Recent VA News Releases


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        VA Appoints New Research and Geriatrics Chiefs

        WASHINGTON (Dec. 4, 2002) - Secretary of Veterans Affairs Anthony J.
Principi today announced the appointment of two senior health care leaders
-- the chief of research and development and the chief consultant for
geriatrics and extended care for the Department of Veterans Affairs  (VA).

        Dr. Nelda P. Wray is VA's new chief of research and development.
Dr. James F. Burris is the department's new chief consultant for geriatrics
and extended care.

        Wray currently serves as chief of general medicine at the Houston VA
Medical Center and as a professor and the chief of health services research
at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.  She will take over from Dr.
John R. Feussner, who retired.

        Burris is the VA's deputy chief research and development officer and
has been acting chief research and development officer since August 2002.
He will assume the geriatrics position previously held by Dr. Judith A.
Salerno, who is now with the National Institutes of Health.

        "Dr. Wray is an internationally recognized leader in health
research," said Principi.  "She will use her considerable skills as a
researcher and administrator to improve health care for our veterans."

        Wray received her medical degree from the Baylor College of
Medicine.  She created the Houston Center for Quality of Care and
Utilization Studies, a VA Health Services Research and Development Center of
Excellence, in 1990.  She is a member of several national and state advisory
committees on research.  In 1999, she became the second person to receive
the VA Under Secretary Award for Outstanding Achievement in Health Service
Research.  Wray is board certified in internal medicine and pulmonary
medicine.

        Wray's recent research showed that patients with osteoarthritis of
the knee who underwent placebo arthroscopic surgery were just as likely to
report pain relief as those who received the real procedure.  The results
challenged the usefulness of one of the most common surgical procedures
performed for osteoarthritis of the knee.

        As chief of research and development, Wray will oversee more than
15,000 research programs at 115 VA medical centers.

        "Dr. Burris brings extensive experience in geriatric medicine,
administration and research to his position," said Principi.  "He will make
sure our aging and chronically ill veterans continue to receive the finest
medical care available."

        Burris received his medical degree from the College of Physicians
and Surgeons of Columbia University.  He completed a residency at Roosevelt
Hospital in New York City, then served as a medical officer in the United
States Public Health Service.  This was followed by an internal medicine
residency at Georgetown University and a hypertension fellowship at the VA
Medical Center in Washington, D.C., where he later served as a staff
physician in the geriatrics unit.

        He is a clinical professor of medicine and pharmacology at
Georgetown University.  He has held numerous administrative positions at
Georgetown University, including associate dean for research and operations
and director of continuing professional education.

        Burris has been VA's deputy chief research and development officer
since 1997.  His awards include the Vicennial Medal from Georgetown
University in 2000. He is a Fellow of the American Geriatrics Society and
the American Heart Association.


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