Research and Development Service - VA Portland HCS
Research & Development - About Us
The VA Portland research community consists of 169 staff Principal Investigators, including 7 Research Career Scientists and 10 Career Development Awardees, who are leading over 700 employees working on more than 585 active medical and behavioral science research projects. In 2024, VA Portland was successful at competitively acquiring more than $43 million in VA, National Institutes of Health (NIH), Department of Defense (DoD) and other funding sources.
VA Portland ranks in the top 6 among all VAs nationwide in total research funding. Research is conducted in a total of 100,000 square feet of wet and dry lab space that supports programs in basic science, clinical research, rehabilitation, health systems, cooperative studies, epidemiology and outcomes research. Investigator-initiated independent research programs represent most research activities.
VA Portland benefits greatly from its strong affiliation with Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU). Research collaborations between the two institutions are greatly enhanced by a sky bridge that connects the VA with the university. Core facilities located within the VA include flow cytometry with cell sorting capability, pathology and tissue procurement, laser dissection microscopy, confocal microscopy, and molecular biology. Additional core facilities housed at OHSU and fully accessible by VA investigators include the gene array and biostatistical support cores.
The established research programs reflect the special needs and interests of Veterans treated at this medical center. VA Portland has been fortunate to receive several large grants that reflect the critical mass of scientists who have assembled here to investigate important diseases. These include:
Center to Improve Veteran Involvement in Care (CIVIC)
CIVIC is a Department of Veterans Affairs-funded Center of Innovation that supports health systems researchers. CIVIC seeks to improve Veterans’ care experiences through research that evaluates and promotes Veterans' active engagement and ongoing involvement in their healthcare. CIVIC scientists are a multidisciplinary group that includes physicians, psychologists, epidemiologists, and social scientists. They are supported by a team of data analysts and programmers, statisticians, and qualitative analysts. They also provide research mentorship to junior faculty and to other trainees including advanced health services research fellows.
National Center for Rehabilitative Auditory Research (NCRAR)
People are often surprised to learn that the most common service-connected disability—affecting an estimated 300,000 veterans—is hearing loss. NCRAR is the only center in the VA dedicated to addressing the needs of Veterans with hearing loss and allied conditions. NCRAR core investigators and their collaborators conduct research on hearing loss, tinnitus, balance, and on the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of hearing disorders. An emphasis on military exposure as a source of injury dovetails with VA’s priority area of traumatic brain injury. NCRAR also hosts a highly regarded biennial international conference that brings together clinical researchers and clinicians in an interactive format with the goal of rapidly translating research findings into practice.
Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) Resource Center
This center will promote state of the art treatment, evaluation and research to treat the hepatitis C virus. It is also a joint venture with the VA Puget Sound Healthcare System. Special emphasis will be to improve screening and access to care for veterans with both HCV and psychiatric illness.
Long-term Impact of Military-relevant Brain Injury Consortium-Chronic Effects of Neurotrauma Consortium (LIMBIC-CENC)
In August 2012, President Obama gave an Executive Order to make a national research plan to treat and prevent traumatic brain injury (TBI). Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other mental health conditions are part of this plan. The LIMBIC-CENC goals are to: 1) Learn more about how concussion affects the brain; 2) Find out the effects of concussion later in life, such as risk for dementia; 3) See if some service members and Veterans are more likely to be affected; and 4) Identify the best treatments for concussion.
Million Veteran Program
VA Portland is a top contributing site to VA’s landmark genomic initiative, the Million Veteran Program, having enrolled over 32,000 Veterans as of late FY25. MVP is a national research program looking at how genes, lifestyle, military experiences, and exposures affect health and wellness in Veterans. VA describes MVP as “the largest research effort at VA to improve health care for Veterans and one of the largest research programs in the world studying genes and health.” In addition to being a top recruiting site, VA Portland hosts multiple investigators who are accessing MVP data with the objective of better informing clinical care for Veterans.
NCI and VA Interagency Group to Accelerate Trials Enrollment (NAVIGATE)
The NCI and VA Interagency Group to Accelerate Trials Enrollment (NAVIGATE) program is a partnership between the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the Department of Veterans Affair (VA) to facilitate enrollment of veterans with cancer into NCI-funded clinical trials. VA Portland is an inaugural site for VA’s NAVIGATE program and one of only three west of the Rocky Mountains. Through NAVIGATE, Veterans get easier access to promising new cancer treatments, including precision medicine and immunotherapies, through participating in NCI-supported cancer clinical trials. NAVIGATE provides resources to assist VA Portland in launching cancer-related clinical trials and in serving as a contributing site for federal-, foundation-, and industry-funded multi-site trials.
Network of Dedicated Enrollment Sites (NODES)
The VA Cooperative Studies Program (CSP) Network of Dedicated Enrollment Sites (NODES) is a consortium of 20+ VA medical centers with teams in place that are committed to conducting CSP trials. These stations partner and share best practices to enhance the performance, compliance, and management of CSP multi-site research. VA Portland was one of eight inaugural sites for the NODES program, ensuring that local investigators have ready access to new VA-sponsored CSP trials. The success of these early sites led to subsequent expansion of the Program. NODES stations are invited to express interest in participating in soon-to-launch and under-review projects with CSP. VA’s CSP has produced some of the most impactful large-scale randomized controlled trials in all of clinical medicine.
Mental Illness Research Education and Clinical Center (MIRECC)
A collaboration with the VA Puget Sound Health Care System, this center focuses on understanding basic mechanisms, developing better treatments and improving health services for post-traumatic stress disorder and schizophrenia—two devastating problems common among our nation’s veterans.
Multiple Sclerosis Center of Excellence
A joint venture with the VA Puget Sound Healthcare System, this Center will address the healthcare needs of veterans with multiple sclerosis. Research will focus on pre-clinical studies with novel therapies using animal models as well as clinical trials to translate basic science advances to the bedside.
Research Enhancement Awards Program in Multiple Sclerosis
This group is seeking new weapons against multiple sclerosis, a disabling disorder affecting some 350,000 Americans. A recent study found that a combination treatment of estrogen and a vaccine developed by the Portland team could prevent a similar disease in female mice—a finding the researchers hope to translate to humans.
Parkinson's Disease Research Education and Clinical Center (PADRECC)
Parkinson’s Disease Research Education and Clinical Center. The VAPORHCS gained a special center when it was named one of six new VA centers specializing in Parkinson’s disease, a debilitating neurological disorder that afflicts 1.5 million Americans. Research projects will include studies to determine whether deep brain stimulation can reduce symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, to find ways of regenerating brain cells damaged by the disorder, and to sort out the cause of Parkinson’s-associated cognitive problems.
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Evidence Based Practice Center
This center reviews all relevant scientific literature on selected medical topics and conducts additional analyses when appropriate.
NIH-funded Cancer Center, with affiliate OHSU
VA Portland dedicated its newest research building, the Northwest Veterans Affairs Cancer Research Center in 1999. This facility houses joint projects of the VAPORHCS and OHSU, many of them on the frontiers of research to forge an entirely new generation of cancer treatments “smart bombs” that target only cellular abnormalities underlying cancers, sparing normal tissue that can be damaged by radiation and standard chemotherapy.
NIH-funded Methamphetamine Abuse Research Center (MARC)
This center will focus on understanding the mechanisms and genetics of methamphetamine addiction. Planned studies include clinical trials, receptor analysis using in vitro methods, animal modeling, and genetic associations.
NIH-funded Portland Alcohol Research Center (PARC)
Scientists here are among leaders in the quest to tease out the complex interplay between heredity and alcoholism, tracking down genes that may either increase or decrease risk.
