Veterans Affairs (VA) Research Opportunities

Please see below some of the Veterans Affairs (VA) faculty research mentors offering research opportunities for BU first-year medical students. Interested medical students are encouraged to directly contact the mentors listed for more information. Please note that to work with VA mentors for the MSSRP, students must be US citizens or permanent residents.

Veterans Affairs (VA) Boston Healthcare System	Jonathan F. Bean MD, MS, MPH Research project: We are completing enrollment for a clinical trial evaluating the benefits of an exercise based physical therapy program on middle aged and older community dwelling Veterans at risk for adverse health outcomes including disability, falls and hospitalization. The medical student’s work would under my direct mentorship and include: Data entry, management and cleaning Participation in data analyses Literature search and synthesis Potential for authorship on posters and/or papers Jonathan.bean4@va.gov Danne Elbers, PhD Research Project: The VA Boston CSP Informatics team specializes in bringing research to the clinic and enabling Learning Healthcare System practices. Medical students will learn the informatics and research side of healthcare and support CSP team providing additional medical resources. Medical students interested in engineering/coding will have a good opportunity to enhance those skills as we have a supportive hands-on environment, but this is not required. One of next years’ projects is the development of a patient to trial matching application; based on a patient’s phenotype and disease trajectory find most suitable trials at the local (or nearby) VA. Medical student will help with validating the matching of the patient’s phenotype to the algorithmic output. Danne.Elbers@va.gov Cooperative Studies Program (CSP) Informatics Center Catherine Fortier, PhD Research Project: The years from 2001 to 2014, when the United States was engaged in military operations following the September 11th, 2001 terrorist attacks, were momentous in many ways. For the VHA in particular, the post-9/11 conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan produced a new generation of returning veterans with deeply complex and challenging mental and physical problems resulting from their combat experiences. Since its inception in 2009, TRACTS has collected a vast array of longitudinal data detailing the complexities of the mental, physical, and brain health of post-9/11 veterans. Our well characterized group of participants is projected to surpass 1000 individuals by 2024. This representative group has allowed us to study the intellectual, emotional, neural, and molecular correlates of brain injury and traumatic experiences, which will lead directly to improved treatment for post-9/11 veterans now and into the future as they age. Catherine.Fortier@va.gov catherine_fortier@hms.harvard.edu Erin Hisey, PhD My lab is interested in how early life trauma affects the development and function of neural circuits in adulthood. We have a particular interest in how top down control by the prefrontal cortex is altered by early life trauma and how the timing of the trauma (pre vs peri vs postpubertal) affects prefrontal innervation of downstream targets. ehisey@bu.edu BU Profile Yonghui Jia, PhD The VA Central Biorepository plays a crucial role in supporting various VA research programs, such as the Million Veteran’s Program and Cooperative Studies Programs, along with local research studies. Leveraging state-of-the-art high throughput automation technologies, the Biorepository efficiently processes biospecimens for downstream applications. The laboratory adheres to good lab practices to ensure the proper processing and storage of high-quality specimens. This particular project aims to optimize DNA recovery after prolonged storage at ultra-low temperatures due to evaporation. Student researchers participating in this project will employ diverse methods to measure DNA quantities and evaluate DNA integrity. Moreover, they will gain valuable knowledge pertaining to cryogenics and automation technologies. yonghui.jia@va.gov Junghee Lee, PhD, MS Research title: A neuropathological mechanism of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS): Ewsr1 deficiency leads to oligodendrocytic dysfunction. Research description: We have identified that the multifunctional protein EWSR1 (Ewing sarcoma breakpoint region 1/EWS RNA binding protein 1) is associated with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). We found that immunoreactivity for EWSR1 was significantly reduced in oligodendrocytes in the spinal cord of ALS patients and ALS transgenic [mutant SOD1(G93A)] mice. Through total RNA sequencing in the spinal cord of wild-type (WT) and Ewsr1 Knockout (KO) mice, we found that myelination- and axonal sheath-related genes, including Plp1, Map, and Utg8a, were significantly downregulated in EWSR1 KO mice. We are currently actively conducting detailed research on this topic. If any student has a strong interest on this neuropathogenetic topic and wishes to conduct various cellular and molecular laboratory techniques such as cell culture, transfection, differentiation, qRT-PCT, immunocytochemistry, immunohistochemistry, and confocal fluorescence microscopy, please contact me at junghee@bu.edu. junghee@bu.edu BU Profile Lewina Lee, PhD Research Project: My research broadly addresses the role of psychosocial stressor exposure in health and aging and health, and mechanisms which transmit or alter the effects of stress on health across the lifespan. I also study psychosocial factors that promote good health, especially in the context of adversity exposure. Projects relevant to MSSRP participants are listed below. Assignment to tasks will be determined based on participant interest and qualifications, and project needs. Contributing to a scoping review paper on measurement of structural, environmental, and psychological factors that function as health assets to promote favorable health Contributing to a systematic review on the joint association of early adversity and health-protective factors with cardiometabolic disease Contributing to ongoing lab projects on the associations of early-life experiences with later-life health using large-scale cohort study data and administrative records. lewina@bu.edu lewina.lee@va.gov BU Profile National Center for Posttraumatic Stress– Behavioral Science Division Frank Meng, PhD Research Project: My colleagues and I lead the Big Data Scientist Training Enhancement Program (BD-STEP), an OAA-funded advanced fellowship for training data scientists in the VA. We work closely with the Boston CSP Coordinating Center and have access to multiple projects that students could join. For instance, we have a study that will utilize patient social/behavioral data derived from retrospective VA electronic health record (EHR) to analyze their impact on various aspects of VA clinical trials including recruitment, retention, adherence, randomization, data collection, logistics, multi-site administration, and general operations. Students will also have the opportunity to participate in various BD-STEP activities including monthly seminars, roundtable meetings, weekly office hours with staff data scientists, and the potential to participate in a junior investigators research conference in collaboration with NCI. Frank.Meng2@va.gov Cooperative Studies Program (CSP) Informatics Center – Big Data Scientist Training Enhancement Program (BD-STEP) Jason L. Vassy, MD, MPH, MS I direct the Genomes2Veterans (G2V) research program, a translational genomics research program spanning VA Boston Healthcare System, Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and Ariadne Labs. Our research program encompasses several studies aimed at advancing precision medicine and improving healthcare outcomes, and there are several opportunities for medical students to be involved: The Prostate cancer, Genetic Risk, & Equitable Screening Study (ProGRESS) is a national pragmatic randomized controlled trial focusing on precision prostate cancer screening for 5,000 Veterans, incorporating monogenic genetic variants, polygenic risk scores, and family history. Pragmatic randomized trial of polygenic risk scoring for common diseases in primary care (the Genomic Medicine at VA, GenoVA, Study) extends this approach to six common diseases, utilizing polygenic risk scoring in a pragmatic randomized controlled trial. The REFLECTION: Real World Evidence for Learnings in Cancer Detection Study investigates the Galleri blood-based, multi-cancer early detection test. The ScreenShare Study (Building a shared decision making implementation strategy for the emerging paradigm of precision cancer screening) addresses shared decision-making in precision prostate cancer screening. The Million Veteran Program – Return of Actionable Results (MVP-ROAR) Study explores the impact of immediate vs. delayed return of actionable genetic testing results. The VA All of Us Research Program, in which the VA is a participating organization, contributes to building one of the most diverse health databases in history. jason.vassy@va.gov jvassy@bwh.harvard.edu BU Profile Emily Wan, MD Research Project: I’m a member of the pulmonary section at VA Boston who conducts research related to chronic lung disease epidemiology and genomics. Potential projects which would fit into the time period described include: Examining epigenetic changes (e.g. DNA methylation) associated with black carbon (and other airborne particulates) among COPD patients Examining the association between epigenetic age and cause-specific mortality in COPD cohorts Examining the performance of a new phenotyping algorithm to identify Veterans with Chronic Lung Disease in the VHA. Examining the interplay of cardiac and respiratory diseases in exercise tolerance (involves data collection through chart review) among heavy smokers. Best way to contact me is at emily.wan@va.gov emily.wan@va.gov BU Profile

Veterans Affairs (VA) Boston Healthcare System

Jonathan F. Bean MD, MS, MPH

Research project: We are completing enrollment for a clinical trial evaluating the benefits of an exercise based physical therapy program on middle aged and older community dwelling Veterans at risk for adverse health outcomes including disability, falls and hospitalization. The medical student’s work would under my direct mentorship and include:

Data entry, management and cleaning
Participation in data analyses
Literature search and synthesis
Potential for authorship on posters and/or papers

Jonathan.bean4@va.gov

Danne Elbers, PhD

Research Project: The VA Boston CSP Informatics team specializes in bringing research to the clinic and enabling Learning Healthcare System practices. Medical students will learn the informatics and research side of healthcare and support CSP team providing additional medical resources. Medical students interested in engineering/coding will have a good opportunity to enhance those skills as we have a supportive hands-on environment, but this is not required.

One of next years’ projects is the development of a patient to trial matching application; based on a patient’s phenotype and disease trajectory find most suitable trials at the local (or nearby) VA. Medical student will help with validating the matching of the patient’s phenotype to the algorithmic output.

Danne.Elbers@va.gov
Cooperative Studies Program (CSP) Informatics Center

Catherine Fortier, PhD

Research Project: The years from 2001 to 2014, when the United States was engaged in military operations following the September 11th, 2001 terrorist attacks, were momentous in many ways. For the VHA in particular, the post-9/11 conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan produced a new generation of returning veterans with deeply complex and challenging mental and physical problems resulting from their combat experiences.

Since its inception in 2009, TRACTS has collected a vast array of longitudinal data detailing the complexities of the mental, physical, and brain health of post-9/11 veterans. Our well characterized group of participants is projected to surpass 1000 individuals by 2024. This representative group has allowed us to study the intellectual, emotional, neural, and molecular correlates of brain injury and traumatic experiences, which will lead directly to improved treatment for post-9/11 veterans now and into the future as they age.

Catherine.Fortier@va.gov
catherine_fortier@hms.harvard.edu

Erin Hisey, PhD

My lab is interested in how early life trauma affects the development and function of neural circuits in adulthood. We have a particular interest in how top down control by the prefrontal cortex is altered by early life trauma and how the timing of the trauma (pre vs peri vs postpubertal) affects prefrontal innervation of downstream targets.

ehisey@bu.edu
BU Profile

Yonghui Jia, PhD

The VA Central Biorepository plays a crucial role in supporting various VA research programs, such as the Million Veteran’s Program and Cooperative Studies Programs, along with local research studies. Leveraging state-of-the-art high throughput automation technologies, the Biorepository efficiently processes biospecimens for downstream applications. The laboratory adheres to good lab practices to ensure the proper processing and storage of high-quality specimens. This particular project aims to optimize DNA recovery after prolonged storage at ultra-low temperatures due to evaporation. Student researchers participating in this project will employ diverse methods to measure DNA quantities and evaluate DNA integrity. Moreover, they will gain valuable knowledge pertaining to cryogenics and automation technologies.

yonghui.jia@va.gov

Junghee Lee, PhD, MS

Research title: A neuropathological mechanism of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS): Ewsr1 deficiency leads to oligodendrocytic dysfunction.
Research description: We have identified that the multifunctional protein EWSR1 (Ewing sarcoma breakpoint region 1/EWS RNA binding protein 1) is associated with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). We found that immunoreactivity for EWSR1 was significantly reduced in oligodendrocytes in the spinal cord of ALS patients and ALS transgenic [mutant SOD1(G93A)] mice. Through total RNA sequencing in the spinal cord of wild-type (WT) and Ewsr1 Knockout (KO) mice, we found that myelination- and axonal sheath-related genes, including Plp1, Map, and Utg8a, were significantly downregulated in EWSR1 KO mice. We are currently actively conducting detailed research on this topic. If any student has a strong interest on this neuropathogenetic topic and wishes to conduct various cellular and molecular laboratory techniques such as cell culture, transfection, differentiation, qRT-PCT, immunocytochemistry, immunohistochemistry, and confocal fluorescence microscopy, please contact me at junghee@bu.edu.

junghee@bu.edu
BU Profile

Lewina Lee, PhD

Research Project: My research broadly addresses the role of psychosocial stressor exposure in health and aging and health, and mechanisms which transmit or alter the effects of stress on health across the lifespan. I also study psychosocial factors that promote good health, especially in the context of adversity exposure. Projects relevant to MSSRP participants are listed below. Assignment to tasks will be determined based on participant interest and qualifications, and project needs.

Contributing to a scoping review paper on measurement of structural, environmental, and psychological factors that function as health assets to promote favorable health
Contributing to a systematic review on the joint association of early adversity and health-protective factors with cardiometabolic disease
Contributing to ongoing lab projects on the associations of early-life experiences with later-life health using large-scale cohort study data and administrative records.

lewina@bu.edu
lewina.lee@va.gov
BU Profile
National Center for Posttraumatic Stress– Behavioral Science Division

Frank Meng, PhD

Research Project: My colleagues and I lead the Big Data Scientist Training Enhancement Program (BD-STEP), an OAA-funded advanced fellowship for training data scientists in the VA. We work closely with the Boston CSP Coordinating Center and have access to multiple projects that students could join. For instance, we have a study that will utilize patient social/behavioral data derived from retrospective VA electronic health record (EHR) to analyze their impact on various aspects of VA clinical trials including recruitment, retention, adherence, randomization, data collection, logistics, multi-site administration, and general operations.
Students will also have the opportunity to participate in various BD-STEP activities including monthly seminars, roundtable meetings, weekly office hours with staff data scientists, and the potential to participate in a junior investigators research conference in collaboration with NCI.

Frank.Meng2@va.gov
Cooperative Studies Program (CSP) Informatics Center – Big Data Scientist Training Enhancement Program (BD-STEP)

Jason L. Vassy, MD, MPH, MS

I direct the Genomes2Veterans (G2V) research program, a translational genomics research program spanning VA Boston Healthcare System, Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and Ariadne Labs.

Our research program encompasses several studies aimed at advancing precision medicine and improving healthcare outcomes, and there are several opportunities for medical students to be involved:

The Prostate cancer, Genetic Risk, & Equitable Screening Study (ProGRESS) is a national pragmatic randomized controlled trial focusing on precision prostate cancer screening for 5,000 Veterans, incorporating monogenic genetic variants, polygenic risk scores, and family history.
Pragmatic randomized trial of polygenic risk scoring for common diseases in primary care (the Genomic Medicine at VA, GenoVA, Study) extends this approach to six common diseases, utilizing polygenic risk scoring in a pragmatic randomized controlled trial.
The REFLECTION: Real World Evidence for Learnings in Cancer Detection Study investigates the Galleri blood-based, multi-cancer early detection test.
The ScreenShare Study (Building a shared decision making implementation strategy for the emerging paradigm of precision cancer screening) addresses shared decision-making in precision prostate cancer screening.
The Million Veteran Program – Return of Actionable Results (MVP-ROAR) Study explores the impact of immediate vs. delayed return of actionable genetic testing results.
The VA All of Us Research Program, in which the VA is a participating organization, contributes to building one of the most diverse health databases in history.

jason.vassy@va.gov
jvassy@bwh.harvard.edu
BU Profile

Emily Wan, MD

Research Project: I’m a member of the pulmonary section at VA Boston who conducts research related to chronic lung disease epidemiology and genomics. Potential projects which would fit into the time period described include:

Examining epigenetic changes (e.g. DNA methylation) associated with black carbon (and other airborne particulates) among COPD patients
Examining the association between epigenetic age and cause-specific mortality in COPD cohorts
Examining the performance of a new phenotyping algorithm to identify Veterans with Chronic Lung Disease in the VHA.
Examining the interplay of cardiac and respiratory diseases in exercise tolerance (involves data collection through chart review) among heavy smokers.

Best way to contact me is at emily.wan@va.gov

emily.wan@va.gov
BU Profile

Last updated on March 5, 2024