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Research

The Research Program at Corporal Michael J. Crescenz VAMC supports over 200 clinical, translational and basic research conducted by over 100 principal investigators mostly with dual appointments between CMCVAMC and the University of Pennsylvania, the primary academic affiliate located directly across the street.

The main Medical Research Building includes 45,000 sq ft of wet bench laboratories, administrative offices and the Veterinary Medical Unit (VMU) spanning 5 floors and a basement of Building 21 directly connected to the main CMCVAMC hospital building. Clinical research activities take place throughout the Medical Center, with more focused daytime activities in the Clinical Research Center (CRC) on the 4th floor of the CMCVAMC hospital building. In addition, administrative offices and support staff of the VA HSR&D Center of Innovation CHERP (Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion) are housed in ~6,000 sq ft of space in the CMCVAMC Annex within a short walking distance from the main CMCVAMC campus. All research-related activities are performed on-site, with the exception of off-site research based on approved VA Central Office off-site waiver.

Active VA-relevant research areas span those in Health Services (HSR&D), Rehabilitation (RR&D), Biomedical Laboratory (BLR&D) and Clinical Science (CSR&D): 1) Health Services (health disparity, end-of-life care, patient aligned care team) with a VA HSR&D Center of Innovation CHERP (Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion) and two affiliated clinical centers CEPACT (Center for Evaluation of Patient Aligned Care Team) and PROMISE (Performance Reporting and Outcomes Measurement to Improve the Standard of care at End-of-Life); 2) Behavioral Health (depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, addiction, schizophrenia) with a MIRECC (Mental Illness Research Education and Clinical Center of Excellence) and CESATE (Center of Excellence for Substance Abuse Treatment and Education); 3) Immunity and Inflammation (HCV, HIV, HBV, liver cancer, lupus, arthritis, rhinosinusitis); 4) Musculoskeletal Health and Regeneration (cartilage, bone, spine degeneration, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, rehabilitation) with a Translational Musculoskeletal Research Center (TMRC); 5) Neurological disorders (Parkinson’s Disease, traumatic brain injury, neurodegeneration and regeneration) with a PADRECC (Parkinson’s Disease Research, Education and Clinical Center) and a newly established Center for Neurotrauma, Neurodegeneration and Restoration (CNNR); 6) Genetics with an ongoing Cooperative Studies Program MVP (Million Veterans Program); 7) Cancer research examining prevention, screening, management and/or basic pathogenesis of cancers involving colon, liver, lung, blood and prostate.

These research areas are supported by over 30 VA Merit Reviews, 9 Career Development Awards (CDA), 5 Cooperative Studies Program (CSP), 5 SPiRE, 15 Pilot Awards and 1 HSR&D Center of Innovation (COIN), in addition to other federal (e.g. NIH, DoD) and non-federal sources, as of 2016.

The CMCVAMC Medical Research Program is directed by the Associate Chief of Staff for R&D (Kyong-Mi Chang MD) with the support of Administrative Officer (Richard Moore). The regulatory oversight for all VA-based research studies is provided through the CMCVAMC R&D Committee (Chair: Richard Ross, MD PhD), two Institutional Review Board Committee (Chairs: Stuart Isaacs MD, Terri Laufer MD), Research Safety and Security Program/Institutional Biosafety Committee (Chair: Victoria Werth MD) and Institutional Animal Care Use and Care Committee (Chair: Laurence Buxbaum MD PhD). The nonprofit Philadelphia Research and Education Foundation (PREF) administers non-VA-funded but VA-relevant research conducted by VA investigators (Executive Director: Tinesar Forrest).
II. Existing Centers of Excellence and Programs with Research, Clinical and Educational missions:

CHERP (Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion, a joint HSR&D Center of Innovation between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh VA) Director: Said Ibrahim MD, MPH in Philadelphia.

CHERP

(Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion, a joint HSR&D Center of Innovation between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh VA) Director: Said Ibrahim MD, MPH in Philadelphia.
CEPACT

(Center for Evaluation of Patient Aligned Care Team): Co-Directors Rachel Werner, MD, PhD and Judith Long, MD
PROMISE

(Performance Reporting and Outcomes Measurement to Improve the Standard of care at End-of-Life): Director Mary T. Ersek, PhD RN
MIRECC

(Mental Illness Research, Education & Clinical Center): Director David W. Oslin, MD
CESATE

(Center of Excellence in Substance Abuse Treatment and Education): Director James R. McKay, PhD
PADRECC

(Parkinson’s Disease Research, Education and Clinical Center): Director John E. Duda, MD
Regional Sleep Center:

Director Samuel T. Kuna, MD
TMRC

(Translational Musculoskeletal Research Center): Scientific Co-Directors Robert L Mauck, PhD and George Dodge, PhD
CNNR

(Center for Neurotrauma, Neurodegeneration and Restoration): Scientific Co-Directors D. Kacy Cullen and John Duda
III Research Administration:

The Medical Research Service consists of the Offices of the Associate Chief of Staff for Research and Development (ACOS/R&D) and the Administrative Officer for R&D (AO/R&D) with: 1) Program offices to coordinate R&D, IRB, Biosafety and Animal Research Committees; 2) Research grant/contract management, budget and accounting; 3) Animal Research Facility or the Veterinary Medical Unit with the ARF staff with its supervisor and consulting veterinarian to support the care and use of animal research subjects in the facility; 4) Research administrative staff supporting research personnel The core operating hours are from 7:00am to 5:00pm for the administrative staff, five days per week, and from 7:00am to 3:00pm for the ARF staff, seven days per week.

Contact Information

Associate Chief of Staff for R&D (ACOS/R&D)

Kyong-Mi Chang MD

Kyong-Mi.Chang@va.gov; kmchang@mail.med.upenn.edu

Office:
215-823-5893

Secretary:
215-823-4307

Administrative Officer for R&D (AO/R&D)

Richard Moore

Richard.Moore7@va.gov

Office:
215-823-6020, ext. 2062

R&D Committee and Subcommittees

R&D Committee

Chair: Richard Ross MD PhD

Coordinator:
215-823-6024

Meeting: 1st Tuesday monthly

Institutional Review Board (IRB)

IRB#1 Chair: Stuart Isaacs MD   IRB#1
Coordinator:215-823-6029
Meeting: 2nd Thursday

IRB#2 Chair: Terri Laufer MD     IRB#1
Coordinator:
215-823-4443
Meeting: 3rd Wednesday

Central IRB
Coordinator:
215-823-4443

Subcommittee for Research Safety (SRS)

Chair: Victoria Werth MD PhD

Coordinator:
215-823-4443

Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC):

Chair:     Laurence Buxbaum MD PhD

Coordinator:
215-823-6024

Veterinary Medical Unit (VMU or ARF)

Supervisor:
215-823-6019

Staff:
215-823-6019

Consulting Veterinarian:
2815-823-5800, ext. 2987

Other research-related contacts:

Research Compliance Officer:
215-823-7847

Information Security Officer:
215-823-5159

Privacy Officer:
215-823-6335

Radiation Safety Officer:
215-823-6009

Research Pharmacist:
215-823-5141

Philadelphia Research and Education Foundation (PREF):

VA Non-for-Profit Organization

http://www.prefresearch.org

215-823-5800, ext. 3769

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