During this Town Hall, VA investigators will discuss the ways in which the unique characteristics of Veterans, the VA health care system and VA data that are derived from patient encounters influence research that can be conducted. Discussion will also address important data gaps in VA and implications for methods research, tradeoffs in conducting analyses that are funded by VA clinical operations partners versus VA’s intramural research funding, and unique opportunities that exist for early-career individuals. These topics will be illustrated in the context of prior and ongoing research.