Research & Development

Supported with more than $16 million annually, research conducted by MEDVAMC staff ensures Veterans access to cutting-edge medical and health care technology. With 563 active research projects, the MEDVAMC Research & Development (R&D) Program is an integral part of the medical center’s mission and plays a very important role in the health care Veterans receive. The production of new knowledge, techniques, and products has led to improved prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and control of disease. The MEDVAMC R&D Program includes four components: Biomedical Laboratory Research and Development, Clinical Science Research and Development, Rehabilitation Research and Development, and Health Services Research and Development. Collectively, these services support research covering biomedicine, clinical trials, rehabilitation, and health services. Today, VA is a leader in many areas of research. Some of the recent achievements and initiatives include a study which found angioplasty more cost-effective than bypass surgery; a new type of prosthetic hand providing sensory feedback to the brain, a step toward producing artificial hands and legs that can feel; research into preventing outbreaks caused by an increasingly antibiotic resistant germ; animal and cell-culture tests showing the ‘goldenseal’ root as an effective cholesterol-lowering agent; and exploration of the depletion of B cells, a type of lymphocyte that makes antibodies and presents antigens to other immune cells, as a potential therapy for autoimmune diseases.

The Houston Center for Quality of Care and Utilization Studies (HCQCUS) is one of 13 VA Health Services Research and Development Centers of Excellence (VA HSR&D). Established in 1990, our Center of Excellence systematically examines the impact of the organization, management and financing of health care services on the delivery, quality, cost, utilization and outcomes of care.