The first hospital-based medical studies to be formally considered part of VA’s newly established research program were conducted. Publishing of the U.S. Veterans’ Bureau Medical Bulletin, designed, in part, to “promote research along practical lines” began.
Developed and tested effective therapies for tuberculosis following World War II. These tuberculosis studies were among the first-ever large-scale clinical trials and led to the development of the Cooperative Studies Program, which has since produced effective treatments for diseases and conditions including schizophrenia, diabetes, depression, heart disease, and stroke.
Dr. William Chardack of the Buffalo VA invented the first clinically successful implantable cardiac pacemaker.
The first successful liver transplant was performed by Dr. Thomas E. Starzl in the Denver VA Medical Center, and techniques for suppressing the body’s natural attempt to reject transplanted tissue were developed.
Dr. Rosalyn Yalow of the Bronx VA Medical Center was awarded the Nobel Prize for her work developing radioimmunoassays of peptide hormones.
The nicotine patch and other smoking cessation therapies were developed.
It was demonstrated that one aspirin tablet a day reduced by half the rate of death and nonfatal heart attacks in patients with unstable angina in the Kansas City VA Medical Center.
The first large clinical trials of hearing aids were conducted, documenting that the devices can help the hearing-impaired in both quiet and noisy environments.
The first powered ankle-foot prosthesis, developed in collaboration with MIT and Brown University, was unveiled.
VA was part of two major national research initiatives on COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutics: Operation Warp Speed (OWS) and the Accelerated COVID-19 Therapeutic Interventions and Vaccines (ACTIV) initiative.
