Inaugural SAVAHCS Research Day puts spotlight on dual role of U of A/VA physicians

The inaugural SAVAHCS Research Day, hosted at the Health Sciences Innovation Building on May 5, was a hit with investigators who may work on both the Southern Arizona VA Health Care System’s campus as well as the University of Arizona Health Sciences Tucson campus.

Under the core theme, “The Power of Partnership: Desert Discoveries,” the event lived up to that and its sub-motif of “Two Institutions, One Mission: Advancing Healthcare in Southern Arizona.”

It should be pointed out that, when the U of A College of Medicine – Tucson was born in 1967, the Tucson VA Medical Center was its first clinical home. That lasted for four years, until the then-University Medical Center — now Banner – UMC Tucson — opened in late 1971. And a number of U of A Health Sciences faculty and trainees continue to see patients there.

“I felt fantastic seeing VA and UA researchers personally connecting on disease states and health issues of mutual interest. The breakout talks were a great example of this dynamic conversation,” said Sandesh Dev, MD, an associate professor in the U of A Department of Medicine, and SAVAHCS staff cardiologist and acting associate chief of staff for research and development.

“It reinforced my belief we need to do a better job of sharing what the VA is doing, what resources we can offer, and what additional expertise is needed from the university. I’m looking forward to new conversations that will come from this event.”

Video archive recordings of SAVAHCS Research Day can be found at this link.

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The day’s activities kicked off at 8 a.m. with a social breakfast, followed by the first session, “VA Resources for Investigators,” moderated by Jason Wertheim, MD, PhD, the college’s vice dean of research and graduate studies and U of A’s associate vice president for health research, with input from SAVAHCS director and CEO Leslie Lockridge, DNP, RN, Dr. Dev, Peggy Bradley, executive director of Biomedical Research & Education Foundation of Southern Arizona, which supports SAVAHCS’s medical research and educational mission, as well as SAVAHCS research committee managers Erika Matas and Lakeeda Johnson.

Other breakout sessions focused on career development, clinical trials, infection and immunology, informatics, the brain and mental health and cancer research. The keynote address was by Guarav Choudhary, MD, associate chief of staff for research at the Providence VA Medical Center and cardiovascular research director at Brown University and Brown University Health’s Cardiovascular Institute in Rhode Island. The title of his talk was “Launching Forward: From Population Insights to Targeted Therapies in Pulmonary Hypertension at the VA.” Dr. Choudhary also provided valuable feedback during the Q&A portion of several sessions.

Department of Medicine participants included DOM vice chair of research and Endocrinology division professor Janet Funk, MD, who moderated the career development session; Pulmonary division chief and Center for Sleep, Circadian & Neuroscience Research director Sairam Parthasarathy, MD, who moderated the clinical trials session; Endocrinology division assistant professor Stephanie Giffin, DO, a panelist who spoke on her VA-IMPACT clinical trial studying use of metformin in pre-diabetes and atherosclerotic cardiovascular outcomes during Dr. Parthasarathy’s session; Infectious Diseases division chief Rajat Madan, MD, PhD, a panelist on the infection and immunology session; and the Cardiology division’s John Chorba, MD, a Sarver Heart Center member; and Joseph Finkelstein, MD, PhD, a professor in the Division of General Internal Medicine, Geriatrics & Palliative Medicine and Arizona Telemedicine Program director. Both Drs. Chorba and Finkelstein were panelists in the informatics session.

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Dr. Funk noted that she learned that VA career development awards do not require a VA appointment, “So, in theory, any early-career DOM faculty would want to investigate this opportunity.” She encouraged them to tune in to the event’s archived recording or reach out to her for more information.

In the clinical trials panel discussion Dr. Parthasarathy moderated, he said, “We learned about barriers and facilitators for conducting clinical trials (via the SAVAHCS) and how we can strengthen collaboration between SAVAHCS and the U of A in that space.” He was SAVAHCS chief of research and pulmonary section chief before joining the U of A faculty directly — and served as an Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital staff physician for several years when he was on faculty at Loyola University’s medical school in Chicago before that.

Dr. Madan, who practiced at the Cincinnati VA Medical Center before coming to Tucson in January, said, “The VA is a wonderful resource that would allow U of A investigators to collaborate and conduct highly impactful research,” referencing their VA SHIELD (Science and Health Initiative to Combat Infectious and Emerging Life-Threatening Diseases) biorepository as a key resource that can be used for human subject-based research studies in infectious diseases and immunology.

Dr. Finkelstein agreed, stating Dr. Dev and others are available on short notice with detailed guidance on navigating the VA research landscape. “The research team at the Tucson VA provides a very supportive environment for U of A researchers. And the Tucson VA offers a great site for innovative research both for translational and clinical trial research.”

Dr. Chorba said he appreciated the time built into the day’s agenda for meaningful interactions with other VA researchers. “So much of research is being able to make insights and connections from topics that aren’t obvious, and knowing what other people are doing, and can do, helps facilitate that!” he added. He was a staff physician at the Zuckerman San Francisco General Hospital and on faculty at UCSF before joining the U of A in January.

For contacts and other details on the SAVAHCS research webpage, click this link.

ALSO SEE:
“Research Day 2026 fanfare delivers on promise of collaborative engagement” | Posted April 20, 2026
“Clinical Trials Development Workshop opens opportunities for cross-disciplinary research” | Posted June 30, 2025
“SOAR in DOM Forum promotes greater exchange in growing DOM research community” | Posted April 29, 2025

(Photos courtesy of David Mogollon, DOM communications manager)

For additional SAVAHCS Research Day photos, click here.

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