About the Program
The VA Boston Healthcare System has a large, well-funded research and development program including studies that are funded in the following broad research areas:
- biomedical research (e.g., basic science and animal studies)
- health services (e.g., organizational/operational, management, and statistical studies)
- clinical and cooperative studies (e.g., investigational drug/device and interventional studies)
- rehabilitation (e.g., visual and prosthetic studies)
Research is an integral part of the VA's mission and plays a key role in enhancing the health care services provided to the Massachusetts veteran population. The Brockton, West Roxbury and Jamaica Plain campuses combined have one of the largest and most active research programs in the VA System nation-wide.
VABHS R&D Program is fully accredited through the National Commission for Quality Assurance (NCQA) for its Human Research Protection Program (pending AAHRPP review) and is also fully accredited through the Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care and use AAALAC) for its Animal Research Protection Program.
Services Offered
Our current research studies enhance the medical center's ability to provide state-of-the-art medical techniques and treatments to veterans.
The three facilities are currently all participating in a major research effort on diabetes funded through the Department of Defense, in conjunction with the Joslin Clinic.
The Brockton Campus has major research efforts in the neurophysiology of mental illnesses including a recently funded Schizophrenia Research Center, and is a leader in the development of behavioral treatments for alcoholism, substance abuse and related disorders: it also possesses a strong research group studying sleep and its disorders.
The West Roxbury Campus has a U.S. patent pending for work in the development of an antagonist for alcohol effects on cell-cell adhesion that will be useful in preventing teratogenic (fetal alcohol syndrome) and cognitive effects of ethanol. The West Roxbury Campus has several U.S. patents pending on the development of a storage solution and other inventions that maintain the structural and functional integrity of explanted human tissues during prolonged ex-vivo ischemia prior to surgical re-implantation. These inventions will have a major impact in the protection of endothelial cells during coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery and the long-term patency of grafts following CABG. Health outcomes research in surgery is also being conducted at West Roxbury, and the "National Surgical Quality Improvement Program" is the first validated outcome based, risk-adjusted and peer-controlled program for the measurement and enhancement of the quality of surgical care nationally, including the VA and the private sector.
The Jamaica Plain campus has nationally recognized research programs in PTSD, the Behavioral Neurosciences, Women's Health, and in the Addictions (alcohol, nicotine, & opiates). In addition, the Jamaica Plain has an extremely active program investigating the origins of the Persian Gulf War Illnesses while collaborating with the Department of Defense. Other research projects include environmental hazards and health care financing & economics.
Recently funded research centers at JP include the Center for Innovative Visual Rehabilitation, Center for Information Dissemination and Research (CIDER), Center for Organizational Leadership and Management Research (COLMR), and the Massachusetts Veterans Epidemiological Research and Information Center (MAVERIC). JP is also a VA Cooperative Studies Coordinating Center and home to one of only two VA sponsored Tissue & Biorepository Facilities nationwide.
The Normative Aging Study, and the Dental Longitudinal Study are two of the longest running examinations of normal aging and contribute considerably to the research environment at the JP campus.
VABHS is a member of COBTH, the "Conference of Boston Teaching Hospitals" and was recognized as one of the largest contributors of research in their portfolio.
Over 650 active research projects are currently being conducted at the VABHS in the areas listed below —
Brockton Campus
- addictions and alcoholism
- behavioral research
- neurophysiology of mental illness
- schizophrenia
- sleep disorders
Jamaica Plain Campus
- aging
- aphasia
- cardiovascular disease
- diabetes
- hemostasis
- hypertension
- infectious disease
- language and memory disorders
- neuroscience
- post-traumatic stress disorder
- retinal prosthesis
- tissue engineering
West Roxbury Campus
- cardiology and cardiovascular diseases
- cardiothoracic surgery
- endocrinology
- gastrointestinal motility disorders
- gastrointestinal surgery
- genetics
- hematology
- multiple myeloma
- neurology and neuroscience
- orthopedic surgery
- pulmonary medicine
- rehabilitation
- spinal cord injury
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