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Presentation of the 2024 VHA John D. Chase Award for Executive Excellence. (From left to right: Dr. Shereef Elnahal, Under Secretary for Health, Dr. Grant Huang, DCRADO for Enterprise Optimization, and Dr. Erica Scavella, Assistant Under Secretary for Health for Clinical Services.)
February 21, 2024
By Erica Sprey
VA Research Communications
"I'm especially grateful that VA recognizes the important role that research plays."
The Association of Military Surgeons of the United States (AMSUS) held its 2024 annual meeting on February 12-15, at National Harbor, Maryland, and featured a plenary session with Dr. Shereef Elnahal, VA Under Secretary of Health, Feb. 13.
Elnahal outlined VA’s top achievements in 2023 and discussed ongoing efforts to support VA’s six health care priorities. He reviewed VA’s progress on hiring faster and more competitively; serving Veterans affected by military environmental exposures; providing the soonest, best care; its journey to high reliability; the whole health program; and preventing Veteran suicide. Elnahal also highlighted VA’s cutting-edge research program, the VHA Innovator’s Network, and how they contribute to improved care for Veterans.
Following his address, Elnahal presented the VHA John D. Chase Award for Executive Excellence in Healthcare to Dr. Grant Huang, VA Deputy Chief Research and Development Officer (DCRADO) for Enterprise Optimization, recognizing his exemplary leadership within the VA Office of Research and Development (ORD) and for coordinating research efforts to support research and related activities during the COVID-19 pandemic.
While managing ongoing research initiatives, Huang led the ORD COVID-19 response team that facilitated the development of new therapeutics to treat and prevent the impact of the new coronavirus and was key to building federal and private partnerships that enabled VA Research to quickly pivot toward the development of new vaccines, treatments, and research on COVID-19 and its long-term health impacts.
As the DCRADO for Enterprise Optimization and director of the VA Cooperative Studies Program, Huang has been part of the design and management of over 100 multisite national and international clinical trials. He was also essential to the establishment of the Million Veteran Program and implementation of quality standards for the VA clinical research enterprise like the ISO 9001 registration.
Responding to the need to create better access to clinical trials for Veterans, Huang was key in creating the Access to Clinical Trials (ACT) for Veterans initiative. One outgrowth of ACT was the creation of the Partnered Research Program, which helps external groups navigate the process of bringing multisite clinical trials to Veterans in VA.
“I’m especially grateful that VA recognizes the important role that research plays in achieving our mission to care for Veterans,” said Huang. “I’m grateful to my team, my colleagues, and leadership for their expertise, collaborative spirit, and willingness to step up their research efforts especially during the COVID-19 public health emergency. Their work to provide research findings to support health, care, and quality of life has made the world a better place for Veterans, their families, and our nation.”
AMSUS is a nonprofit association that is open to federal health professionals serving in the United States Department of Defense, Department of Veteran Affairs, Department of Health and Human Services, and the Department of Homeland Security. Its mission is to “honor the legacy of federal medicine’s tremendous impact in advancing and improving health for all Americans and international partners.”
The John D. Chase Award for Executive Excellence recognizes sustained executive leadership and professional performance by a VHA executive leader. The award is named after Dr. John D. Chase, chief medical director of the Veterans Administration from 1974 to 1978.
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