Research Week: yesterday, today, and tomorrow

The thought of clinical research may push the mental picture of a person in a white lab coat staring intensely into a microscope or studying cells in a petri dish. VA Research is unique because of its focus on medical issues that affect Veterans. Since 1925, VA Research and Development programs have been discovering new ways to treat disease and improve the lives of Veterans through health care discovery and innovation. 

Minneapolis hosts one of the largest and most active research programs in the VA health care system. There are currently over 150 investigators conducting more than 500 research projects in close partnership with the University of Minnesota. The Minneapolis VA research program has been affiliated with the University of Minnesota since 1946 and a majority of the Minneapolis VA researchers have university appointments. The facility is also host to two VA-funded research centers; the Center for Care Delivery and Outcomes Research (CCDOR), and the Rehabilitation & Engineering Center for Optimizing Veteran Engagement and Reintegration (RECOVER), funded by VA Health Services Research and VA Rehabilitation Research, respectively. There are 18 Health Services Research and Development and 15 Rehabilitation Research and Development Centers located throughout the U.S. 

“The work we perform at VA strongly relies on our partnership with the University of Minnesota. While many VA sites have academic partners, the Minneapolis VA and University of Minnesota were one of the first to formally affiliate, and currently have the longest-standing academic affiliation in the entire VA system,” said Dr. Joshua P. Nixon, Deputy Associate Chief of Staff for Research, Minneapolis VA. 

Research Week is an annual, nationwide event organized by VA Office of Research & Development to raise awareness of the research efforts across VA, celebrate accomplishments, recognize Veterans for participating and thank partners for supporting research programs. Early research events were limited to one-day with a keynote speaker and poster presentations on current studies. Today, Research Week is a multi-day program that highlights the entire research community. This year’s theme celebrated “Building Community Through Research.”  

“I have been part of VA research since 1971,” said Dr. Khalil Ahmed, Minneapolis VA’s longest-serving research investigator. “I would have never come here if there was not the possibility of being a professor at the university, so our affiliation is invaluable. The importance of research week is that it highlights the type of research being conducted at the VA and it enables others to learn about it.” 

The Minneapolis VA Medical Center concluded Research Week with a nod to the future of research by opening a new Clinical Research Wing on May 30. Members of the research staff gave tours of the new space before a ceremonial ribbon-cutting led by Minneapolis VA Associate Chief of Staff for Research Dr. Steven Fu. The new clinic will allow research staff to collaborate and work together across discipline lines. As the first VA to have a dedicated space for research, Minneapolis VA will continue to set the standard for VA research programs.  

“Veterans are always willing to help and participate and we're always grateful. But now we have a space that is theirs as much as it is ours. The fact that the VA put the funds behind it really is a great statement about how important research is in Minneapolis and how much we appreciate our Veterans,” said Aimee Hamel, research nurse manager, Minneapolis VA. 

If you're a Veteran interested in participating in a VA research study visit the Research section of the Minneapolis VA facility website. You may also wish to read more about why Veterans might wish to participate in VA research, or learn how VA protects your personal information when you are a research participant.