Palo Alto Veterans Institute for Research
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
PAVIR'S MISSION IS ADVANCING VETERANS AND PUBLIC HEALTH THROUGH INNOVATIVE RESEARCH. PAVIR WORKS WITH MORE THAN 100 PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS AND 200 RESEARCH STAFF TO SUPPORT BASIC SCIENCE, CLINICAL AND HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH TO REALIZE ITS MISSION. PAVIR'S DIVERSE STUDIES SPAN THE ENTIRE SPECTRUM OF HEALTH RESEARCH FROM THE INVESTIGATION OF DISEASES IN THE LABORATORY THROUGH TESTING NEW DRUG TREATMENTS AND DEVELOPING IMPROVED MODELS OF HEALTH CARE DELIVERY TO LOOKING AT OUTCOMES BOTH INDIVIDUALLY AND ON A LARGE SCALE. PAVIR'S RESEARCH ADDRESSES HEALTH CHALLENGES THAT HAVE BEEN FACED ESPECIALLY BY VETERANS, INCLUDING POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER, TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY, GERIATRIC MEDICINE, REHABILITATION, SLEEP AND OTHER VETERANS AND PUBLIC HEALTH ISSUES. PAVIR'S INVESTIGATORS HAVE APPOINTMENTS AT THE VA PALO ALTO HEALTH CARE SYSTEM AND MOST ALSO HOLD APPOINTMENTS AT THE STANFORD UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE.
- Income
- $35.9 million
- Spending
- $33.0 million
- Spent on programs
- 84%
- Reserves
- 2.6 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- government grants, 59%
- Employees
- 203
- Volunteers
- 7
- Highest pay
- $346,209, chief executive officer
Source: Form 990 for the year ending September 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Fair: 60 out of 100. Higher than 33% of charities in its peer group (medical research, $10m to $100m).
Reserves
10 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 2.6 months of spending.
Debt
5 of 20It owes 58% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 8% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 13% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1584% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 0 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending September 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Good: 80 out of 100. Higher than 12% of charities in its peer group (medical research, $10m to $100m).
Independent board
5 of 253 of 13 voting board members are independent.
Conflict of interest policy
15 of 15Has a written conflict of interest policy.
Whistleblower policy
8 of 8Has a written whistleblower policy.
Record keeping policy
7 of 7Has a written policy on keeping and destroying records.
Board minutes
5 of 5Keeps minutes of board meetings.
Board sees the tax return
10 of 10Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.
Pay set independently
5 of 5Sets its chief executive's pay through independent review and comparison.
Independent check of accounts
15 of 15Its accounts were audited by an independent accountant.
No reported misuse
10 of 10Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending September 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Impact evidence
Describes programs. Its tax return describes what it does but we have found no measurable results in it.
Programs described in its return (4)
- $1.3 million spent. CLINICAL TRANSLATION OF ALLOGENEIC REGENERATIVE CELL THERAPY FOR WHITE MATTER STROKE AND VASCULAR DEMENTIA. PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: IRENE LORENZO LLORENTE, PH.D.STROKE IS THE LEADING CAUSE OF ADULT DISABILITY AND THE SECOND LEADING CAUSE OF DEMENTIA. WHITE MATTER STROKE (WMS) CONSTITUTES UP TO 30% OF ALL STROKE SUBTYPES AND IS A DISTINCT PROCESS FROM "LARGE ARTERY STROKE." WMS BEGINS AS SMALL INFARCTS IN DEEP PENETRATING BLOOD VESSELS IN THE BRAIN BUT PROGRESSES, ACCUMULATES, AND EXPANDS FROM PREEXISTING LESIONS INTO ADJACENT WHITE MATTER TO PRODUCE HEMIPARESIS WITH INCOMPLETE RECOVERY, GAIT ABNORMALITIES, COGNITIVE DECLINE, AND EXECUTIVE DYSFUNCTION CHARACTERISTIC OF VASCULAR DEMENTIA (VAD). UNLIKE LARGE ARTERY STROKE, WMS DOES NOT DAMAGE NEURONAL CELL BODIES BUT PRIMARILY AFFECTS AXONAL TRACTS AND GLIAL CELLS. A CELL-BASED THERAPY CAPABLE OF REPLACING LOST GLIA AND INDUCING STRUCTURAL REPAIR IN WMS/VAD HOLDS GREAT PROMISE. WE HAVE DEVELOPED A UNIQUE ALLOGENEIC HUMAN INDUCED PLURIPOTENT STEM CELL (HIPSC)-DERIVED GLIAL ENRICHED PROGENITOR (GEP) CELL THERAPY PRODUCT FOR THE TREATMENT OF WMS AND VAD. PRECLINICAL STUDIES DEMONSTRATE THAT HIPSC-GEPS TRANSPLANTED INTO THE BRAIN AFTER WMS/VAD PROMOTE MOTOR AND COGNITIVE RECOVERY THROUGH MULTIPLE MECHANISMS OF ACTION, INCLUDING AXONAL GROWTH, ASTROCYTIC MODULATION, OLIGODENDROCYTE DIFFERENTIATION, AND REMYELINATION. THIS YEAR, WE ACHIEVED A SUCCESSFUL PRE-IND MEETING WITH THE U.S. FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION (FDA) FOR GEP-101 (HIPSC-GEPS) ON FEBRUARY 26, 2026. THE DISCUSSION, INFORMED BY THE FDA'S PRELIMINARY WRITTEN RESPONSES DATED FEBRUARY 23, 2026, FOCUSED ON FOUR PRIMARY AREAS: (1) SUITABILITY OF THE HIPSC CELL LINE AND DONOR ELIGIBILITY TESTING, (2) ADEQUACY OF THE PROPOSED CLINICAL DELIVERY DEVICE AND ADDITIONAL NONCLINICAL EVALUATION NEEDS, (3) REQUIREMENTS FOR DEVICE COMPATIBILITY TESTING TO ENSURE PRODUCT QUALITY AND DOSE ACCURACY, AND (4) QUALIFICATION OF CERTAIN MANUFACTURING RAW MATERIALS, INCLUDING THE VEEV RNA REPLICON USED DURING CELL REPROGRAMMING. OVERALL, THE FDA AGREED WITH ALL POSITIONS PRESENTED, CLARIFYING EXPECTATIONS FOR MANUFACTURING CONTROLS, DEVICE USE, AND SUPPORTING NONCLINICAL DATA PRIOR TO IND SUBMISSION.FOLLOWING THE PRE-IND MEETING, WE HAVE SUBMITTED A NEW GRANT PROPOSAL TO SECURE THE NEXT ROUND OF FUNDING AND CONTINUE ADVANCING TOWARD IND APPROVAL AND FUTURE CLINICAL TRANSLATION.
- $1.2 million spent. NOVEL LYMPHOCYTE CHEMOATTRACTANT RECEPTOR AND LIGAND. PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: EUGENE BUTCHER, M.D.WE HAVE IDENTIFIED A NOVEL LYMPHOCYTE CHEMOATTRACTANT RECEPTOR AND ITS CHEMOATTRACTANT LIGAND, SELECTIVELY EXPRESSED IN LUNG, AIRWAYS, UPPER GI TRACT, GENITOURINARY MUCOSAE AND MUCOSA-ASSOCIATED GLANDS INCLUDING THE PANCREAS AND SALIVARY GLANDS. AIM 1: WE WILL MECHANISTICALLY PROBE THE RECEPTOR-LIGAND INTERACTIONS FOCUSING ON THE SPECIFICITY AND SIGNALING PATHWAYS ACTIVATED BY THE NOVEL RECEPTOR AND ITS ROLE AS A LYMPHOCYTE VS MYELOID CELL CHEMOTACTIC RECEPTOR. STRUCTURE-FUNCTION STUDIES WILL IDENTIFY LIGAND DOMAINS FOR RECEPTOR BINDING AND ACTIVATION. AIM 2: WILL DEFINE THE REGULATION OF THE RECEPTOR IN THE MOUSE, AND ITS ROLE IN LYMPHOCYTE POPULATION OF AND HOMING TO NON-LYMPHOID TISSUES DURING HOMEOSTASIS AND IN THE SETTING OF CHRONIC MULTI-ORGAN AUTOIMMUNE INFLAMMATION. THE ROLES OF THE PATHWAY IN IMMUNE CELL DEVELOPMENT WILL BE PROBED IN MIXED BONE MARROW CHIMERAS IN WHICH RECEPTOR-DEFICIENT VS WILD TYPE STEM CELLS COMPETE FOR RECONSTITUTION OF IMMUNE COMPARTMENTS IN LYMPHOID AND NON-LYMPHOID TISSUES. AIM 3: WILL ELUCIDATE THE TISSUE- AND CELL SUBSET-SPECIFIC EXPRESSION OF THE RECEPTOR AND LIGAND IN HUMANS.WHILE MUCH OF AIM 1 HAS BEEN COMPLETED AND PRESENTED IN OUR NATURE PUBLICATION, THIS AIM AS WELL AS THE GRANT AS A WHOLE HAS AS ITS OVERARCHING GOAL TO IDENTIFY AND CHARACTERIZE THE GPCR INTERACTIONS AND FUNCTIONS OF CXCL17. OUR ALPHA FOLD MODELING SUPPORTED OUR INITIAL CHARACTERIZATION OF CXCL17-GPR25 INTERACTION. USING THIS AS A JUMPING OFF POINT, WE ARE ASKING WHETHER IN SILICO MODELING IN SCREENING MODE CAN IDENTIFY THE FUNCTIONAL GPCR LIGANDS OF CXCL17 (AND THUS POTENTIALLY OF OTHER ORPHAN CHEMOKINES). IN HIGH THROUGHPUT SCREENING MODE, WE GENERATED AF2 MODELS OF CXCL17 INTERACTIONS WITH ALL CLASS A GPCRS AND FIND THAT THE HIGHEST SCORING MODELS INCLUDE GPR25 BUT ALSO TWO OTHER RECEPTORS: BDKRB1, THE INFLAMMATION ASSOCIATED BRADYKININ RECEPTOR, AND NTSR2, THE NEUROTENSIN RECEPTOR. OTHER RECEPTORS SHOWED NO OR UNFAVORABLE INTERACTIONS (DEFINED BY AF2 METRICS INCLUDING IPTM ON LIGAND AND RECEPTOR RESIDUES INTERACTING IN THE LIGAND BIND POCKET OF THE GPCR). THESE IN SILICO FINDINGS SUGGEST THE POSSIBILITY OF ADDITIONAL RECEPTORS FOR CXCL17 THAT COULD IMPACT VASCULAR AND NEUROBIOLOGY. A MAJOR FOCUS THIS YEAR IN REGARDS TO AIM 2 HAS BEEN ON EXPANDING AND INITIALLY CHARACTERIZING GPR25 DEFICIENT MICE, TO DEFINE THE ROLE OF GPR25 IN LYMPHOCYTE SUBSET REPRESENTATION AND DISTRIBUTION IN MUCOSAL TISSUES. WE HAVE ESTABLISHED THE COLONY AND HAVE EVALUATED BASAL LYMPHOCYTE SUBSETS IN THE RESTING STATE. THE RESULTS LARGELY PARALLEL THOSE IN CXCL17 DEFICIENT MICE, INDICATING THAT CXCL17 IS LIKELY THE ONLY OR THE PREDOMINANT CHEMOKINE LIGAND FOR GPR25. WE HAVE GENERATED MIXED (WT/KO) BONE MARROW CHIMERAS TO DEFINE THE EFFECT OF GPR25 DEFICIENCY BY EVALUATING KO LYMPHOCYTE REPRESENTATION IN COMPETITION WITH WT CELLS IN THE SAME HOST.FOR AIM 3, WE CONTINUE TO EVALUATE GPR25 EXPRESSION IN HUMAN AND MOUSE DISEASE MODELS (SCRNA SEQ DATA TO DATE FROM PUBLIC RESOURCES). WE ARE INTERESTED IN GWAS ASSOCIATIONS OF GPR25 WITH ARTERIAL STIFFNESS: WE SEE SIGNIFICANT T CELL SUBSET EXPRESSION OF GPR25 IN DATA FROM HUMAN CORONARY ARTERY DISEASE. WE ARE ALSO INTERESTED IN UNDERSTANDING THE GWAS ASSOCIATIONS OF HUMAN BLOOD GPR25 WITH AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES ESPECIALLY IBD: THROUGH COLLABORATION WITH DR. MONTGOMERY, COLOCALIZATION ANALYSIS INDICATE THAT GPR25 HAS THE HIGHEST PP4 AMONG GENES IN THE REGION FOR IBD, CROHN'S DISEASE, AND ULCERATIVE COLITIS, PRIORITIZING GPR25 AS THE LIKELY CAUSAL GENE AT THIS LOCUS. WE HAVE PERFORMED RNA SCOPE ON INTESTINAL SAMPLES FROM IBD PATIENTS (WITH OUR COLLABORATOR AND CO-INVESTIGATOR SERENA TAN) REVEALING STRONG CXCL17 EXPRESSION WITHIN SITES OF PYLORIC METAPLASIA CONSISTENT WITH SINGLE-CELL RNA-SEQ DATA AND SUPPORTING RECRUITMENT OF GPR25 IMMUNE CELLS TO INFLAMED MUCOSA. RECRUITMENT OF GPR25+ TREGS COULD EXPLAIN THE ROLE OF HIGHER PBMC GPR25 IN REDUCING IBD.
- $1.1 million spent. ALL OF US RESEARCH PROGRAM. PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS: PHILIP TSAO, PH.D. THE ALL OF US RESEARCH PROGRAM (ALL OF US) IS A LARGE COLLABORATIVE INITIATIVE SPONSORED BY THE NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH (NIH). ALL OF US INCLUDES A CONSORTIUM OF AWARDEES FROM MULTIPLE INSTITUTIONS, INCLUDING THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. ALL OF US IS WORKING TO IMPROVE HEALTHCARE THROUGH RESEARCH BY BUILDING A DIVERSE DATABASE OF PARTICIPANT SELF-REPORT INFORMATION, BIOSPECIMENS, AND ELECTRONIC HEALTH RECORDS THAT CAN INFORM FUTURE RESEARCH ON A VARIETY OF HEALTH CONDITIONS. VA PARTICIPATION IN ALL OF US IS OVERSEEN BY TWO CO-PIS, LOCATED AT THE VA PALO ALTO HEALTHCARE SYSTEM AND THE VA BOSTON HEALTHCARE SYSTEM. THESE TWO INSTITUTIONS SERVE AS THE COORDINATING CENTERS FOR VA RESPONSIBLE FOR CENTRALIZED RECRUITMENT, ENGAGEMENT CAMPAIGNS, AND COMPLIANCE WITH PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.
- $24.2 million spent. PAVIR IS PRIVILEGED TO WORK WITH A LARGE COMMUNITY OF UNIQUELY TALENTED MEDICAL RESEARCHERS ACROSS A BROAD SPECTRUM OF RESEARCH AREAS AS WE FULFILL OUR MISSION OF ADVANCING VETERANS AND PUBLIC HEALTH THROUGH INNOVATIVE RESEARCH. THE RANGE OF RESEARCH ACTIVITIES IS BROAD AND INCLUDES SPECIAL EMPHASIS ON MAJOR DISEASE CATEGORIES, ALL OF WHICH ARE PREVALENT IN THE VA'S PATIENT POPULATION. THESE INCLUDE CARDIOVASCULAR MEDICINE, MENTAL HEALTH, CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY DISEASE, STEM CELL/REGENERATIVE MEDICINE, PAIN, SLEEP DISORDERS, AND MANY OTHERS. IN ADDITION TO DISEASE SPECIFIC RESEARCH, PAVIR IS ENGAGED IN SUPPORTING RESEARCH AIMED AT ENHANCING HEALTH CARE. PAVIR'S RESEARCH PORTFOLIO INCLUDES COMPARATIVE STUDIES IN WHICH RESEARCH TEAMS ARE LEARNING WHICH TREATMENTS ARE SUPERIOR TO OTHERS, HOW TO AUGMENT OR IMPROVE STANDARD OF CARE, AS WELL AS HOW TO ENHANCE THE OPERATION OF HEALTH CARE. FURTHERMORE, PAVIR IS SUPPORTING EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES, ESPECIALLY IN AREAS OF ADVANCING CLINICAL CARE FOR VETERANS AND FOSTERING THE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF OUR EXPERT STAFF.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending September 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Legitimacy checks
Is it registered with the IRS? Passed.
Listed in the IRS master file of tax-exempt organizations as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.
Has the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status? Passed.
Not on the IRS automatic revocation list.
Source: Automatic revocation of exemption list, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 30, 2026.
Are donations tax-deductible? Passed.
On the IRS list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.
Source: Publication 78 data: organizations eligible for tax-deductible contributions, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 10, 2026.
Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.
Most recent return on file covers the year ending September 2025.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since December 1996.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.
Is it in good standing with state regulators? Passed.
Not on California's list of charities barred from soliciting. Other states are not yet checked.
Source: May Not Operate or Solicit for Charitable Purposes list, California Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, file dated October 7, 2026.
Ratings and checks are our reading of public records, using the published method. They are not a statement about anyone's honesty. If you work for this organization, you can send corrections or results, confirm you want gifts through Veridonate, or ask to be removed from giving.