Southern Arizona VA to host inaugural Research Day in partnership with UAHS on May 5

Join medical researchers from the Southern Arizona VA Health Care System and the University of Arizona Health Sciences on May 5, 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., to celebrate the inaugural SAVAHCS Research Day at the Health Sciences Innovation Building.

The theme of the day’s activities, “The Power of Partnership: Desert Discoveries,” pays homage to the fact that for the first four years of the College of Medicine – Tucson’s existence the Tucson VA Medical Center served as the clinical home for patients, faculty members and trainees.

Key VA participants include Leslie Lockridge, DNP, RN, director and CEO of the SAVAHCS; Sandesh Dev, MD, MS, SAVAHCS acting associate chief of research, staff cardiologist and an associate professor in the U of A College of Medicine's Department of Medicine; and keynote speaker Guarav Choudhary, MD, associate chief of staff for research at the Providence VA Medical Center in Rhode Island and cardiovascular research director at Brown University and its Lifespan Cardiovascular Institute.

Multiple UAHS and COM-T faculty researchers will be participating as presenters, panelists and moderators, including:

• Jason Wertheim, MD, PhD, the college’s vice dean of research & graduate studies, and vice president of health research, U of A Office of Research & Partnership; 
• Janet Funk, MD, MS, vice chair of research, Department of Medicine; 
• Sairam Parthasarathy, MD, director, Center for Sleep, Circadian & Neuroscience Research; 
• Gayatri Vedantam, PhD, co-director, Collaboratory for Anti-Infectives & Therapeutics; 
• Justin Starren, MD, PhD, director, Center for Biomedical Informatics & Biostatistics; 
• Marianne Matthias, PhD, associate dean for research, College of Nursing; 
• Patricia Thompson, PhD, associate director of strategy, U of A Cancer Center; 
• Sally Radovick, MD, MS, director, Clinical & Translational Science Institute, and PI, SW CACTI CTSA Program; 
• Joseph Finkelstein, MD, PhD, director, U of A Telemedicine Program; and 
• Rajat Madan, MD, PhD, chief, Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine.

For an overview, agenda, registration and maps, click here. 

Direct questions to Ana.Serrano-Salcedo@va.gov or 520-792-1450, Ext. 1-6518.