chapter 5
talent, technology, and 

transformation, 1976–2000

[Opposite] Captain Elgin C Cowart, Jr, Medical 

Corps, US Navy, ninth director of the AFIP, 1976–1980. 

Cowart sought increased use of the case materials in the 

AFIP repository during his tenure. “Much of this vast 

resource lies dormant,” he wrote in his first director’s 

message. “Its use must be encouraged, if not by our 

own staff, then by other authorized professionals.” 1

 In 

1980 Cowart became the third director of the American 

Registry of Pathology serving in that position until 1990. 

(MIS 09-08344)
 

| 155

BBy the mid-1970s, having achieved an enviable level of growth and maturity, the 

AFIP was poised for the next chapter in its long and distinguished history—a 

chapter marked by a continued infusion of talent and the incorporation of rapidly 

evolving technological advances, both of which ultimately transformed the 

institute’s service to the military and the worldwide medical community.

AFIP’s reputation as a world leader in pathology consultation, education, and 

research meant that leading pathologists and scientists, and those who eventually 

would earn worldwide notoriety in their respective fields, continued to flock to 

the institute throughout the late 1970s and next two decades. These included 

pathologists in the fields of soft tissue; gynecology and breast pathology; infectious 

and tropical diseases; dermatology; orthopaedics; pediatrics; hematopathology; 

genitourinary pathology; radiology; neuropathology; ophthalmic pathology; 

cardiovascular pathology; oral and maxillofacial pathology; veterinary 

pathology; endocrine pathology; acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS); 

environmental pathology; pulmonary pathology; hematopathology; forensics; 

otolaryngic pathology; hepatic pathology; and gastrointestinal pathology.

Additionally, incentive to join the AFIP staff was strengthened in 1976 when Congress chartered the American Registry of Pathology, legislation sponsored 

by senators Ted Kennedy and Sam Nunn. This legislation gave ARP the ability 

to expand the scope of AFIP’s activities by acting as a principal liaison to the 

civilian medical community. Included in the charter was a cooperative enterprise 

Talent, Technolo gy, and Transformation, 1976–2000 | 157

mechanism that allowed ARP to receive fees for education courses and consultations, as well as private 

grant funding that, in turn, was used to enhance the combined mission of both organizations. Since 1976, 

this arrangement has allowed continued civilian consultations in the diagnosis of malignant disease; 

helped fund equipment and technical support in diagnostic laboratories; boosted the continuing medical 

education program, both within the institute and at national and international sites; helped fund and 

expand research efforts and staff recruitment, most notably in the areas of DNA and telepathology; and 

allowed ARP to assume responsibility for printing and marketing publications, which created greater 

demand for tumor atlases, fascicles, and other publications.

With confidence that this new partnership would ensure recruitment and retention of the best and 

brightest in pathology, the AFIP turned its attention to identifying and incorporating emerging 

technologies, and developing techniques to advance pathology and research efforts.

Although the optical microscope continued to be pathology’s workhorse instrument, the acquisition of 

multihead microscopes in the late 1970s allowed several pathologists to view the same cases at the same 

time, speeding up the diagnostic process. Equally important, these microscopes became instrumental 

for teaching and staff development. Gas chromatography technology and specialized radioimmunoassay 

techniques enhanced the Division of Toxicology’s ability to support the Department of Defense (DoD) 

drug detection program. Within the Division of Chemical Pathology, incorporation of scanning electron 

microscopes in the latter part of the 1970s proved particularly useful in identification of asbestos fibers in 

lung tissue, as well as other health problems. 

The institute built a hypobaric (dive) chamber in the 1970s and a hyperbaric (altitude) chamber in 

the 1980s, both of which helped advance research on the effects of oxygen on cells at high and low 

atmospheric pressures, allowing for extensive study on the effectiveness of oxygen on wound healing and 

tissue repair. More powerful Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) microscopes introduced in the mid1980s gave researchers the ability to identify foreign materials and some metabolic materials in tissue 

and other specimens. This was complemented by Raman microspectroscopy, which also was used to 

identify materials in tissue, but has the advantage of a laser light that provides superior spatial resolution. 

The technique also proved valuable in the study of microorganisms related to emerging infections and 

possible biological weapons. The ability to send the laser beam into sealed glass containers to analyze toxic 

[Opposite] In one of AFIP’s more 

iconic photos, four of the institute’s 

great pathologists discuss cases 

while gathered around a multihead 

microscope circa 1988. (Seated from 

left to right) Dr Nelson Irey, chair, 

Department of Environmental and 

Drug Induced Pathology; Dr Frank 

Johnson, chair, Department of 

Chemical Pathology; and Dr Elson 

Helwig, chair, Department of 

Gastrointestinal Pathology; 

(standing) Dr Henry Norris, chair, 

Department of Gynecologic and 

Breast Pathology. (NCP 17013)
158 | Armed Forces Institute of Patholo gy, 1862–2011

specimens made this a safe procedure. Confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM), 

introduced in the late 1980s, proved to be especially useful in cardiovascular and 

ophthalmic pathology. Incorporating a confocal pinhole, CLSM is highly efficient 

at rejecting out-of-focus fluorescent light, providing the pathologist with a clean, 

3-dimensional image of the tissue under analysis. 

In 1991 the Department of Environmental and Toxicological Pathology acquired 

an atomic absorption spectrophotometer—then a state-of-the art instrument—for 

determining concentrations of metals in tissue samples, such as aluminum, mercury, 

silver, or arsenic. Also in 1991, AFIP became a leader in digital image processing with 

the opening of its own facility. Advanced techniques allowed for image processing, 

quantitative analysis, and computer-assisted image interpretation in anatomic 

pathology cases. Coupled with microscopy, digital image processing allowed for a 

3-dimensional rendering of tissues, resulting in more accurate interpretation of tissue 

features. 

A year later this technology, combined with advanced communications systems, was 

incorporated into a telepathology pilot study with Malcolm Grow Hospital at Andrews 

Air Force Base. In the study, the consulting pathologist prepared digitized images from 

a biopsy and transmitted the images to an AFIP pathologist, who could then resolve 

questions concerning the biopsy within a matter of hours, rather than days or weeks. 

Throughout the 1990s this program was expanded to include a network of hospitals in 

the United States, Europe, and Korea. At the same time, advances were being made in 

immunohistochemistry, which involves staining minute amounts of specific structures 

in various cells based on an immune reaction. This made it possible to identify tiny 

amounts of specific cellular products, making it easier to distinguish one type of tumor 

from another.

Complementary technologies included a 1977 microfilming project that by year’s end 

resulted in more than 1.3 million case records in the AFIP repository being copied onto 

microfiche masters, freeing up more than 5,000 square feet while providing easy access 

[Bottom] Donald West King, fourth executive 

director of the ARP. He served in the position 

from 1990 to 2002. (NCP 17382) 

[Opposite | Top] Dr Chapman H Binford, first 

executive director of the ARP, 1976–1978. (MIS 

08-1087-1)

[Opposite | Bottom] Dr Kenneth Earle, second 

executive director of the ARP, 1978–1980. Dr 

Earle had also had a distinguished career in 

neuropathology with the AFIP. (NCP 17347)
Talent, Technolo gy, and Transformation, 1976–2000 | 159

to records. In 1981 a computer-based system called the pathology case management 

system (PACMS) was put into operation, replacing the old case tracking system 

consisting of pencil, paper, and keypunch. The changeover allowed for online, real-time 

accessioning and tracking of cases. PACMS was augmented in 1985 with the acquisition 

of personal computers as tools to assist researchers with project development, database 

management, library research, word processing, and telecommunications. Throughout 

the 1990s the institute made all atlases of tumor pathology available in CD-ROM

format, giving the ARP a low-cost way to produce and sell the atlases, expanding their 

reach in the medical community.

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s forensic pathology and research expanded rapidly. 

An indoor ballistics testing range built in AFIP’s basement in the early 1980s was used 

to study wound effects with gelatin molds, which mimic human tissue. The gelatin 

molds allowed researchers to demonstrate specific wound characteristics of various 

types of weapons, helping them to interpret data and injury patterns at autopsy. The 

range eventually included a high-speed camera to track the path of a fired round and 

create a chronograph, which provided an accurate computer readout of the entry, midrange, and exit speed of all rounds shot. By the mid-1980s, AFIP forensic pathologists 

were earning a reputation as experts in identifying disassociated remains, having 

participated in several high-profile investigations. 

At the same time, leaders within the DoD had come to recognize the potential 

of forensic pathology, especially after the 1985 development of the polymerase 

chain reaction (PCR) process, allowing for the identification of remains using 

deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). This powerful tool held the promise of never again 

leaving a service member unidentified. In 1988, through a DoD directive, AFIP’s 

Department of Forensic Sciences became the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System 

(AFMES)—a move intended to create a centralized organization for medico-legal 

death investigations under military jurisdiction and mass casualty events. In 1991 the 

recently formed Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory (AFDIL) became part of 

the medical examiner system, quickly followed by establishment of the Armed Forces 
160 | Armed Forces Institute of Patholo gy, 1862–2011

Repository of Specimen Samples for the Identification 

of Remains (AFRSSIR), which began storing blood-spot 

cards on all military personnel that could be used to obtain 

DNA sequencing, if needed, to identify deceased service 

members. In 1998 a Medical Mortality Surveillance Division 

was added to the system. The division was tasked to rapidly 

detect mortality due to unexplained causes or infectious 

disease, and to analyze all active duty deaths for trends and 

preventable or modifiable risk factors. DNA technology also 

paved the way for experimentation with and development of 

molecular biology and pathology.

During the 1970s, 80s, and 90s, all types of scientific research 

benefited from the development of new technology. Research 

achievements during this period included groundbreaking 

investigations into the identification and eradication of 

leprosy, both overseas and in the southern United States; the 

etiology of cat-scratch fever and how to positively identify 

it compared to illnesses with similar symptoms; AIDS, and 

specifically attempts to unravel the natural history of this 

retroviral infection, as well as vaccine development; isolating 

and identifying rickettsia, especially in Rocky Mountain 

spotted fever cases; the microbiology of Buruli ulcers; 

causes, symptoms, and treatment for Legionnaire’s disease; 

the most effective treatments for certain kinds of leukemia; 

identification of proper and effective treatments for filariasis, 

a disease caused by parasitic roundworms; the causes and 

mechanisms of sudden coronary death; pathogenesis of 

liver diseases; recognition of the various entities that cause 

leukocoria and the management of ocular melanoma; 

and accurate testing for early identification of prostate 

Then Air Force Technical Sergeant Ridgely Rabold uses 

a newly installed computer system to operate the AFIP’s 

hypobaric chamber in 1980. Rabold was monitoring a 

human research subject performing a Choice Reaction 

Time Test at 25,000 feet, which measures the reaction 

time to a series of blinking lights. Rabold now serves as 

executive assistant to the director, AFIP. (NCP 17349) 

[Opposite] Air Force Major James Canik conducts a lung 

capacity test at 10,000 feet inside the hypobaric chamber 

in 1982. The chamber was also used for studies on wound 

healing, immune function, oxygen toxicity, altitude 

hypoxia, and sickle-cell trait at low atmospheric pressures. 

Canik now serves as the deputy director for administration, support and facilities, AFDIL. (NCP 17350)
Talent, Technolo gy, and Transformation, 1976–2000 | 161
Air Force Staff Sergeant Dave Nelson prepares an animal isolation box for a simulated hypobaric dive in the early 1990s designed to test the effects of pressure and oxygen on the 

physiology of tissue repair. The animal isolation boxes, which were specially constructed for use at depth, permitted investigators to accompany animal models inside the chamber 

during testing without being exposed to the same breathing environment. (NCP 17351)
Talent, Technolo gy, and Transformation, 1976–2000 | 163

cancer. These efforts complemented established registries used to track the health of service members, 

including the Registry for Former Prisoners of War, a database for anatomic pathology material from POWs, 

predominantly those from World War II, the Korean War, and Vietnam; the Agent Orange Registry, which 

is being used to track the long-term health effects of exposure to agent orange on Vietnam veterans; and the 

Persian Gulf/Kuwait Registry, which consists of a repository of anatomic pathology specimens from 1990–

1991 Persian Gulf War veterans for research into possible future health issues. 

Education too flourished during this period, especially after the institute’s continuing medical education 

program became accredited in the mid-1970s. In 1976 the AFIP offered approximately 20 courses in the 

major areas of pathology. By 1980 the program had grown to 37 courses and continued expanding steadily 

throughout the next 20 years. By 2000, the institute had awarded approximately 1 million credit hours 

to hundreds of thousands of military and civilian medical professionals throughout the world. And this 

impressive figure does not take into account the less formal education provided through the hundreds of 

lectures and presentations by AFIP pathologists and researchers at conferences, symposiums, and other 

such venues throughout the world every year. Nor does it take into account the learning that took place 

when staff members fanned out around the world during this period, assisting institutions and nations with 

investigations of viral infections, diseases, and other health challenges.

As the 1990s came to a close and the AFIP entered a new century of service to the nation, the institute had 

experienced a transformation from a primary focus on Brigadier General Dart’s vision of excellence in 

pathology, into one that also incorporated President Eisenhower’s vision of an institute dedicated “to the 

conquest of disease so that mankind, more safe and secure in body, may more securely advance to the widely 

shared prosperity and an enduring and just peace.”2 n

References

1. AFIP Annual Report. Washington, DC: Armed Forces Institute of Pathology; 1976: 1.

2. Henry RS. The Armed Forces Institute of Pathology; Its First Century, 1862–1962. Washington, DC: Office of the Surgeon General, 

Department of the Army; 1964.

 
[Top] Members of the 101st Airborne Division honor the remains of 

fellow soldiers during a December 16, 1985, ceremony at Dover Air 

Force Base in Delaware. Four days earlier, 248 members of the 101st 

were killed in a plane crash in Gander, Newfoundland. AFIP forensic 

pathologists were not expected to be able to identify all victims of the 

crash, but did so within 10 weeks, solidifying their growing national 

reputation as experts in identification of disassociated remains, and 

paving the way for establishment of the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System. (Department of Defense photo; NCP 17352)

[Bottom Left] Colonel William R Cowan, Medical Corps, US Air 

Force, tenth director of the AFIP, 1980–1984. (MIS 05-06195)

[Bottom Middle] Colonel Robert R McMeekin, Medical Corps, US 

Army, eleventh director of the AFIP, 1984–1987. McMeekin was particularly interested in how applications using new technologies could 

help advance pathology consultation, education, and research. 

(MIS 05-6669-6)

[Bottom Right] Captain Robert F Karnei, Jr, Medical Corps, US Navy, 

twelfth director of the AFIP, 1987–1991. (MIS 05-06522-1)
Talent, Technolo gy, and Transformation, 1976–2000 | 165

The space shuttle Challenger’s 

smoke plume after it exploded and 

broke apart 73 seconds into its flight 

on January 28, 1986, killing all 

seven crew members. Continuing 

its history of service to NASA, AFIP 

forensic pathologists identified all 

victims. (NASA file photo; NCP 

17353)
[Left] Captain Glenn Wagner, Medical Corps, US Navy, deputy 

medical examiner, performs an autopsy during an identification 

mission to Peru in 1989 following an aircraft crash that killed 

nine people, including an agent of the US Drug Enforcement 

Agency. By the late 1980s, other governmental agencies were 

regularly requesting AFIP forensic expertise to assist in death 

investigations. Wagner would later serve as the fifteenth director 

of the AFIP, 1999–2003. (NCP 00934) 

[Right] Captain Karnei performs an autopsy in AFIP’s McNabb 

Autopsy Suite during the mid-1980s. (NCP 00936)

[Opposite] (Left) Dr Daniel Connor, chief, Department of 

Infectious and Parasitic Disease; (middle) Ron Neafie, Division 

of Zoonotic Diseases; and (right) Dr Wayne M Meyers, chief, 

Division of Microbiology, in Zaire (now Democratic Republic of 

Congo) in 1977. The three, along with other colleagues pictured, 

were in Zaire studying cases of filarial diseases at Loko Hospital. 

(NCP 17354)
Talent, Technolo gy, and Transformation, 1976–2000 | 167
168 | Armed Forces Institute of Patholo gy, 1862–2011

[Top] Dr Ann Nelson (center), chief of AFIP’s Special Pathology 

Unit at the University of Kinshasa (Democratic Republic of Congo; 

formerly, Zaire) circa 1988. To her left is Professor Raphael Kalengayi, 

chair of the university’s pathology department. Others in the photo 

are residents and pathology technicians. Dr Nelson was in Kinshasa as 

part of AFIP’s involvement with Project-SIDA, a multinational AIDS 

project that provided technical expertise and material for studying 

AIDS in Zaire, especially in the areas of perinatal and heterosexual 

transmission. The project also included studies on the pathology of 

HIV infection, as African countries, and others throughout the world, 

struggled to find answers to what had become a worldwide health 

crisis by the mid-1980s. Collaborators included the US Centers for 

Disease Control and Prevention, US National Institutes of Health, 

and the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp, Belgium. (NCP 

17838)

[Bottom] Dr Max Robinowitz, associate chair, Department of Cardiovascular Pathology, examines a heart in the grossing laboratory in 

the late 1970s. Looking on are Audrey Tinker and Wayne Artis, both 

of the Materials Repository Division. (NCP 17384)

[Opposite] Dr Ann Nelson and Dr Florabel G Mullick examine perinatal HIV transmission cases as part of Project-SIDA at the University 

of Kinshasa, circa 1988. The cases became part of the AFIP’s HIV and 

AIDS Registry, which quickly grew into one of the largest registries of 

HIV and AIDS pathology in the world. (NCP 17385)
Talent, Technolo gy, and Transformation, 1976–2000 | 169
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Talent, Technolo gy, and Transformation, 1976–2000 | 171

[Opposite] Colonel William Cowan, AFIP director, and Dr Paul Ivan Yakovlev examine brain sections from the Yakovlev Collection in the early 1980s. The Yakovlev Collection, 

which contains more than 1,500 specimens, consists primarily of whole-brain serial sections mounted on slides; also included are tissue blocks of fetal and neonatal organs. Each 

specimen has a case record. In addition to normative controls, specimens include examples of cerebrovascular disease, pathomorphic cerebra, neurosurgery for behavioral diseases, 

miscellaneous neuropathology, and experimental animals. Dr Yakovlev (1894–1983), a neurologist at several hospitals and Harvard Medical School, assembled the collection. In 

1974 he transferred the collection from Harvard to the AFIP, where it was managed by curator Mohamad Haleem until its transfer to the National Museum of Health and Medicine, a department of the AFIP. In 1994 it was renamed the Yakovlev-Haleem Collection.(NCP 17016)

[Top] In 1988 the institute’s Army Medical Museum was renamed the National Museum of Health and Medicine. The name was changed in recognition of the fact that since the 

Army Medical Museum’s founding in 1862, it had been the only federal museum in the country devoted exclusively to medicine. (NCP 3654)
172 | Armed Forces Institute of Patholo gy, 1862–2011
Talent, Technolo gy, and Transformation, 1976–2000 | 173

[Opposite] Dr Adrienne Noe (right), then deputy director of the National Museum of Health 

and Medicine, and museum technician Laurie Carroll in 1991 with pieces from the Carnegie 

Human Embryology Collection. The museum’s Human Developmental Anatomy Center 

maintains and archives the largest collection of human and comparative developmental material in the world, and includes normal human embryos, abnormal specimens commonly used 

for nondestructive research, photographs, illustrations, and models. The core of the center is the 

world-renowned Carnegie collection, the most extensive collection of its kind. Dr Noe is currently the museum director. (NCP 01095)

[Left] A school group is seen here visiting a museum exhibit in the early 1990s. Docent Amy 

Simonsen with an audience at the Brain Discovery cart, in the National Museum of Health 

and Medicine. (NCP 17348) 

[Right] “Human Body, Human Being,” a signature exhibit opened in the mid-1990s, featured 

preserved specimens from the major body systems and explored how the human body functions 

in health and in sickness through the presentation of diagrams, medical instruments, and real 

body parts preserved for scientific study. (NCP 17356)
174 | Armed Forces Institute of Patholo gy, 1862–2011

[Top] The remains of Air Force Lieutenant Michael J 

Blassie are carried into AFIP headquarters in 1998. In 

1984 Blassie’s remains, unidentifiable at the time, were 

added to the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National 

Cemetery. In 1998, with some evidence indicating the 

remains could belong to Blassie, they were exhumed and 

positively identified by AFDIL. (MIS 09-10183-1)

[Bottom] In June 1999, the museum unveiled a new 

exhibit highlighting the DNA research used by AFDIL to 

identify Blassie. The exhibit, “Naming the Vietnam Unknown: Michael Joseph Blassie Comes Home,” explained 

the science of mitochondrial DNA testing as well as 

Blassie’s story. The exhibit included artifacts that had been 

entombed with Blassie at Arlington National Cemetery. 

(NCP 03810)

[Opposite] Dr Wayne Meyers, circa 1999, with the shell of 

one of the hundreds of armadillos he studied at the AFIP 

throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Dr Meyers played a 

major role in the development of the concept of leprosy as 

a zoonosis involving transmission of the disease from direct 

or indirect exposure to armadillos, monkeys, or chimpanzees. He was also the principal investigator for the supply of 

leprosy bacillus for researchers around the world who were 

participating in a World Health Organization program to 

eliminate leprosy. (NCP 17355)
Talent, Technolo gy, and Transformation, 1976–2000 | 175
176 | Armed Forces Institute of Patholo gy, 1862–2011

[Top] Then Army Major Douglas Wear, Medical Corps, at far end of table, leads a slide 

conference in the Department of Geographic Pathology in 1985. (NCP 17357)

[Opposite] AFIP photographer Steve Ferendo meticulously photographs a brain in the 

specimen grossing room in the mid-1980s. (NCP 17358)
Talent, Technolo gy, and Transformation, 1976–2000 | 177
178 | Armed Forces Institute of Patholo gy, 1862–2011

Dr Yvonne Schulman and Captain 

Edward Dick, Veterinary Corps, 

US Army, perform a necropsy on a 

giraffe at the National Zoo in Washington DC in 1992. AFIP’s Department of Veterinary Pathology has 

had a consultative and educational 

relationship with the National Zoo 

since the 1950s and regularly assists 

with necropsies there. (NCP 17359)

[Opposite] Dr James Smirniotopoulos, chief of the Neuroradiology Department, and Lieutenant 

Colonel Michael McCarthy, Medical 

Corps, US Air Force, review radiographs of a chest tumor in the early 

1990s. (NCP 17360)
Talent, Technolo gy, and Transformation, 1976–2000 | 179
[Left] An oil fire burns brightly in the Kuwaiti desert in 

1991. The invading Iraqi army set numerous oil wells 

on fire during their retreat, producing a potential health 

threat for US forces. In 1991, Dr Victor Kalasinsky, chief 

of AFIP’s Division of Environmental Toxicology, deployed to Kuwait to assist the US Army Environmental 

Hygiene Agency with testing air and soil samples near 

the oil fires. Those tests were then compared to blood 

and urine samples from US troops working in the area. 

(MIS 08-1122-1A) 

[Inset] A temporary addition to the Dover Port Mortuary stands ready for the arrival of equipment at Dover 

Air Force Base, Delaware, in 1990. The addition was 

erected to handle mass casualties from the Persian Gulf 

War. Desert Storm fatalities reinforced the need for the 

capability of DNA testing to help reassociate fragmented 

remains. DNA testing was used to establish identity in 

two Desert Storm cases. (MIS 08-1098-1)
Talent, Technolo gy, and Transformation, 1976–2000 | 181

The original AFDIL DNA team in 1992. (From left to right) James Canik, program administrator; Demris 

Lee, chief DNA analyst, Nuclear Section; Deborah Fisher, senior DNA analyst, Nuclear Section; Jill Appleby, 

research associate; Dr Mitchell Holland, PhD, branch chief; Ann Davis, DNA technician; Dr James Watson, 

director of the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, in Long Island, New York; R James Stavinoha, chief of repository 

operations; Rhonda Roby, chief DNA analyst, Mitochondrial DNA Section; James P Ross, DNA technician; and 

Major Victor W Weedn, Medical Corps, US Army, chief deputy medical examiner, DNA Registry. Dr Watson, 

one of the codiscoverers of the structure of DNA in the 1950s, was visiting the AFIP as a guest speaker for the 

Ash Lecture Series in 1993. The series, established in 1985, was named in honor of Colonel James Earle Ash, 

museum curator and first director of the Army Institute of Pathology, and featured lectures by leaders in the 

fields of medicine and pathology. (NCP 17361) 

Talent, Technolo gy, and Transformation, 1976–2000 | 183

[Opposite] Dr Wayne Meyers 

(in blue shirt) and two healthcare 

researchers meet with villagers in 

Togo, West Africa, 1995, during 

one of his many trips to the region 

to study Buruli ulcers. Dr Meyers, 

a revered figure in the field of 

infectious diseases, is considered 

a world expert on Buruli ulcers. 

(NCP 17362)

[Left] Dr Frank Johnson, chief, 

Division of Chemical Pathology, 

reviews case files circa mid-1990s. 

(NCP 17363)
Doctors Charles Davis (left) and Isabell Sesterhenn (right), both of the Department of Genitourinary Pathology, review case slides with Dr Fathollah Mostofi circa 1997. Dr 

Mostofi was the chair of the department at that time. He was succeeded after his death by Dr Sesterhenn in 2004. Dr Sesterhenn became a prominent genitourinary pathologist in 

her own right and in 2010, she, along with other researchers developed a highly specific assay for the detection of a protein associated with tumor formation that is present in more 

than half of all prostate cancers. This regeant has an unprecedented specificity (99.9%) for detecting prostate tumor cells in pathologic specimens. (NCP 17364)

[Opposite] Lieutenant Colonel Ted Hadfield, Medical Corps, US Air Force, chief, Division of Microbiology, and Lieutenant Commander John David, Medical Corps, US Navy, 

examine a bacterial growth culture as part of biodefense vaccine research in the mid-1990s. Hadfield and David did extensive work to develop a vaccine against the infectious agent 

Brucella melitensis. B melitensis became a research priority during and after the Persian Gulf conflict when the threat of biological weapons increased. (NCP 17365)
Talent, Technolo gy, and Transformation, 1976–2000 | 185
186 | Armed Forces Institute of Patholo gy, 1862–2011

Dr Kamal Ishak, chair of Hepatic and Gastrointestinal Pathology (center), leads a weekly conference of liver cases in the early 1990s. A great believer in staff development and sharing of knowledge, Ishak opened these weekly sessions to all AFIP pathologists who wanted to attend, as well as clinicians from outside the institute. (NCP 17366)
[Left] Lieutenant Commander Lester Thompson, 

Medical Corps, US Navy, associate chair, Department of Scientific Laboratories, and Anthony Shirley, 

photographer, Center for Medical Illustration, examine histopathology slides during a photomicroscopy 

session in the mid-1990s. (NCP 17367)

[Inset Bottom Left] Colonel Vernon W Armbrustmacher, Medical Corps, US Air Force, thirteenth 

director of the AFIP, 1991–1995. (MIS 08-1865-1)

[Inset | Bottom Right] Colonel Michael J Dickerson, 

Medical Corps, US Air Force, fourteenth director of 

the AFIP, 1995–1999. (MIS 05-06236-1)

Talent, Technolo gy, and Transformation, 1976–2000 | 189

[Opposite] Dr Donald Sweet (right, in lab coat), chair, Department of Orthopedic Pathology, provides instruction on 

features of a bone biopsy. At right is Dr Tuyethoa Vinh, assistant chair of the department. (NCP 16737)

[Top] Members of the Armed Forces Repository of Specimens Samples for the Identification of Remains enter newly 

processed blood stain cards into the central database. All service members are required to have a card on file. If necessary for identification purposes, a service member’s DNA sequence can be run using a small portion of the blood stain. 

In mid-2010 the repository accessioned its 6 millionth card. (NCP 17368)

[Inset] Dr Kathy Kalasinsky uses Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) microscopy in 1998 to study drug distribution in 

a hair from a drug abuser. Dr Kalasinsky’s work elucidated some of the mechanisms by which drugs become incorporated into hair, thus aiding the development of hair analysis for drug testing. She received national recognition for this 

work by winning the Irving Sunshine Award, given for outstanding research in forensic toxicology by the American 

Academy of Forensic Sciences. (NCP 17371)
190 | Armed Forces Institute of Patholo gy, 1862–2011

[Right] Hospital Corpsman Second Class Tyrone Johnson, 

Division of Forensic Toxicology, performs a toxicology screening 

analysis on blood and tissue samples using gas chromatography/

mass spectrometry circa 1997. (NCP 17369)

[Left] (Back to front) Hospital Corpsman Third Class Robert Zanelli, Private First Class Richard Rosenbaum, and Staff 

Sergeant Andrea Falcher accession specimens in the Division of 

Forensic Toxicology in 1998. (NCP 17370)
In 1995 the AFDIL assisted the Russian government in confirming the identification of Czar Nicholas II, his wife, three of their children, and their servants. 

Identification of these old, highly degraded remains, as well as the identification of remains of US service members from past conflicts, helped solidify AFDIL’s 

reputation as a world leader in DNA technology and techniques. Pictured here are the czar, his wife Alexandra (wearing crown), and their five children in 

1914, four years before they were killed. (NCP 17372)
192 | Armed Forces Institute of Patholo gy, 1862–2011
[Opposite]DNA analyst Daniel Katz (left) and Demris Lee, 

technical leader, Nuclear DNA Section, load DNA samples onto 

an ABI 377 (Applied Biosystems, Life Technologies Corporation, 

Carslbad, CA) analyzer in 1997. (NCP 17373) 

[Top] (Left to right) Lieutenant Colonel Glenn Dickey, Medical 

Corps, US Air Force, chief, Division of Perinatal and Placental 

Pathology; Commander Eric Suarez, Medical Corps, US Navy; 

and Dr Shyh-Ching Lo review pediatric cases on a multihead 

microscope in 1997. (NCP 17374)

[Bottom] Commander Kelley Koeller, Medical Corps, US 

Navy, chief, Neuroradiology, reviews case slides submitted by a 

radiology student for the Radiological Pathology Course in 1999. 

(NCP 17375)

[Inset] Dr Markku Miettinen, chair, Department of Soft Tissue 

and Orthopedic Pathology (center), discusses research results 

with Dr Jersy Lasota, soft tissue pathologist, and Virginia Achstetter, a histotechnologist. (NCP 17376)
194 | Armed Forces Institute of Patholo gy, 1862–2011

[Top Left] Captain William Ross, Medical Corps, US Navy, chair, 

Department of Scientific Laboratories; Lieutenant Commander Lester 

Thompson, Medical Corps, US Navy Reserve, associate chair; and Gayle 

Andre, histotechnologist, review laboratory results in 2000. (NCP 17377)

[Bottom Left] Captain Ross examines a kidney biopsy using an electron 

microscope and digital imaging circa 1999. (NCP 17378)

[Top Right] Captain Gary Warnock, Dental Corps, US Navy, and Captain Douglas Arendt, Dental Corps, US Navy, both of the Department 

of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology, review materials for use in the 

popular Forensic Dental Identification Course in 1999. (NCP 17379)

[Opposite] Petty Officer Second Class Thomas Pierce, course director, 

monitors work of histology school student in the school’s microtomy 

laboratory during the late 1990s. (NCP 17380)
Talent, Technolo gy, and Transformation, 1976–2000 | 195
196 | Armed Forces Institute of Patholo gy, 1862–2011

[Left](Back to front) Dr Bruce Williams, chair, Department of Telemedicine; Dr 

Mullick, then chair of the Department of Environmental and Infectious Disease 

Sciences; and Dr Ishak, chair of Hepatic and Gastrointestinal Pathology, analyzing 

case files in the telemedicine suite in 1997. By then the telemedicine department had 

installed a BLISS WebSlide (Olympus, Center Valley, PA) workstation and server, 

giving the staff the ability to read digital slides submitted from contributors using 

similar systems in the United States and abroad. The system allowed scanning and 

digitization of entire histologic or cytologic slides—or particular regions of interest 

chosen by the contributor—for transmission to the AFIP for consultation, which in 

turn resulted in more definitive diagnoses for electronic consultation. Although the 

AFIP formally initiated a telepathology program only in 1990, Dr Ishak had envisioned such a capability as early as the 1970s and helped lead the institute’s efforts to 

establish the program. (MIS 09-10620-1)
Talent, Technolo gy, and Transformation, 1976–2000 | 197

[Left] Dr Jose Centeno, chief, Division of Biophysical Toxicology, use a laser Raman spectroscopy system in the Molecular Microspectroscopy and Chemical Imaging 

Laboratory to study foreign materials in tissue in 1999. (NCP 17381)

[Top] Dr Mullick, Dr Sweet (left), and Dr Wear (right), gathered in the deputy director’s conference room in 1999 in preparation for a staff conference. In 1999 

Dr Mullick became the AFIP’s principal deputy director. (NCP 17266)
“Between 2001 and 2011, two dates in particular put into 

motion a chain of events that tested the strength and character 

of AFIP staff. The first occurred on September 11, 2001 when 

19 Al Qaeda terrorists hijacked four commercial passenger jet 

airliners. . . . One week after 9/11, these horrific events were 

followed by anthrax attacks that occurred over the course of 

several weeks.”