Alum transforms medical research and community impact with strategic leadership
Johane Simelane ’13 is executive director of the Bronx Veterans Medical Research Foundation (BVMRF). A U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) affiliated nonprofit research and education corporation, BVMRF serves the Bronx-based James J. Peters VA Medical Center and the VA Hudson Valley Healthcare System. BVMRF’s mission is to enhance the quality of care and health of veterans through research and educational activities.
Simelane oversees the administration of all programs and services. Taking on his new
position last September, Simelane is working to diversify a research-heavy portfolio
to include more educational and health and wellness projects. His goal is to double
the foundation’s $13 million revenue within the next five years.
Before his current role, Simelane was a VA clinical research manager who oversaw clinical research projects in the Infectious Diseases Division at the Peters VA Medical Center. By 2021, he had helped the hospital expand to 11 divisions, including cardiology, spinal cord injury, endocrinology, primary care, and more. The hospital now works with about 25 investigators.
“Prioritizing expansion in sustainable ways was key to increasing and enhancing health services for veterans,” he says.
Simelane, a native of the Southern African country Eswatini (formerly Swaziland), came to Skidmore as a Davis United World College scholar and as a recipient of the College’s Opportunity Program. After graduating as a self-determined major in public health, he attained his master’s degree in health policy and management at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.
At Skidmore, Simelane conducted research under a SEE-Beyond academic grant as principal investigator in collaboration with the College and the Department of Health in his home country to investigate perceptions of male circumcision in relation to HIV/AIDS among youth. Male circumcision is still used to significantly reduce the susceptibility of HIV infection.
“What was a small project for class turned out to a big research project,” he says. “Several faculty members helped me analyze the data for different focus groups and translate the information into English.”
Simelane, along with fellow student Melvis Langyintuo ’12, also received a Davis Peace Project grant, used to coordinate the construction of a sports complex at an orphanage center in Mpolonjeni, Eswatini.
