About the Center

Founded in the VCU School of Medicine in June 2001, and housed within the Department of Psychiatry, the Center for Human-Animal Interaction is a 501(c)(3) organization through the Medical College of Virginia Foundation.  The Center was established to promote and provide a formal structure for research, clinical services, and education related to the human-animal relationship.

Our Mission

Improving health and well being through human-animal interaction.

Our research goal is to increase knowledge of the benefits of the human-animal interaction through interdisciplinary research.

Our clinical goal is to enhance health and well being for patients and other members of our community through animal-assisted interventions.

Our educational goal is to improve understanding of the benefits of the human-animal interaction.

Annual Reports

Three medical professionals kneel down to a pet a Golden Retriever.  The Golden Retriever is lifting her head so as to hug one of the nurses.