About BREF

In 1988, Congress authorized the Secretary, Department of Veterans Affairs, to establish nonprofit research and education foundations for the purpose of providing VA medical centers with a flexible funding mechanism to accept and administer private sector and non-VA appropriated federal research and education funds.

Under this statute, the Baltimore Research and Education Foundation (BREF) was incorporated in July of 1990 in the State of Maryland as a tax exempt organization under the Internal Revenue Code section 501(C)(3) to promote, conduct, facilitate and coordinate medical research and related education at facilities within the VA Maryland Health Care System (VAMHCS).

The Baltimore Research and Education Foundation was established solely to advance medical knowledge through the support of research and research related activities as well as medical education. The studies supported by BREF are conducted for the purpose of discovering new or improved treatments for disease and disability.

Baltimore Research and Education Foundation accepts funding under grants, agreements, and gifts from individuals, for-profit companies, charitable foundations, federal and state agencies, professional societies and other nonprofit entities. BREF does not accept funding appropriated to the Department of Veterans Affairs. Because BREF's statutory purpose is to facilitate VA research and education, all funds received or administered are expended to support VA research and education activities. Contributions and expenditures are subject to the laws of the State of Maryland and applicable federal law.

All research projects administered by the BREF must be approved by the VAMHCS Research and Development (R&D) Committee and the facility institutional review board (IRB if using human subjects; IACUC if using animal subjects). The facility's R&D Committee has overall responsibility for the conduct of all research administered by the corporation, and the research is governed by federal and State of Maryland rules and regulations. Education activities must be approved by the VAMHCS Education Committee.

Most activities supported by BREF are conducted within the VAMHCS and are likely to involve VA employees (VA paid or WOC) and VA patients. As a result, federal regulations and federal laws govern access to patient records and treatment for research related injuries as well as intellectual property and patent rights. Also, subject to certification by the Attorney General that an employee was performing services within the scope of government employment, actions of corporation employees, whether working on a full time, part time or without compensation (WOC) basis, generally will be protected from personal liability under the Federal Tort Claims Act.