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Research

The VA Loma Linda Healthcare System (VALLHCS) Research and Development Program has been an active and productive service for more than 30 years and currently is participating in research activities involving more than investigators. Major disciplines are represented in over 100 projects. The goal of this program to continue to facilitate funded research that will significantly advance our understanding of the mechanisms of disease and will contribute to improved clinical practice and delivery of care to our Veterans.

Major research emphasis includes clinical trials, clinical science research, health services research, rehabilitation research and related technologies, basic science, and animal research. In FY23, VALLHCS received approximately $4 million dollars in research funding from VA Office of Research and Development, National Institutes of Health (NIH), private funding sources, and various pharmaceutical companies.

For more information contact the Office of Research Administration at or simply ask your physician.

Research Scientists

Research Milestones at the VA

2024 Awards & Publications

National Institutes of Health (NIH) Award

Award-winning OCTAVE

NIH 2024 Design by Biomedical Undergraduate Teams (DEBUT) Challenge Winner. National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) Second Prize ($15,000): OCTAVE: Optical coherence tomography and vibrometry endoscope, University of California, Riverside. 

Undergraduates Christopher Clark, Minh-Huy Tran, Alexis Valencia, Briana Marquez, and Sofia Gandarilla developed the OCTAVE during their mentorship with VA Research Scientist Dr. Wei Dong. OCTAVE is an endoscopic optical coherence tomography imaging probe that is capable of high-resolution, real-time, functional imaging of the middle ear structures. OCTAVE addresses a critical challenge in hearing loss detection by providing the capacity to image inner ear structures with high enough resolution to reveal specific sites of damage to the tympanic membrane. Check it out: OCTAVE NIH Debute Video.

American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR) Award

Anakha Udayakumar received the 2024 ASBMR Young Investigator Award for the abstract presentation, Partial Rescue of Osteopetrosis Phenotype in Lrrk1 Knockout Mice by Expression of Phosphor Mimetics of OSTM1 at Endogenous OSTM1 Locus, in Toronto, Canada.

The ASBMR Young Investigator Award recognizes young investigators who submit top-ranking abstracts to an ASBMR Meeting. Award recipients will receive a $1,000 honorarium and a plaque.