Veterans Health Administration Office of Research and Development
Encyclopedia
The Veterans Health Administration Office of Research and Development (ORD) is the research and development agency of the Veterans Health Administration
in the United States Department of Veterans Affairs
. The department focuses on biomedical and health care research for the care of veterans and wounded soldiers, and has a budget of $1.018 billion in the requested 2012 budget
, in addition to $710 million derived from federal and non-federal grants from other agencies.
ORD performs intramural research in association with the VA hospitals, and over 70% of its investigators also provide direct patient care. Its achievements include research into prosthetic limbs
and mental health issues such as substance use, post-traumatic stress disorder
, and depression. It also publishes the Journal of Rehabilitation Research and Development
.
The office has existed since about 1925. ORD's historical achievements include that VA researchers in the 1960s performed the first successful liver transplant
. Three VA researchers have won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
: Ferid Murad
shared the prize in 1998 for nitric oxide
signaling in the cardiovascular system, and Andrew Schally and Rosalyn Yalow shared the prize in 1977 for studies of peptide hormone
s.
ORD consists of four "Research and Development Services", which are the Biomedical Laboratory Research and Development Service, the Clinical Science Research and Development Service (including the Cooperative Studies Program), the Health Services Research and Development Service, and the Rehabilitation Research and Development Service
, as well as a number of ORD-Wide Programs and Funded Field Centers.
Veterans Health Administration
The Veterans Health Administration is the component of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs led by the Under Secretary of Veterans Affairs for Health that implements the medical assistance program of the VA through the administration and operation of numerous VA outpatient clinics,...
in the United States Department of Veterans Affairs
United States Department of Veterans Affairs
The United States Department of Veterans Affairs is a government-run military veteran benefit system with Cabinet-level status. It is the United States government’s second largest department, after the United States Department of Defense...
. The department focuses on biomedical and health care research for the care of veterans and wounded soldiers, and has a budget of $1.018 billion in the requested 2012 budget
2012 United States federal budget
The 2012 United States federal budget is the United States federal budget to fund government operations for the fiscal year 2012, which is October 2011–September 2012...
, in addition to $710 million derived from federal and non-federal grants from other agencies.
ORD performs intramural research in association with the VA hospitals, and over 70% of its investigators also provide direct patient care. Its achievements include research into prosthetic limbs
Prosthesis
In medicine, a prosthesis, prosthetic, or prosthetic limb is an artificial device extension that replaces a missing body part. It is part of the field of biomechatronics, the science of using mechanical devices with human muscle, skeleton, and nervous systems to assist or enhance motor control...
and mental health issues such as substance use, post-traumatic stress disorder
Post-traumatic stress disorder
Posttraumaticstress disorder is a severe anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to any event that results in psychological trauma. This event may involve the threat of death to oneself or to someone else, or to one's own or someone else's physical, sexual, or psychological integrity,...
, and depression. It also publishes the Journal of Rehabilitation Research and Development
Journal of Rehabilitation Research and Development
The Journal of Rehabilitation Research and Development is a peer-reviewed open access medical journal published by the Rehabilitation Research and Development Service of the Veterans Health Administration Office of Research and Development. Itcovers research on rehabilitation medicine. It...
.
The office has existed since about 1925. ORD's historical achievements include that VA researchers in the 1960s performed the first successful liver transplant
Liver transplantation
Liver transplantation or hepatic transplantation is the replacement of a diseased liver with a healthy liver allograft. The most commonly used technique is orthotopic transplantation, in which the native liver is removed and replaced by the donor organ in the same anatomic location as the original...
. Three VA researchers have won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine administered by the Nobel Foundation, is awarded once a year for outstanding discoveries in the field of life science and medicine. It is one of five Nobel Prizes established in 1895 by Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, in his will...
: Ferid Murad
Ferid Murad
Ferid Murad is an Albanian-American physician and pharmacologist, and a co-winner of the 1998 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. He is also an honorary member of the Academy of Sciences and Arts of Kosovo.- Life :...
shared the prize in 1998 for nitric oxide
Nitric oxide
Nitric oxide, also known as nitrogen monoxide, is a diatomic molecule with chemical formula NO. It is a free radical and is an important intermediate in the chemical industry...
signaling in the cardiovascular system, and Andrew Schally and Rosalyn Yalow shared the prize in 1977 for studies of peptide hormone
Peptide hormone
Peptide hormones are a class of peptides that are secreted into the blood stream and have endocrine functions in living animals.Like other proteins, peptide hormones are synthesized in cells from amino acids according to an mRNA template, which is itself synthesized from a DNA template inside the...
s.
ORD consists of four "Research and Development Services", which are the Biomedical Laboratory Research and Development Service, the Clinical Science Research and Development Service (including the Cooperative Studies Program), the Health Services Research and Development Service, and the Rehabilitation Research and Development Service
Rehabilitation Research and Development Service
The Veterans Health Administration Office of Research and Development's Rehabilitation Research and Development Service funds research to improve or restore function in veterans who have become disabled because of injury or disease...
, as well as a number of ORD-Wide Programs and Funded Field Centers.