond, Commonwealth of Virginia, Dept. of Purchases and Supply [etc.], 1964. Pp. 736-741.
In 1970, fundraising by the EVMS foundation began the collection of funds for the creation of EVMS. Before acceptance of its first class, more than $17 million had been donated from community and business leaders. Eastern Virginia Medical School accepted its first MD students who matriculated September 28, 1973 for classes that began October 1, 1973. The following year, the EVMS Office of Graduate Medical Education was established to coordinate residency and fellowship training programs. EVMS has since graduated its 30th class of physicians, with one in four of all local physicians having some connection to the university. In the spring of 2008, the Commonwealth of Virginia approved appropriating capital outlay funds to EVMS to allow it to increase its doctoral student enrollment by 30% and its physician assistant program by 60%. When this expansion is completed, the total student enrollment will rise to approximately 1,000.
Throughout its history, the merger of the school with nearby universities has been raised but never carried out, with various joint programs and resource sharing occurring. However, on July 25, 2012, EVMS made a joint announcement with The College of William & Mary that the two schools are considering merging so that EVMS would become the William & Mary School of Medicine. Any such merger would have to be confirmed by the two schools and then confirmed by the Virginia General Assembly and the Governor. A pilot relationship, supported by $200,000 grant in the Virginia budget, was subsequently agreed upon by both universities to examine this possible union in reality. On January 1, 2024 EVMS officially merged with Old Dominion University.
On January 10, 2013, it was announced that Harry Lester was to step down as president and would be succeeded by the school's dean and provost, Richard V. Homan, MD, effective April 15, 2013. Homan served jointly as the school's president, dean of the medical school, and provost until 2021.
Between January 28 and February 1, 2019, national news media reported that the 1984 student yearbook included racist photos of students, particularly a photo of one student in blackface and another dressed as a Ku Klux Klan member. These reports were connected to Ralph Northam, former governor of Virginia, leading to demands for his resignation. Northam denied that the photograph was of him and he vowed to complete his term.
In 2025, Judette Louis was named as the school's dean.
Academics Admissions Approximately 7,000 applicants apply to the Eastern Virginia Medical School's MD program every year for a targeted class size of 150. For the MD Class of 2030, the school received more than 9,000 applications, surpassing the 7,614 applications received for the MD Class of 2029.
In recent years, the average EVMS accepted student for the MD program had a 3.70 GPA and an average 513 MCAT score.
Rankings In 2024, U.S. News & World Report ranked EVMS as a Tier 3 school in Best Medical Schools: Research, as a Tier 3 school in Best Medical Schools: Primary Care, #52 in Most Diverse Medical Schools (tie), #52 in Most Graduates Practicing in Health Professional Shortage Areas, #101 in Most Graduates Practicing in Primary Care (tie), #134 in Most Graduates Practicing in Rural Areas, #27 in Physician Assistant (tie), and #140 in Public Health (tie).
Programs In 2016, EVMS implemented the Care Forward curriculum that teaches medical students through a system-based approach. Community services play a significant part of the curriculum as students have several tracks of service projects that eventually lead to a specific keystone project to be completed before graduation.
Besides MD training, EVMS offers a variety of other medical training (degree programs), including the Bachelor of Science, Master of Science, Master of Public Health, and Ph.D. It also offers a joint M.D./Master of Business Administration with the College of William & Mary.
Research centers Leroy T. Canoles Jr. Cancer Research Center The George L. Wright Jr. Proteomics Lab, a leader in the field, is now housed within this new center for cancer research. The center also includes a Biorepository that collects, processes and stores biological specimens and associated data. The Biorepository currently has 70,000 human samples available. The center is named in honor of Norfolk lawyer, community leader and philanthropist Leroy T. "Buddy" Canoles Jr.
Sentara Center for Simulation and Immersive Learning One of only a handful in the country that integrates task trainers, computerized manikins, virtual interfaces and standardized patients (people trained to portray patients) to create more realistic training scenarios. The new center incorporates the preexisting Theresa A. Thomas Professional Skills Teaching and Assessment Center, which helped pioneer the use of standardized patient education. In addition, a 3-D Virtual Reality lab known as "The Cave" is under construction. This system allows physicians and those in training to simulate real-life medical and physiological situations in an interactive/immersive, computer-based arena.
CONRAD As a Division of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and the Jones Institute, CONRAD is one of the campuses leading research organizations. The group recently was awarded a $100 million grant for work on Microbicides, which are products in development that will eventually come in a variety of forms (such as topical gels, creams, tablets, films and pills) to prevent sexual transmission of HIV and potentially other sexually transmitted infections.
The Jones Institute for Reproductive Medicine As described above, the Jones Institute was the first American body to perform In Vitro Fertilization. It continues today to further reproductive and endocrine research.
Strelitz Diabetes Center As a leader in research for Diabetes, the Strelitz Diabetes Center has made several findings. Dr. Aaron Vinik, one of the leading researchers in the field, discovered the importance of INGAP gene, which plays a role on pancreatic insulin cell regeneration. With the recruitment of Dr. Jerry Nadler, a world renown diabetes researcher, Sentara Norfolk General Hospital Diabetes and Endocrine jumped in national ranking to #24
The Virginia Academy of Sleep Medicine Staffed by several EVMS physicians and scientists, this organization strives to educate health professionals in the discipline of sleep medicine, seeking to improve the quality of life and health of patients who suffer from sleep-related disorders. Several sleep-labs scattered throughout the region allow practitioners to evaluate, treat and research these afflictions.
M. Foscue Brock Institute for Community and Global Health Established in 2012 with a $3 million gift from Macon and Joan Brock, founders of Dollar Tree Inc., the institute serves as a center for interdisciplinary collaboration for both community and global health outreach. It will bring experts, faculty and students together to further the mission of the school and that is to be the most community oriented medical school in the nation. Karen Remley, MD, MBA, the former Virginia Health Commissioner, will serve as the founding director of the institute starting on March 18, 2013.
Campus Eastern Virginia Medical Campus Eastern Virginia Medical School is located in Norfolk, VA, near downtown and the historic neighborhood of Ghent. The school is part of the Eastern Virginia Medical Center, which also includes the aforementioned hospitals and affiliated satellite buildings, along with a "Medical Tower," that has many private practice medical offices. The center is bounded by Colley Avenue, Brambleton Avenue, Hampton Boulevard, and Redgate Avenue. The Tide light-rail system connects the campus with downtown Norfolk and points east to the Virginia Beach city line. The campus facilities include: Sentara Norfolk General Hospital – The region's primary tertiary care referral center and only Level One trauma center. The 555-bed hospital serves as the major teaching hospital for EVMS students and residents. Sentara Heart Hospital – ranked 38th in the nation for cardiac care, this 6-story, 112-bed new addition to Norfolk General accommodates the most specialized cardiac procedures and treatments Children's Hospital of the King's Daughters – The regions only free-standing children's hospital, this non-profit, 212-bed facility includes the full slate of pediatric specialists. Lewis Hall – Named for Richmond philanthropists and early EVMS supporters Frances and Sydney Lewis, Eastern Virginia's primary education and research facility. Funding was allocated by the state to provide extensive renovation to this original campus building. Edward E. Brickell Medical Sciences Library – Opened in March 2000 and houses the original Moorman Memorial Library collection, a computer lab, a computer classroom, historical collections, archives, and group and individual study seating. The library including the study rooms and computer labs were updated as part of the campus wide renovation project that was completed in 2011.