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Dr. Wes Ely, associate director of Aging Research for the Veterans Affairs Tennessee Valley Geriatric Research Educational Center, accepts the Paul B. Magnuson Award for Outstanding Achievement in Rehabilitation Research and Development on behalf of all the Veterans who he has been able to help and those he will continue to help with the awarded grant money. Ely shared the story of an extraordinary Veteran named John Allen Baker, Jr., a patient of his who he had formed a close bond with.
May 22, 2024
By Mike Richman
Public Affairs Specialist
ORD Communications
Carrying forth the theme of “Building Community Through Research,” VA celebrated its annual Research Week from May 13-17 with special events at VA medical facilities across the nation, including an awards ceremony hosted by VA Secretary Denis McDonough.
An awards ceremony kicked off the week on Monday by recognizing the remarkable efforts of five VA researchers, each of whom will be granted a research award of $50,000 a year for three years, in an event streamed live from the Sonny G.V. Montgomery room of VA’s headquarters in Washington, D.C. The five award winners were:
“We are here to celebrate Research Week and recognize the great efforts of thousands of VA research investigators as they advance medical science for Veterans and the nation,” VA’s deputy undersecretary for health, Dr. Steven Lieberman, said in his opening remarks for the ceremony. “When you see VA research, you see a wonderful community of thousands working together to create much, much more than the sum of their parts. When you see VA research, you see a community effort to deliver the best possible care to our Veterans. You see VA investigators working hand in hand with clinicians, academic affiliates, Veteran volunteers and multiple partners in and out of the government. You see the backbone of women’s health, suicide prevention, rural health care, and so much more.”
Throughout Research Week, and even into the rest of May, local events celebrating VA’s Researchers are being hosted at multiple VA facilities, including Pittsburgh; Philadelphia; Minneapolis, Houston; Tucson, Arizona; and Loma Linda, California.
In Washington D.C., the VA headquarters capped off Research Week 2024 with a special documentary screening of “Bumps in the Road.” The documentary is a tribute to Dr. Rory Cooper, who has built a distinguished career in VA research after a spinal cord injury he during his Army service left him paralyzed from the waist down. Today, Dr. Cooper is an electrical engineer and director of the Human Engineering Research Laboratories (HERL), a joint institute of VA and the University of Pittsburgh. He’s credited with more than 30 patents that have advanced wheelchair technology and has authored and co-authored more than 300 peer-reviewed journal publications.
“Bumps in the Road” tells the incredible story of Dr. Cooper and captures his extraordinary achievements, said Dr. Carolyn Clancy, VHA deputy undersecretary for health for the Office of Discovery, Education and Affiliate Networks. “I had the chance to preview this documentary, and I can tell you it’s powerful. The title itself signifies both the challenge and enormous opportunity for unleashing the potential and impact of health care research.”
Historically, VA researchers make up innovative teams that have developed effective treatments for tuberculosis, invented the CAT scan and the pacemaker, and performed the first-ever liver transplant. More recently, VA research investigators have been critical to supporting the PACT Act, the President’s Cancer Moonshot, and thousands of other critical health-related initiatives.
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