Tennessee Valley Researcher Receives Top VA Award for Researchers
Wes Ely, MD, MPH, VA Tennessee Valley Healthcare System (TVHS) Associate Director of Aging Research for the Geriatric Research Education Clinical Center (GRECC), received the prestigious 2024 VA Paul B. Magnuson Award for his pioneering work in intensive care unit-acquired delirium and dementia.
The annual award is the highest honor for VA rehabilitation investigators.
The Magnuson Award is presented to an investigator who exemplifies the entrepreneurship, humanitarianism, and dedication to Veterans displayed by Dr. Magnuson during his career.
“The research that Dr. Ely has performed at TVHS has transformed many aspects of cognitive care in the intensive care unit,” said Dr. Stokes Peebles, TVHS chief of staff of research and development. “I am sure that he will continue to make important advancements that will better the lives of Veterans and their families through his studies,” Peebles said.
Ely, a renowned expert in his field, focuses on geriatric ICU care and founded the Critical Illness, Brain Dysfunction, and Survivorship Center at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC). His research has led to new protocols in ICU treatment to improve recovery after critical illness, including ICU-acquired brain disease.
“Veterans have been the motivation and the inspiration for this work,” Ely said. “[They] have driven me and our team to do a better job helping people all around the world learn how to care for Veterans and help their recovery,” Ely said.
ICU delirium, a common issue in ICU patients, can result in consequences such as brain dysfunction and increased risk of death. Ely's work has focused on this issue to improve survival rates while decreasing the length of hospital stays and costs of treatment, all important to Veteran care.
“Dr. Ely is well deserving of this award,” Peebles said. “He has been a major force in investigating ICU cognitive outcomes for decades, has contributed a tremendous amount of information to medical literature, and performed intervention studies which have shown us how to better treat patients.”
Ely has studied other cognitive rehabilitation tactics with computer games. Certain brain games can rebuild brain pathways and improve memory strength after critical illness, according to Ely. In addition, Ely is studying medications to suppress brain injuries developed from COVID-19, sometimes referred to as “COVID brain fog.”
Ely, Tulane School of Public Health and Tulane School of Medicine alumnus, is a professor of medicine in the Division of Allergy, Pulmonary, and Critical Care Medicine at VUMC and has been there for 25 years. Over the years, Ely and the GRECC have received other VA awards to further research geriatric and ICU care.
“VA merit awards have been the foundation for all this path of discovery, and without that funding, we never would have made these discoveries that are now influencing medicine across the world and making lives better for Veterans and non-Veterans alike,” Ely said.
Established in 1998, the Magnuson Award consists of a one-time award of $5,000 to an individual, with $50,000 for up to three years to supplement ongoing peer-reviewed research. The award is a testament to the research Ely and his team provide to Veterans and the health science community.
“For me, my work is an act of service to give back to the people who have gone before me and those in suffering and in a way, help them and their families find a path towards recovery and hope,” Ely said.