Straight talk with...Joel Kupersmith

Abstract

The US Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) last month announced plans to expand its Million Veteran Program, a massive data collection effort launched earlier this year, to all 109 of the agency's research-equipped medical centers across the country. Leading the charge is Joel Kupersmith, the Veterans Health Administration's chief research and development officer. As the effort ramps up, Elie Dolgin spoke to Kupersmith to learn what sets VA medical and prosthetic research apart from other biomedical research in the country. The US Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) last month announced plans to expand its Million Veteran Program, a massive data collection effort launched earlier this year, to all 109 of the agency's research-equipped medical centers across the country. Over the next five to seven years, investigators plan to collect DNA samples from former service personnel who volunteer for the program and link the genetic data to the VA's nationwide electronic medical record. With the goal of a million participants, the VA hopes to create the world's largest research database of genetic, military exposure and health information. Leading the charge is Joel Kupersmith, the Veterans Health Administration's chief research and development officer. A cardiology researcher, former medical school administrator and Navy veteran from the Vietnam era, Kupersmith joined the VA in 2005 with a mission: to improve the way clinical research is done. To that end, Kupersmith has helped create a central institutional review board (IRB), overseen an increase in research related to the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts, cut bureaucratic red tape at the agency and launched a major genomics initiative that includes the Million Veteran Program. As the effort ramps up, Elie Dolgin spoke to Kupersmith to learn what sets VA medical and prosthetic research apart from other biomedical research in the country.