THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS HAS LAUNCHED its new “Returning Veterans” Web site—www.oefoif.va.gov—to welcome home veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts with a social, veteran-centric Web site focusing on their needs and questions. The Web site will feature videos, veteran stories and a blog where veterans are encouraged to post feedback. The site also will restructure the traditional index-of-benefits format found on other VA pages into question-based, categorized and easily navigated links by topic. This will allow veterans to easily find benefits of interest and discover related benefits as they explore.

THE NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH ANNOUNCED the selection of three individuals to serve as members of the Advisory Committee to the Director (ACD). Since 1966, the ACD has advised the NIH Director on policy and planning issues important to the NIH mission of conducting and supporting biomedical and behavioral research, research training and translating research results for the public. The new members of the council are Maria Freire, Ph.D., of New York, New York; Beatriz Luna, Ph.D., of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and James Thrall, M.D., of Boston, Massachusetts. Dr. Freire is the president of the Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation with a background in biophysics, immunology and virology. Dr. Luna is associate professor of psychiatry and psychology at the University of Pittsburgh. She is also the founder and director of the Laboratory for Neurocognitive Development. Dr. Thrall is the Juan Taveras Professor of Radiology at Harvard Medical School and radiologist-in-chief of the Massachusetts General Hospital. He is internationally known for his work in nuclear medicine and for his development of research programs in radiology.

THE UNIVERSITY OF CINCINATTI WILL BECOME the 39th member of NIH’s Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) consortium. Led by the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR), this national network of medical research institutions is working together to accelerate the process of turning laboratory discoveries into treatments for patients, to engage communities in clinical research efforts and to train the next generation of clinical and translational researchers. The consortium was launched in 2006, with new members added in 2007 and 2008. Approximately 60 CTSAs will be connected when the program is fully implemented in 2012. In this latest award, the University of Cincinnati will receive $22.7 million over five years. The new Center for Clinical and Translational Science and Training will expand its support for pediatric research through the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center; enhance new translational technologies, including large-scale studies of proteins (proteomics), drug discovery, imaging, nanomedicine, gene transfer and stem cell biology. The center also will increase outreach into the local community, including collaborations with the Cincinnati Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

W. SCOTT GOULD, A RETIRED NAVY RESERVIST and senior executive took the oath of office as the Deputy Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs last month. As the number-two executive in the VA, Gould will oversee VA’s day-to-day operation. Gould recently served as vice president for public-sector strategy at IBM Global Business Services, where he also founded and led IBM’s Global Leadership Initiative. Prior to IBM, he was chief executive officer of The O’Gara Company, a strategic advisory and investment services firm, and chief operating officer of Evolve, a technology services company. Gould’s previous service in the federal government includes positions as the chief financial officer and assistant secretary for administration at the Commerce Department and, later, as deputy assistant secretary for finance and management at the Treasury Department. As a White House Fellow, he worked at the Export-Import Bank of the United States and in the Office of the White House Chief of Staff. A fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration, Gould is a former member of the National Security Agency’s Technical Advisory Group and the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award Board of Overseers. He has been awarded the Department of Commerce Medal, the Treasury Medal and the Navy Meritorious Service Medal.

TO PROVIDE TRAINED NURSES to serve the healthcare needs of the nation’s veterans, the Department of Veterans Affairs is establishing new partnerships with five of the country’s top nursing schools. With these new partnerships, the VA Nursing Academy will expand the number of collaborations between the department and nursing schools from 10 to 15. The VA Nursing Academy is a virtual five-year pilot program with central administration in Washington. The five-year, $59 million program began in 2007. Five nursing schools will form new partnerships with five VA medical centers and join the VA Nursing Academy this year. They are: Western Carolina University, Asheville, N.C.; University of Alabama, Birmingham, Ala.; University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu; Pace University, Manhattan and Brooklyn, N.Y.; and Waynesburg University, Pittsburgh.