New VA Healthcare director A new director has been named to head the Veterans San Diego Healthcare System, headquartered in La Jolla. The Department of Veterans Affairs announced Jeffrey T. Gering’s appointment to guide a medical program that annually cares for 72,000 veterans with an operating budget of $537 million. Gering — board certified as a fellow in the American College of Health Care Executives — joined the VA 22 years ago and most recently served as director of the Chillicothe VA Medical Center in Ohio. “His sound leadership qualities and proven experience will be valuable assets for the facility, the employees and volunteers, and most importantly, for the veterans we are honored to serve,” said Stan Johnson, VA Desert Pacific Healthcare Network Director.  Gering will oversee a staff of 2,700 at facilities in Chula Vista, Escondido, Imperial Valley, Mission Valley and Oceanside.  Cindy Butler, public affairs director, said the system handles spinal-cord injuries and has a comprehensive telemedicine and monitoring center. “We’re trying to get smarter, not work harder,” she said. “Some of our patients live in El Centro, even across the border. Butler said veterans who are injured on active duty are most often taken to Walter Reid Army Hospital, and then transferred to the VA or the Naval Medical Center.  Diabetic research Over at the Salk Institute of Biological Studies, scientists say they have identified the linchpin of fat metabolism, a protein known as fibroblast growth factor 1 (FGF1), which may open new avenues in the treatment of diabetes. Researchers have reported that when deluged by foods rich in fat and sugar, the waistline often far exceeds the need to store energy and the result has been an epidemic of diabetes, heart disease and other obesity-related problems.  In a paper published April 22 in Nature, the Richard M. Evans lab reported that FGF1 activity is triggered by a high-fat diet and that mice lacking the protein swiftly develop diabetes. This suggests that FGF1 is crucial to maintaining the body’s sensitivity to insulin and normal levels of sugar in the blood. “Because humans are good at storing fat during times of plenty, we are also excellent at surviving times of famine,” said Evans, a professor in Salk’s Gene Expression Laboratory and lead author of the paper.  “The fat tissues of our body are like batteries, providing us with a steady source of energy when food is scarce. FGF1 governs the expansion and contraction of fat and thus controls the ebb and flow of energy throughout our body.” Thus, Evans and his colleagues plan to explore whether FGF1 might point to a new way to control diabetes by avoiding the drawbacks of diabetes medication like Actos and providing a more natural means of increasing insulin sensitivity.