Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center

Veterans Affairs funded researcher, Dr. Jeffrey R. Capadona was recently awarded the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers.  Dr. Capadona was one of 96 scientists and engineers recognized for their achievements.  The Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers is the highest honor bestowed by the United States Government on science and engineering professionals in the early stages of their independent research careers.

Dr. Capadona attributes his success to the Cleveland VAMC’s unique career development program.  “I’m really lucky to have been part of the Cleveland VAMC and the Advanced Platform Technology Center’s career development program. It has been perfect environment to work in.”  Currently, Dr. Capadona is the Principal Investigator of the Capaonda Lab and Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Case Western Reserve University.

The Capadona Lab’s research focuses on the negative affects implanted devices have on the nervous system and how devices such as a shunt for a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) can last longer in the human body.  By applying principles of chemistry, materials science, molecular biology and neuroscience to develop solutions to overcome the inflammatory response to neural devices, Dr. Capadona and his team hope to improve the length of optimal device performance, and minimize the need for repeated surgeries to fix or replace failed devices. 

The Cleveland VAMC is extremely proud of Dr. Capadona and the contributions his research has on our Veterans’ health.