VCU news

By Haley Tenore

In a pandemic pivot, Silas Contaifer turned his expertise in virtual reality from the outdoors to the operating room. Now, Contaifer is preparing to move to Italy, with aspirations of applying his work to support health care professionals across Europe.

Contaifer will earn his doctorate this spring in pharmaceutical sciences with a concentration in pharmacotherapy from Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of Pharmacy, where his research and graduate teaching has focused on extended, mixed and virtual reality – and how they can be used in pharmacy education, orthopedic surgery guidance, dental and anatomical studies, and to support student engagement.

That focus became a natural extension from nature: Contaifer had earned his undergraduate degree in environmental management from the University of Brasília, where he used computer simulation and mapping on habitats needing protection.

“I was like, ‘Can I do these for anatomy?’ And that was what I started doing during the pandemic,” said Contaifer, who began his VCU program in early 2021 after making a campus connection. “I had a professor from VCU we just started working with. And I approached him and said, ‘Hey, do you think we can use XR for teaching anatomy and even pharmaceutical lab work?’”

That professor was Dayanjan Shanaka Wijesinghe, Ph.D., of the Department of Pharmacotherapy and Outcomes Science. He inspired his protégé to pursue a doctorate in that specialty at VCU.

“What we did is create 3D models of patients,” Contaifer said. “So, if someone has a fracture in the shoulder, surgeons can study the injury in 3D and plan where to place the prosthesis before entering the Operation Room. The surgery is going faster, and they have better results.”

Contaifer used Unreal Engine, a 3D digital graphics tool developed by Epic Games, to build his first anatomic‑visualization software. He later adopted Unity, another game engine, to create the mixed‑reality system that helps surgeons plan procedures outside the operating room and the virtual‑reality applications that train medical and pharmacy students in emergency care and sterile compounding – preparing medications in a clean room environment.

“The students will take the class together but then will practice and receive feedback by themselves while using those systems,” he said.

Contaifer is continuing to explore how artificial intelligence can help health care students and professionals. One of his projects is focused on harnessing AI to create 3D models of the human body in just minutes, as opposed to the three to six hours he might need to create extended reality from CT and MR scans. Another project is creating emergency room simulations that allow students to practice urgent care.

“Everyone leaves my lab with some system that they can use in their work, or, if someone wants to become a professor, can use it in their class,” he said.

At VCU, Contaifer immersed himself in realms outside the lab and classroom. He served as president of the Department of Pharmacotherapy and Outcomes Science Graduate Student Association, and he has been involved with Bridges International and RVA Chi Alpha Campus Ministries.

When leading DPOS-GSA, he created a “Welcome to Richmond” manual to introduce international students to the area – a way of paying forward his positive adjustment from Brasília to Richmond, in part due to supportive professors and a welcoming community of students.

“I was impressed because academia here in America is different, but all the professors are super respectful,” he said. “I saw the flexibility; I saw that they’re open to additional meetings. So, my transition was smooth.”

Another transition awaits. Though he has enjoyed his time in Richmond, Contaifer expects to go to Italy and use his research to help teach health care professionals there.

“After finishing with VCU, I want to keep working with research outside of academia,” he said. “I want to work as a medical science liaison or as a medical education manager.”

But the academic ties forged by his research can remain strong, Contaifer added.

“Although I’m leaving,” he said, “I’m going to keep the connection between these two universities, so VCU and the Federal University of São Paulo can keep working on these projects.”