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University of Florida neuroscientist Doug Anderson, Ph.D., has been awarded a yearlong fellowship through the Department of Veterans Affairs Central Office in Washington, where he will serve as acting deputy director of the VA鈥檚 Medical Research Service.

Anderson will help set research-related program policy and strive to forge partnerships between the VA鈥檚 Office of Research and Development, other governmental agencies such as the National Institutes of 网红黑料, and academic medical centers nationwide.

Both UF and Gainesville鈥檚 Malcom Randall Veterans Affairs Medical Center are expected to benefit from the arrangement, effective in September.

鈥淲e consider it not only an honor for Dr. Anderson but also an honor for the university for him to accept this responsibility, something that鈥檚 going to help UF for decades to come,鈥� said William G. Luttge, Ph.D., executive director of UF鈥檚 Evelyn F. and William L. McKnight Brain Institute and a professor of neuroscience at UF鈥檚 College of Medicine. 鈥淭his is a unique opportunity to allow the University of Florida to play a role in setting national agendas that might further increase our opportunities for research and development through the VA and its partnering with the university. We鈥檙e trying to position ourselves as a model for the way the nation鈥檚 VA system should work regarding the way it collaborates between (regional) VAs and universities. We want to continue to lead like that.鈥�

Anderson鈥攁 senior research career scientist at the Gainesville VA and a professor and chairman of neuroscience at UF鈥檚 College of Medicine, where he also serves as the C.M. and K.E. Overstreet Family Chair in Spinal Cord Regeneration鈥攊s the first person to receive the new fellowship. Anderson also directs research and development at UF鈥檚 McKnight Brain Institute.

At UF, he has focused on deciphering the mechanisms responsible for tissue damage in acute spinal cord injury. He also has studied ways to repair the chronically injured spinal cord and has evaluated various rehabilitation strategies aimed at improving mobility after spinal cord injury.

While in Washington, Anderson said he expects to launch several research initiatives. These might include the study of stem cells and neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer鈥檚 and Parkinson鈥檚. Another could involve using various brain imaging systems to assess the degree of cognitive dysfunction in Gulf War veterans.

鈥淭his Gulf War request came from Congress because cognitive dysfunction apparently is a significant problem with a certain component of Gulf War vets,鈥� Anderson said. 鈥淟egislators would like the VA to try to come up with some answers to this particular problem.鈥�

Anderson also plans to encourage the VA to take a more proactive role in identifying critical scientific questions and funding research accordingly, instead of merely responding to investigator-initiated requests.

鈥淚鈥檇 like to see more unity and collaboration between the VA and the NIH, because a lot of the research issues are the same,鈥� Anderson said.

People sometimes ask why the VA should fund research at all, given the NIH鈥檚 mission in that regard, said Luttge, who will serve as acting chairman of the department of neuroscience while Anderson is away. He also will reassume all responsibilities associated with the position of director of research and development at the McKnight Brain Institute.

鈥淭he VA prides itself not only on providing state-of-the-art care for our veterans but also on having an organizational structure that aggressively focuses on clinical translational research; that鈥檚 its forte,鈥� Luttge said. 鈥淚n contrast, the NIH focuses on a lot of very basic research. Having somebody at the VA who can further accelerate the translation of fundamental animal research into clinical applications is critical. Dr. Anderson has proven experience with this and he knows what the challenges are.鈥�

Douglas J. Barrett, M.D., UF鈥檚 vice president for health affairs, called Anderson鈥檚 appointment 鈥渁n outstanding opportunity for one of UF鈥檚 accomplished senior researchers to help chart the future of biomedical research in our country in a very real way.鈥�

鈥淗e will be working to implement effective strategies for the VA鈥檚 Office of Research and Development to partner with NIH and the nation鈥檚 research-oriented academic health centers,鈥� Barrett said. 鈥淚n addition, upon his return to UF, Dr. Anderson will bring back knowledge and experience that will help UF position itself to pursue those key research directions that are foremost in the interest of federal funding agencies like the VA and the NIH.鈥�