General FAQ’s Regarding VA-UI COM Partnership
Yes, but you must agree to accept a minimum 5/8th (25 hrs/week) salaried VA appointment if approved for funding. But the combined appointment between UIC and VA cannot exceed 150% (12/12ths)
If you are a non-physician scientist, you need to seek eligibility approval prior to submitting a grant application.
If you are a physician scientist, you can seek funding without prior eligibility approval. However, you must accept VA appointment prior to receiving funding.
Contact Ms. Karen Lenehan, the Administrative Officer of R&D Service:
[email protected]
312-569-6343 (Phone)
312-569-8114 (Fax)
Yes, as long as it’s relevant to the fourfold mission of VA research (https://www.research.va.gov/about/).
The prospective PI must have an appointment at JBVAMC either with or without compensation before initiating said research project.
Industry sponsored research at JBVMAC is administered through CARES, its independent nonprofit 501(c)(3) corporation (https://www.cares-research.org/).
Contact Ms. Karen Lenehan, the Administrative Officer of R&D Service:
[email protected]
312-569-6343 (Phone)
312-569-8114 (Fax)
JBVAMC Research and Development Unit oversees research that includes all phases of research from early laboratory based investigations through cell and animal modeling, to human clinical trials. Core Facilities at JBVAMC include : Jesse Brown VA Medical Center Motion Analysis, Research Laboratory, Small animal imaging system, Human tissue Repository and LC-MS-MS (liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry).
The Veterinary Medical Unit (VMU) is a temperature/light-automated, specific-pathogen free animal facility). The VMU facility is managed by the UIC Animal Care Division and is AALAC-certified. Housing and care of animals is under direction of Robin McWherter and Dr Jeff Fortman (DVM). Investigators have rooms dedicated for mice and rats, and rooms for behavioral studies.
For FY 2020, JBVA MC Research funding is in excess of $10 million dollars, this includes 54 current Merit Awardees, 1 Career Development Awardee and 9 Research Career Scientists. In addition, numerous industry-, federal-, and foundation-funded research projects are managed by JBVAMC’s research and education corporation, the Chicago Association for Research and Education in Science (CARES).
Yes! At the JBVAMC there are 34 current Merit Awardees, 1 Career Development Awardee, and 9 Research Career Scientists, who are UIC faculty. Many of the awardees have research that span both UIC and JBVAMC. Several UIC faculty have patents in partnership with the JBVAMC. In addition, the following UIC/JBVAMC faculty have taken their innovative therapies to the patients that need them through commercialization.
Bellur S. Prabhakar, Ph.D. http://www.jivanabiotech.com/
Mark Rasenick, Ph.D. http://www.paxneuroscience.com/
Guy L. Weinberg, M.D. http://www.lipidrescue.com
Douglas L. Feinstein, Ph.D. EnSol Therapeutics https://www.ensol-therapies.com/
UIC faculty who have joint appointments at the VA also conduct clinical trials at JBVAMC that are relevant to the VA patient population.
All disclosures are made to both UIC (Office of Technology Management) and the VA. Office of Technology Management (OTM) will work with the VA central office and together determine whether the IP belongs to the VA, UIC or shared between the two institutions. Royalties can be received by both institutions as well as the faculty as per OTM and VA distribution guidelines.
The JBVAMC is a full-service inpatient hospital and outpatient clinic caring for all the health needs of the veteran population in central Chicago, and the region. This includes specialized services for patients with Cancer, it is a Prostate Cancer Center Foundation – VA Center of Excellence (https://www.pcf.org/va-partnership/coe/). It also features specialized areas of Behavioral/Mental Health, Women’s Health, and Stroke/Neurologic Disorders. JBVAMC demographics are available at https://www.va.gov/directory/guide/facility.asp?id=183.
There were a large number of returning servicemen filling VA Hospital beds after World War II. There was also a critical shortage of physicians. January 3, 1946, President Harry Truman signs Public Law 79-293 creating the Department of Medicine and Surgery (which was the forerunner of the Veterans Health Administration). One Day Later, January 4, the University of Illinois College of Medicine and Northwestern University placed 56 residents at Hines VA General Hospital in Maywood Illinois, for the 1st of its kind program in the nation. These partnerships expanded and continue to this day, and now also include the Jessie Brown VA Medical Center.