2012 Report to the Community - VISN 8

innovationWorking on aCure for DiabetesDr. Robert V. Farese, M.D., aresearcher at the Tampa VAHospital since 1973, receivedthe 2012 William S. MiddletonAward for outstandingachievement in biomedicalresearch. The MiddletonAward is the BiomedicalLaboratory Research andDevelopment’s highest honorfor scientific achievement. The award recognizesDr. Farese’s service to the VA and to thebiomedical profession as well as his contributionsto the scientific body of knowledge about insulinaction and the pathogenesis of Type 2 diabetes.Among Dr. Farese’s research is a potential curefor Type 2 diabetes that blocks production of aprotein, using compounds found in treatments forrheumatoid arthritis.Million VeteransProjectThe VA healthcare systems of Bay Pines,Miami and North Florida are currentlyparticipating in the Million Veterans Project(MVP) with plans for Orlando, Tampaand VA Caribbean to be involvedas well. The Million Veteransprogram is a national, VA-runvoluntary research programthat partners with Veteransreceiving VA health careto study how genes affecthealth. To do this, MVP willbuild one of the world’slargest medical databases bysafely collecting blood samplesand health information fromone million Veteran volunteers.Data collected from MVP will bestored anonymously for research ondiseases like diabetes and cancer,and military-related illnesses suchas post-traumatic stress disorder.22$33.4MillionResearch FundingAnnual Report 2012 » www.visn8.va.govHonoring a Lifetime of Research Achievement:the Miami VA’s Dr. Andrew SchalleyHe’s a Nobel Prize Winner tacklingcancer, heart disease and otherresearch while devoting fivedecades to serving medicinewith VA. What Dr. Andrew Schallyhas done with those 50 years isnothing short of extraordinary. Thisextraordinary man has publishedmore than 2,400 papers, hostedhundreds of professional lectures,discovered new techniques inmedicine and, to cap it off, received the Nobel Prize inMedicine in 1977.Surrounded by fellow researchers and VA officials fromaround the world, the Miami VA Medical Center hosteda commemoration of Dr. Schally’s 50th anniversary withthe VA on Oct. 19, 2012. And although the celebrationwas a look back at a career of achievement, what mostpeople are talking about isn’t Dr. Schally’s award-winningbreakthroughs. Rather, it was the excitement over what hewill discover next. Just this year, he has published paperson seven different kinds of cancer and heart disease.innovative researchFOCuSES On IMPROVInG VETERAnS HEALTHSignificant areas of research added over the lasttwo years in VISN 8 include aging, ambulatorycare, behavioral science, clinical epidemiology,diabetes, genetics, health economics, neurobiology,neuropsychology, obesity, ophthalmology, PTSD,pulmonary diseases, respiratory, rheumatology, traumaticbrain injury, vascular surgery, virology, and wound repair.The network has three ResearchCenters of Excellence (COE). TheJames A. Haley Veterans Hospital’sCOE is “Maximizing RehabilitationOutcomes.” Also, the Malcolm RandallVA Medical Center has two COEs: theBrain Rehabilitation Research Center andthe Rehabilitation Outcomes Research Center.Additional information on these centers can befound at http://www.research.va.gov/programs/default.cfm#rrd-ctr693Active Research Projects