The Official USU Newsletter

Volume 8, Issue 4 • April 1, 2013

www.usuhs.edu
2 The Pulse The Official USU Newsletter

For most people, the road to 

medical school is challenging. 

Mastering tough coursework with 

a stellar grade point average isn’t 

enough. They also need clinical 

experience, strong interpersonal 

skills and competitive Medical 

College Admission Test scores. 

Achieving these benchmarks while 

holding down a demanding, fulltime job is even harder, especially 

for enlisted military personnel. Their 

unusual work schedules, routine 

deployments and ample service 

obligations add stumbling blocks to 

an already difficult process.

A new initiative at the Uniformed 

Services University, however, is 

leveling the playing field for exceptional troops with a strong academic 

prowess. The Enlisted to Medical 

Degree Preparatory Program 

(EMDP2) will place highly qualified enlisted service members in a 

full-time academic environment. 

The USU program will partner with 

a local college that offers premedical courses, pre-health advising 

and MCAT preparation. University faculty and students will also 

mentor EMDP2 participants.

Servicemembers selected for the 

EMDP2 program will maintain their 

active-duty status, but they won’t have 

many additional military responsibilities. Instead, getting into medical 

school will be their primary job.

“The program will be intense. 

Only the very best will make the 

cut, but I know we have a large pool 

of talented enlisted folks to choose 

from,” said Althea Green Dixon, 

director of the EMDP2 program.

Dixon, a retired command sergeant 

major in the U.S. Army, knows many 

of their stories. She spent 30 years 

in military units, working alongside hundreds of talented commissioned and non-commissioned 

troops, including Lt. Gen. (Dr.) Eric 

Schoomaker, former surgeon general 

of the Army. Before she retired, 

Dixon was his senior enlisted advisor. 

In this role, she gained a broad view 

of military medicine and saw how 

innovative programs could make big 

differences for warrior care.

“The EMDP2 program is something 

military leaders have talked about for 

a long time. The enlisted community is 

full of bright, talented servicemembers 

who have a lot to offer. We want to 

leverage their abilities in the military 

health system, so they can take care 

of our wounded troops. But, we have 

to get them into medical school first,” 

she said. “USU is giving enlisted 

servicemembers the tools they need to 

qualify. As a result, I believe the entire 

military will benefit.”

The program is scheduled to 

launch in 2014, and like other USU 

programs, it is designed to encourage career military service. All 

EMDP2 graduates accepted into 

medical school will be commissioned, and all participants will 

incur a service obligation.

Contact USU’s recruitment and 

admissions specialists, NaShieka 

Knight (nashieka.knight@usuhs.edu) 

and HMC Alexis Alvarado (alexis.

alvarado@usuhs.edu), for more information about the EMDP2 program.

On the cover 

Parameet Kumar, PhD, is a postdoctoral 

fellow in the lab of Roopa Biswas, PhD, 

assistant professor in the Department of 

Anatomy, Physiology and Genetics at the 

Uniformed Services University. Kumar 

is part of a team conducting research in 

collaboration with USU’s Center for Prostate 

Disease Research for the John P. Murtha 

Cancer Center. (See story, page 3)

Sharon Willis 

Deputy Vice President for External 

Affairs and Managing Editor

Gwendolyn Smalls 

Chief, Media Affairs

Tech. Sgt. Oshawn Jefferson

Deputy Chief, Media Affairs

Christine Creenan-Jones 

Editor

MC2 Brittney Cannady

Writer

Lori Fields 

Layout and Design

Production 

The Pulse is funded by the Department of Defense 

and published by the Uniformed Services University. 

It is authorized for members of the U.S. military 

services, USU alumni, faculty and staff. Contents of 

the Pulse are not necessarily the official views of, or 

endorsed by, the DoD or USU. Appearance of anything 

resembling advertising in this publication does not 

constitute endorsement by the DoD, USU or Pulse 

staff members.

The contents of this publication shall be made 

available for use or patronage without regard to race, 

color, religion, sex, national origin, age, marital status, 

physical handicap, political affiliation or any other 

non-merit factor of the user or patron.

Editorial content is edited, prepared and provided by 

the USU Office of External Affairs. The editor reserves 

the right to edit articles to conform to DoD policy 

and Associated Press style. All photos are DoD photos 

unless otherwise indicated. 

The Pulse will be published bi-weekly on Mondays. 

The deadline for submissions is at 4 p.m. Tuesday prior 

to the publication date. Submissions can be sent to 

christine.creenan-jones@usuhs.edu or 301-295-3338.

Photo by Thomas Balfour

USU to launch new enlisted 

to MD program

By Christine Creenan-Jones, editor

The Uniformed Services University is 

currently developing an Enlisted to Medical 

Degree Preparatory Program that places 

non-commissioned officers in full-time 

academic environments that prepares 

them for medical school.

Photo by Thomas Balfour
April 1, 2013 3

The Uniformed Services University joined forces with other leading 

research facilities and hospitals to 

form the John P. Murtha Cancer 

Center, a Defense Center of Excellence, at Walter Reed National 

Military Medical Center in Bethesda. 

The center – named for the late 

Pennsylvania Congressman John P. 

Murtha, a strong advocate for military 

medicine – provides full-spectrum 

cancer care to servicemembers and 

their families. These patients are seen 

by multidisciplinary teams who use best 

practices and cutting-edge technology 

to diagnose and treat many different 

forms of cancer.

The center also has a robust research 

portfolio and pioneering education 

programs that bring groundbreaking 

discoveries to the forefront. USU and 

the National Cancer Institute lead 

many of these investigations, including 

clinical trials for new cancer medications, studies aimed at developing 

better diagnostics and research that 

finds ways to improve quality of life 

and survivorship for military families 

fighting cancer. 

USU and other Murtha Center 

stakeholders – which include more 

than 300 specially-trained military, 

civilian and contract personnel – 

cross facilities and disciplines to bring 

new innovation to cancer treatment 

and research for breast, gynecological, 

pediatric and prostate cancers.

“Almost everyone has been affected 

by cancer, whether it’s a personal 

struggle or knowing someone – be it 

a family member, friend or coworker 

– who has faced that challenge,” said 

Charles L. Rice, MD, president of 

USU. “That’s why USU’s role in the 

John P. Murtha Cancer Center is so 

vitally important to our university 

and the rest of military medicine. 

We are committed to this cause, and 

will continue sponsoring education 

and research programs that promote 

Congressman Murtha’s mission.”

Courtesy Photo

Esteemed physician delivers 

2013 Packard Lecture 

 Courtesy of the USU Faculty Senate

Peter J. Hotez, MD, PhD, founding 

dean and professor of the National 

School of Tropical Medicine and 

professor of Pediatrics and Molecular 

Virology and Microbiology at Baylor 

College of Medicine, delivered “Blue 

Marble Health and the Neglected 

Tropical Diseases” – the Uniformed 

Services University’s 2013 David 

Packard Lecture, March 5.

Hotez is an internationally-recognized clinician and investigator 

in neglected tropical diseases and 

vaccine development. He leads the 

only product development partnership for developing new vaccines for 

hookworm infection, schistosomiasis, and Chagas disease, which affect 

hundreds of millions of children and 

adults worldwide. The hookworm 

vaccine is currently in clinical 

trials. In 2006, at the Clinton Global 

Initiative, he co-founded the Global 

Network for Neglected Tropical 

Diseases to provide access to essential medicines for more than 100 

million people.

In addition to his duties at Baylor, 

Hotez is also president and director at 

Sabin Vaccine Institute, president and 

director at Texas Children’s Hospital 

Center for Vaccine Development, and 

a fellow in the American Society of 

Tropical Medicine and Hygiene at the 

American Academy of Pediatrics, and 

in Disease and Poverty at the James A 

Baker III Institute for Public Policy at 

Rice University. Additionally, he is the 

founding editor-in-chief of the journal, 

“PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases.” 

In 2011, Hotez was awarded the 

Abraham Horwitz Award for Excellence in Leadership in Inter-American Health by the Pan American 

Health Organization of the World 

Health Organization. He currently 

serves as principal investigator for 

research grants from the Bill and 

Melinda Gates Foundation, the 

Dutch government, and NIH, as well 

as co-principal investigator for a 

research grant from the Carlos Slim 

Health Institute.

Peter J. Hotez, MD, PhD

USU brings education, research expertise 

to new John P. Murtha Cancer Center 

By Christine Creenan-Jones, editor
4 The Pulse The Official USU Newsletter

Kathryn 

“Kate” Lacquement grew up 

in the sixties 

and seventies. 

She had dreams 

of becoming a 

teacher, a nurse, 

a radiologist, a 

model, a world 

famous novelist, a world famous cellist, and a mom. 

She was sure that the world was hers to 

conquer and that she could do it all. 

Growing up, she was rarely sick, 

just the usual childhood illnesses but 

never anything serious. At age 31, she 

found her first lump. It turned out 

to be a benign cyst, but it frightened 

her and put the word “cancer” into 

her lexicon. It also made her religious 

about doing monthly breast exams. 

In 1993, she found another lump 

during her monthly exam. This time, 

the lump felt different. It was hard and 

didn’t move. It felt like a small bump 

on her rib at the 11 o’clock position on 

her right breast. She was scheduled for 

a regular check-up, so she mentioned it 

to the nurse practitioner, who had the 

doctor examine it. The doctor scheduled a biopsy the following week. Kate 

thought it would be another cyst, but 

by 6 p.m. that same night, her surgeon 

called and delivered the bad news. It 

was cancer. 

For the next 18 years, she fought 

valiantly against the disease. In and 

out of clinics and hospitals, rounds 

of surgery and chemotherapy, good 

days, bad days, better days. Through 

it all, Kate was determined to find 

the silver lining, as evidenced in an 

excerpt from the blog she periodically updated throughout the last two 

years of her life: “If I had to come up 

with a list of bright spots for having 

cancer, this would be the start: I truly 

appreciate the gift of life; I have met 

some amazing people – cancer patients 

with positive attitudes; Gifted doctors, 

nurses, and researchers who care for 

me; A great excuse that is hard to 

Individuals or surviving family 

members interested in making an 

anatomical donation do so for a variety 

of reasons – some to help further 

medical education and research, 

and some simply to find something 

positive in the death of their loved one. 

“USU has an anatomical gift program 

that offers individuals and families a very 

personal and meaningful way of contributing to the education of our next generation of health care providers,” said Ronald 

Rivenburgh, anatomical curator in USU’s 

Anatomical Teaching Laboratory. 

The USU Anatomical Gift Program 

is administered in the ATL and works 

in conjunction with the Maryland 

State Anatomy Board (MSAB) for 

whole body donations. Rivenburgh 

also works with individuals, family 

members, case managers, executors 

and others to guide them through the 

process of anatomical donation.

Each year, USU personnel are invited 

to the MSAB’s annual memorial service, 

held in Sykesville, Md. The state invites 

all donor families and school representatives to participate in the service 

commemorating the donors and recognizing the participating universities.

For more information on USU’s 

Anatomical Gift Program, visit www.

usuhs.mil/mdl/agprogram.html, or call 

(301) 295-3301. 

Beloved teacher gives back to USU USU Anatomical Gift Program Courtesy Photo

Kathryn “Kate” 

Lacquement

argue with about getting out of doing 

stuff I don’t want to [do]; A motivational push to continue going for my 

dreams – if not now, when? (I achieved 

my Master’s in Education during bout 

three, living in Germany); A closer 

walk with God – lots of one-way 

heated discussions. Unfortunately, the 

list of cons is much, much longer.”

In the fall of 2012, Kate received 

devastating news. She referred to it 

as being ‘gobsmacked’ – astounded, 

astonished, completely dumbfounded. 

“The wind had been knocked out of 

me,” she wrote in her blog. “I felt like I 

had been hit with a two by four.” After 

19 years of battling cancer, the doctor 

quietly told her that the cancer had 

spread to her brain and lower spine. 

She was going to die. 

Her devoted family, and her many 

caring friends, stood beside her for the 

nearly two decades she fought her battle 

with breast cancer. In 2005, her son, 

Alex, then a high school senior, wrote 

a poem entitled “Unbeatable” for his 

mother, which she kept on her dresser, 

and which was a source of continued 

strength and courage for Kate:

Kate

Determined

Sister of Ruthie Bacon

Lover of Chocolate

Her Children,

Life

Who feels stressed by too much on 

her shoulders,

Every day is a gift from God,

Compassionate about teaching

Who needs time to relax,

A helping hand every once in a while,

A cup of coffee every day

Who gives encouragement to those in need,

A smile to the world every day,

Unconditional love to her family,

Who fears letting her children go,

Battling breast cancer again,

Nothing else

Who would like to see a cure for cancer,

The day her children get married,

Her mother more often

Resident of U.S. Army

Lacquement

In December, 2012, she lost her 

valiant struggle with breast cancer. 

Kate was a teacher. She loved to 

educate, so it came as no surprise to her 

family that she would choose to donate 

her body to science when she died. As a 

military spouse, she chose the Uniformed 

Services University of the Health Sciences 

(USU) Anatomical Gift Program so that, 

even in death, she could contribute to the 

education of future uniformed doctors 

and other health professionals. 

Her family carried out her wishes for 

anatomical donation to USU. They had 

one request: to share her story with the 

USU community.

The note on the photo they sent 

simply said, “This is our favorite woman; 

please take care of her and learn lots 

from her. --- The Lacquements.”
Paul Pasquina, M.D., director of 

the Center for Rehabilitation Science 

Research at the Uniformed Services 

University and chief of the Department of Physical Medicine and 

Rehabilitation at the Walter Reed 

National Military Medical Center, was 

selected to chair the newly-established 

Department of Physical Medicine and 

Rehabilitation in the F. Edward Hébert 

School of Medicine at USU.

As the founding chair, Pasquina will 

develop a new USU department of 

Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation 

tailored to meet the specific needs of 

the military population, both in education and research.

“Dr. Pasquina is a gifted and 

trusted physician, researcher and 

educator with a solid history of 

contributions to our wounded, ill and 

injured troops, military and civilian 

medicine, and to the University,” said 

Dr. Larry Laughlin, then-former dean 

of USU’s School of Medicine in his 

announcement of Pasquina’s selection. “He is the perfect choice to lead 

our new department.”

Pasquina, a retired Army colonel, has 

achieved many significant accomplishments in the military health system, 

which he’ll leverage in his new position. 

He is a 1987 graduate of the U.S. 

Military Academy at West Point and 

earned his medical degree from USU in 

1991. Pasquina completed his internship at Eisenhower Medical Center 

in Augusta, Ga., and his residency 

in physical medicine and rehabilitation at Walter Reed Army Medical 

Center in Washington, D.C. in 1995. 

In addition, he is board certified in 

electrodiagnostic medicine and pain 

medicine. Pasquina completed a fellowship in primary care sports medicine 

and remains interested in all aspects of 

musculoskeletal medicine, especially as 

it applies to individuals with disabilities. He currently serves as a consultant 

to numerous federal and non-federal 

agencies including the National Institutes of Health, Department of Veterans 

Affairs, Defense Advanced Research 

Projects Agency, Institute of Medicine, 

U.S. Army Medical Research and 

Materiel Command and the University 

of Pittsburgh School of Health and 

Rehabilitation Sciences.

Pasquina served as the specialty 

consultant to the Army Surgeon 

General and as the Medical Advisor to 

the North Atlantic Regional Medical 

Command for quality healthcare. He 

has authored multiple textbooks, book 

chapters, journal articles and policy 

papers. He has received multiple 

military awards, as well as awards for 

teaching and mentorship, including the U.S. Army’s “A” Proficiency 

Designation for academic excellence, 

the Order of Military Medical Merit, 

Legion of Merit, da Vinci Lifetime 

Achievement Award, Partners in 

Progress Heroes of Military Medicine 

Award, Lewis Aspey Mologne Award, 

Alfred Mann Foundation Scientist of 

Year Award, and Honorary Fellow of 

the Rehabilitation Engineering and 

Assistive Technology Society of North 

America.

His leadership in amputee care 

contributed to Walter Reed being the 

first institution in the world to introduce the clinical use and evaluation of 

the first motorized lower limb prostheses, most sophisticated upper limb 

prostheses, and the first of its kind 

implantable microelectrodes to drive a 

prosthetic device. Pasquina also helped 

shape WRNMMC’s sports and recreational program, driving rehabilitation program, brain fitness lab, service 

animal program, creative arts in 

healthcare, interdisciplinary amputee 

and TBI clinics, satellite interventional 

pain suite, vocational and community 

reintegration programs, Computerized 

Rehabilitation Environment, Wheelchair and Seating Clinic, and musculoskeletal ultrasound clinic. He was a 

principal planner in the programming 

and design of the WRNMMC America 

Building and the National Intrepid 

Center of Excellence for TBI and Behavioral Health on the Bethesda campus.

April 1, 2013 5

USU alum named chair of newly established 

Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Department

By Sharon Willis, managing editor and deputy vice president of External Affairs

Courtesy Photo

Paul Pasquina, M.D., is the founding chair of USU’s new Department of Physical Medicine 

and Rehabilitation.
6 The Pulse The Official USU Newsletter

In 2011, U.S. Navy Capt. (Dr.) Mark 

Stephens, chair of the Department of 

Family Medicine at the Uniformed 

Services University, and his wife, Patty, 

began fostering a black Labrador 

retriever named Freedom. They quickly 

formed a strong bond, mainly because 

they share many of the same hobbies 

– running, socializing and helping 

people in need. 

Even though Stephens loves Freedom, 

he’ll need to say goodbye soon. His dog is 

part of the Warrior Canine Connection 

(WCC), and he’ll be given to a military 

veteran with mobility impairments when 

he is approximately two years old.

Although he’s attached to Stephens, 

Freedom was born to help wounded 

warriors. From the time he was 

a small puppy, a large network of 

people, including Stephens, have been 

training Freedom to open doors, turn 

on lights, shut cabinets and complete 

other routine household tasks that can 

be difficult for people with amputations and other physical disabilities. 

Besides helping around the house, 

Freedom will also be a loyal companion for his new owner. The Warrior 

Canine Connection breeds and raises 

golden retrievers and Labradors like 

Freedom to be calm, affectionate and 

socially engaging. 

“Freedom is sweet. He is a very eventempered dog and brings joy to just 

about everyone he meets,” said Stephens.

This includes servicemembers 

with traumatic brain injury and posttraumatic stress disorder at the National 

Intrepid Center of Excellence (NICoE) 

at Walter Reed National Military 

Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. 

Stephens brings Freedom to the 

NICoE every Monday, Wednesday and 

Friday so professional handlers, behavioral health specialists and military 

patients can train him to become a 

certified service dog.

The innovative WCC program has 

multiple benefits. It can be therapeutic 

for people with social anxiety and 

communication difficulties – side effects 

of TBI and PTSD – because Warrior 

trainers learn to give clear commands 

and use a lot of praise to successfully 

shape the dogs’ behavior. The WCC 

mission – to enhance the lives and 

independence of disabled combat veterans by providing them with well-trained 

service dogs – also resonates with 

patients at the NICoE, because many of 

them feel a strong desire to give back.

“Our program taps into the warrior 

ethos of helping others,” said Rick 

Yount, executive director at the WCC. 

“They’re taking tiny puppies and 

shaping them into working service dogs 

for other vets. It’s a powerful program 

that starts a fire in a lot of people.”

The WCC mission is close to Stephens’ 

heart as well. He has spent his entire 

Navy career taking care of military 

families, so sharing Freedom – his 

beloved dog – with an injured servicemember is more honor than sacrifice.

“When you see the joy he brings to 

others, and the good he will do for a 

wounded American hero, it’s inspiring 

to think about the journey Freedom is 

on,” said Stephens.

Faculty member fosters dog to help wounded vets

By Christine Creenan-Jones, editor

SAVE THE DATE

The Uniformed Services University will celebrate the 

Special Emphasis Observances on April 16. The event, 

which honors the diversity that strengthens our country, 

will be held in USU’s cafeteria at 9 a.m. The Honorable 

Jonathan Woodson, assistant secretary of defense for 

Health Affairs and director of TRICARE Management 

Activity, will be the keynote speaker.

Photo by Christine Creenan-Jones

From left to right: Navy Capt. (Dr.) Mark Stephens, chair of the Department of Family 

Medicine at the Uniformed Services University, Patty Kennedy, director of Communication 

and Government Relations at Warrior Canine Connection, Rick Yount, executive director at 

WCC, and Marshall Peters, service dog program instructor at WCC, train dogs like Freedom, 

Valerie, Gabe, Rob and Abby to help veterans with mobility impairments at the National 

Intrepid Center of Excellence.
April 1, 2013 7

The Military Health System’s “Building Stronger Female Physician Leaders 

in the MHS” award program, now in 

its fourth year, selects up to six female 

physicians - one senior and five junior 

winners - from each service: Army, 

Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard and 

Public Health Service, who have made 

significant contributions to military 

medicine and served as exemplary role 

models to female military doctors. 

This year’s senior winner of the fourth 

annual MHS award is Air Force Col. 

(Dr.) Kimberly A. Slawinski, USU class 

of 1984.

Slawinski is a vice commander 

assigned to the Air Force Medical 

Operations Agency in San Antonio, 

Texas. She is an ophthalmologist and is 

trained as a flight surgeon. Fellow USU 

alum, Lt. Gen. (Dr.) Tom Travis, class 

of 1986, Air Force Surgeon General, 

presented the award to Slawinski.

USU alum wins 

prestigious award

By Sharon Willis, managing editor and 

deputy vice president for External Affairs

Twitter

Follow us at 

https://twitter.com/

usuhspao

 

 

Word on Campus

By Christine Creenan-Jones, editor

“The cool thing about taking care of military 

families is watching people change and grow. 

I try to take care of families the way I’d want 

someone to take care of my kids, and I think 

USU provides the best care around.”

Air Force Staff Sgt. Christopher Sherman, 

 medical technician

“I enjoy working with military kids and their 

families because they are well mannered. 

Military kids are usually well behaved 

because they learn good discipline from 

their parents.”

 Adama Guyton, medical support assistant

“I enjoy the continuity of seeing 

military children and watching 

them grow.”

Air Force Tech. Sgt. Kimburly Davis, 

non-commissioned officer-in-charge

 

“Military families are a very unique population. 

Most people recognize the noble sacrifices 

each of our service members make for our 

country, but they sometimes forget the 

equally significant sacrifices family members 

make. This includes our children, who endure 

frequent moves, the process of making new 

friends at each location, and separation from parents during 

deployments. It is important to me to recognize that they serve 

in their own way, something of which I am keenly aware as a 

father. For these reasons and more, the opportunity to care for 

military children is an important, satisfying part of my job.”

Navy Cmdr. Adam Saperstein, physician (pictured with Fatima Bashir, clinic nurse manager)

Since April is the month of the military child, Pulse staff members asked 

medical personnel at the LTC David E. Cabrera Family Health Center at the 

Uniformed Services University what they enjoy most about taking care of 

military families, especially children. Here are their answers:

Courtesy Photo
The Fightin’ Docs, Uniformed Services University’s hockey team, continued 

their season at Garden’s Ice House in Laurel, Md., on March 10. They 

narrowly lost to local rivals, Deadeye, in an 8 to 6 shootout.

Final Frame

Photo by Thomas C. Balfour