RESEARCH AND EDUCATION INSTITUTE
| The Harbor-UCLA Research and Education Institute
(REI) is a nonprofit corporation, affiliated with, and adjacent to,
Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. Responsibility for administering research
and education grants, which are dedicated to improving the health
and well-being of patients, is a result of an agreement with Los Angeles
County and REI. Research began in the early 1950s with the formation of the Research Committee in 1951, under the direction of Dr. Walter P. Martin, and the Attending Staff Association (ASA) in 1952. (The ASA changed their name to the Professional Staff Association in 1973.) Throughout the 1950s, research grants conducted at Harbor were administered by UCLA. That changed in 1963 when the medical staff hired a full-time research administrator, Frank J. DeSantis, to seek grants and contracts. That year, research expenditures were only $100,000 with investigators working on only three NIH grants. Today, expenditures surpass $50 million and approximately 600 grants are being administered through REI. In 1981, REI was established as a separate nonprofit corporation. This status enabled flexibility, not only in administering projects, but also in constructing buildings. REI has overseen construction of the A.F. Parlow Library of Health Services, the Footlighters Child Life Center, two research buildings, as well as renovation of over 200,000-square-feet of barrack space to serve as research laboratories. These state-of-the-art facilities are home to hundreds of investigators in a wide range of disciplines. Today, REI employs more than 900 people, including MDs and PhDs, research nurses, laboratory technicians, and support staff. |
 Researchers at REI have led the development of numerous cutting-edge studies.  Walter P. Martin Research Center.  Saint John's Cardiovascular Research Center. |