THE PRINCIPAL PURPOSE OF THE INSTITUTE IS TO DIRECTLY ENGAGE IN THE CONTINUOUS ACTIVE CONDUCT OF BIOMEDICAL AND CLINICAL RESEARCH AND EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES CONSONANT WITH 38 U.S.C. SECTION 7362 AT AND IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE US DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS ("VA") LONG BEACH HEALTH CARE SYSTEM ("LBHCS"), OTHER SIMILARLY QUALIFIED ORGANIZATIONS, AND OTHER VA AFFILIATES AND, IN SO DOING, PROVIDE A FLEXIBLE FUNDING MECHANISM FOR THE APPROVED RESEARCH AT LBHCS AND TO CONDUCT INVESTIGATIONS, EXPERIMENTS, AND STUDIES TO DISCOVER, DEVELOP, OR VERIFY KNOWLEDGE RELATING TO THE CAUSES, DIAGNOSIS, TREATMENT, PREVENTION, OR CONTROL OF PHYSICAL AND MENTAL DISEASES AND IMPAIRMENT OF MANKIND. THIS PURPOSE SHALL BE CONDUCTED EXCLUSIVELY TO SERVE NONPROFIT INTERESTS AND NOT AS AN INCIDENT TO COMMERCIAL OR INDUSTRIAL OPERATIONS.