More Veterans Supporting MVP
L-R) Photo 1: Scott Sherman, MD, MPH (Local Site Investigator), Sumitra Muralidhar, PhD (Sr. Scientific Program Manager, Genomic Medicine Program, Office of Research & Development), and Jenny Hui (Local Site Coordinator);Photo 2 Muhammad Shoaib, Mia Malone, Jenny Hui, Jun (Henry) Lin
Scott Sherman, MD, MPH, Local Site Million Veteran Program (MVP) Investigator, has taken on numerous research challenges throughout the past 25 years. These studies have involved hundreds and thousands of Veterans. Perhaps the most monumental research project in terms of size is the MVP research, where the challenge is to enroll a million Veterans over the next 5-7 years at MVP sites at VAs nationwide. The idea is to create a national database of information obtained from blood samples that will be stored securely and linked to Veterans’ coded medical records for research on diseases like diabetes and cancer, and military-related illnesses, such as post-traumatic stress disorder.
VA NY Harbor Healthcare System officially launched its MVP satellite site at VA’s Brooklyn Campus in February, 2015. Over 1,200 Veterans have enrolled in MVP at the Brooklyn Satellite since then, and the Brooklyn Satellite was recognized recently at the MVP Annual Meeting for having the highest satellite enrollment at a large facility nationally for FY15. Dr. Sherman and Local Site Coordinator Jenny Hui attended the MVP Annual Meeting in Cambridge, MA in September, 2015 along with other MVP teams from VA’s across the country, MVP leadership, VA Central Office representatives, and a representative from the White House.
“Over 8,500 Veterans have enrolled in total at both Manhattan and Brooklyn locations since we started in 2011, and we are greatly appreciative of their continued service through research,” says Dr. Sherman. Referring to the necessity to collect blood samples from each participant, Dr. Sherman explained further, “We could not have achieved this without Iderlina Dabu, RN, MSN, PCTC and her phlebotomy team at VA’s Brooklyn Campus and Barbara Brady-Guzzo, NP, PCTC, and her phlebotomy team at VA’s Manhattan Campus.”
Veterans who are interested in learning more about MVP can stop by the Diagnostic Centers (blood labs) at VA’s Brooklyn and Manhattan Campuses and ask for “MVP” – a team member will see you right away. For more information, Veterans can also call the MVP Information Center toll-free at 866-441-6075 or visit www.research.va.gov/MVP.
