VA research advancements are frequently making news. Veterans Affairs Deputy Secretary W. Scott Gould spoke yesterday, April 22, 2010, to kick off National Veteran Affairs Research Week. VA researchers have made numerous medical advances in the last 85 years and Gould spoke about some of these achievements, as well as more recent experiments.Gould said, “Thought Dr. Hughes-Fulford’s T-cell experiment might be out of this world, the work of all our VA researchers achieves new heights in health care every day.†He is referring to a recent experiment that could ultimately aid aging veterans fight off infections by impacting the immune system.
Gould spoke about the work that is being down with injured veterans coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan and how the research that is being done is improving their quality of life, as well as the life of numerous other individuals.
“The rising tide of research lifts the prospects of better health for all veterans – from the aging warriors of the ‘Greatest Generation’ to the youngest soldiers of the latest generation,†said Gould.
Dr. Audrey Nelson, who is the director of VA’s Health Services Research and Development Center, said “There is nothing like seeing a patient using a new technology or a new intervention and really seeing how it changes their life.†Research funding will continue, as Gould mentioned $1 billion would be put into funding for fiscal 2010 and 2011.