Vistar Inc.

Vistar Inc., doing business as Birmingham VA Hospital, is a tax-exempt non-profit organization based in Birmingham, Alabama, that conducts federally funded biomedical research as a grant recipient. The organization operates primarily as a sub-recipient on Department of Defense and Department of Health and Human Services research grants, with a smaller footprint as a prime recipient of direct research project grants from the Defense Health Agency.

Vistar's recent work centers on military medical research and clinical investigation. As a prime recipient, the organization received a $769,231 Defense Health Agency project grant (CFDA 12.420, Military Medical Research and Development) awarded September 1, 2026, investigating the impact of jet fuel on the cardiovascular system using transcriptomic approaches; the three-year study runs through August 31, 2029. Earlier, Vistar received a $110,000 Defense Health Agency project grant (CFDA 12.420) awarded November 1, 2024, for research on enhancing chemotherapy response rates in esophageal cancer through intratumoral administration of a small-molecule survivin inhibitor, with completion scheduled for October 31, 2026. In its sub-recipient capacity, Vistar has performed work under awards from the University of Alabama at Birmingham on the PURSUIT study (Improving Primary Care Understanding of Resources and Screening for Urinary Incontinence to Enhance Treatment), under Foundation For Atlanta Veterans Education And Research, Inc. on a Department of Defense-funded study where Birmingham VA serves as a sub-site, and under Yale University on a clinical trial agreement.

Customer concentration spans four distinct agencies. The Defense Health Agency and the Department of Health and Human Services Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality each account for three awards; the Department of Veterans Affairs Veterans Health Administration Veterans Integrated Service Network 7 and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke account for one each. The potential-value and award-count rankings align closely. Recent activity shows a concentration in 2024 (six awards) following an earlier single award in 2020, with the most recent award in September 2026. The combined potential value reported is $4,000; however, obligated dollars across all awards total $1.2 million, indicating that the potential-value figure captures only a portion of the organization's active grant pipeline. Vistar's work is categorized under Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (NAICS) and basic research (PSC R&D).