Volume 8, Issue 19· December 16, 2013

 www.usuhs.edu
Sharon Willis

Deputy Vice President for External 

Affairs and Managing Editor

Gwendolyn Smalls

Chief, Media Affairs

Master Sgt. Oshawn Jefferson

NCOIC of VPE and Deputy Chief, Media 

Affairs

Christine Creenan-Jones

Editor and Layout Artist

MC2 Brittney Cannady

Writer

The Pulse is printed by USU’s 

Duplicating Center.

Production

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Defense and published by the Uniformed 

Services University. It is authorized for 

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of the Pulse are not necessarily the official 

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advertising in this publication does not 

constitute endorsement by the DoD, USU 

or Pulse staff members.

The contents of this publication shall be 

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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 

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is at 4 p.m. Tuesday prior to the 

publication date. Submissions can be 

sent to Christine.creenanjones@usuhs.edu or 301-295-3338.

Nursing professor elected to 

AANA Education Committee

By Sharon Holland, managing editor

On the cover

The F. Edward Hébert School of Medicine at the 

Uniformed Services University was dubbed 

“America’s Medical School” by its dean, Dr. Arthur 

Kellermann. Read more about the branding initiative on page 5.

2 The Pulse · The Official USU Newsletter Photo by Christine Creenan-Jones

 Air Force Col. Susan Perry, 

an assistant professor in the 

Daniel K. Inouye Graduate 

School of Nursing at the Uniformed Services University, 

was recently elected as a Delegate for the Education Committee at the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists. 

 The election took place during the AANA’s annual Assembly of School Faculty, held in 

San Diego, Feb. 18-20.

 Perry is one of only two elected members of the sevenperson committee. She was 

elected by the AANA’s program directors and faculty to 

serve the nearly 47,000 certified registered nurse anesthetists and student registered 

nurse anesthetists worldwide.

 “I ran because I know that 

the future of CRNAs resides in 

the best education and a full 

scope of practice,” Perry said. 

“This is the exact model at 

USU and in our independent 

scope of practice within the Air 

Force. We have the model to 

emulate and I want to assist 

our members by implementing 

best education practices to all 

of our programs.”

 As a member of the AANA 

Education Committee, Perry 

will provide direction for programs associated with educating future nurse anesthetists, 

and will expand and improve 

educational opportunities for 

interested anesthesia clinical 

and didactic educators. In addition, her responsibilities as 

delegate include reviewing and 

recommending changes in the 

standards and guidelines for 

educational programs and 

schools to the Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs, and 

maintaining lines of communication with all nurse anesthesia professionals, anesthesia 

students, allied health professionals, non-medical organizations and governmental agencies.

 “Our nurse anesthesia program is consistently ranked 

nationally in the top 10 because of the contributions and 

expertise of our faculty. The 

recent appointment of Col. Susan Perry to the AANA Education Committee brings added 

national visibility and credibility to the GSN and the University,” said Carol Romano, PhD, 

RN, FAAN, professor and associate dean of the Daniel K. 

Inouye Graduate School of 

Nursing.

Air Force Col. Susan Perry

Photo by Thomas Balfour
March 3, 2014 3

USU graduate student receives tropical disease research award

By Robert DeFraites, assistant professor in the Department of Preventive Medicine and Biometrics at USU

 Robin Miller, a graduate student in the Emerging Infectious 

Disease graduate program at the 

Uniformed Services University, 

is the recipient of the 2013 

Simpson Student Award in 

Tropical Disease Field Research.

 The award is presented annually by the Tropical Medicine 

Dinner Club of Baltimore and is 

intended to encourage and assist 

Baltimore-Washington area students who are conducting biomedical field research in tropical 

areas. 

 Miller is a Doctor of Philosophy candidate in the laboratory 

of Dr. V. Ann Stewart, an assistant professor in USU’s Department of Preventive Medicine 

and Biometrics. Miller graduated magna cum laude with a 

Bachelor of Science in biology 

from George Washington University in 2008. 

 Since matriculating at USU in 

2010, she has won a number of 

scholarships and student 

awards.

 The Simpson Award comprises 

a one-time $500 payment to be 

used by the student to defray 

costs for travel or research in 

developing countries. In addition, the recipient was honored 

as the guest speaker at the dinner club’s February meeting. 

 Miller presented her talk, 

“Characterization of malaria 

diversity in the context of HIV 

infection in a holoendemic region in Kenya,” on Feb. 4.

 The dinner club was founded 

in 1970 as means of enhancing 

communication among tropical 

health professionals and provides a unique opportunity for 

students, fellows and residents 

to meet and network with legends of tropical medicine in the 

Baltimore-Washington area.

USU wins CFC’s ‘Most Outstanding Campaign’ award

By MC2 Brittney Cannady, writer

 The Uniformed Services University received three awards for 

its 2013 Combined Federal 

Campaign recently, including 

the Merit Award, the Most Outstanding Campaign and the eGiving Award, which recognizes 

the successful implementation 

of electronic payroll deductions.

 Collectively, USU personnel 

donated more than $154,000, 

which exceeded the goal established by the Office of Personnel 

Management by nearly 

$50,000.

 “The DoD is all about teamwork and that was an incredibly 

important component of our 

campaign team,” said Robert 

Thompson, chief of staff at USU.

 The university held several 

fundraising events throughout 

last year’s campaign season, including a Jersey Day, chili cookoff and other contests to raise 

contributions to benefit the 

CFC.

 The university, along with several other federal agencies in the 

National Capital Region, were 

lauded during an awards program held at the Pentagon auditorium, Jan 30.

Brigade Commander Air Force Col. Kevin Glasz (far right) stands with 

Combined Federal Campaign keyworkers and managers at the Uniformed Services University. The university earned several awards after 

raising more than $154,000 in donations in 2013.

Photo by Air Force Master Sgt. Oshawn Jefferson
4 The Pulse · The Official USU Newsletter 

By Christine Creenan-Jones, editor

Attention all USU faculty

The Faculty Senate is currently seeking nominations for the 2014 Faculty Senate president-elect, 

secretary/treasurer, and senators.

Interested faculty are encouraged to contact Dr. Susanne Gibbons, chair of the Faculty Senate’s Nominations 

and Elections Committee, via e-mail at susanne.gibbons@usuhs.edu for a candidate form.

Countdown to Commencement: A look at the Class of 2014

Navy Ensign Christine Anderson, School of Medicine

Photo by Thomas Balfour

 Although all of her classmates are uniformed 

officers, Navy Ensign Christine Anderson, a 

fourth-year medical student at the Uniformed 

Services University, knows more about military 

life than many of her peers. After all, Anderson 

was an enlisted sailor in the Navy for more than 

eight years before she arrived on campus. 

 During that time, Anderson had prodigious responsibilities as a cryptologic technician, experts 

who use computers to collect and analyze foreign 

intelligence to monitor worldwide threats. Although her job was an integral part of America’s 

national security, Anderson remains humble. Instead of bragging about her achievements, she 

recounts her unique experiences and the team’s 

camaraderie among her favorite service memories so far. 

 “I really enjoyed being a Navy cryptologist,” she 

said. “I was part of an important mission, I met 

incredible people and I visited a lot of extraordinary places.” 

 Indeed, Anderson’s duty assignments stretched 

far and wide before USU. Her shore assignments 

included Florida and Hawaii, and she also spent 

three years stationed aboard the guided-missile 

cruiser, USS Hué City. 

 On the ship, Anderson conducted military operations up and down the Eastern Seaboard as well 

as the Persian Gulf in support of Operation Iraqi 

Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.

 Although her job was rewarding, Anderson had 

already begun preparing for a whole new career 

by the time her deployment ended in 2005.

 “I’ve wanted to be a doctor for as long as I can 

remember. In fact, the reason I joined the Navy 

after high school was so I could pay for college,” 

she said. “After eight years on active duty, I 

seized my opportunity.”

 After separating from the military, Anderson 

earned a biology degree from the University of 

Las Vegas before 

coming to Bethesda for medical school. Attending USU 

meant she would 

incur a sevenyear service obligation. But for 

Anderson, the 

commitment 

was extraneous 

because she 

wants to serve 

on active duty 

for at least 30 

years by the end 

of her career.

 “I liked being 

in the military so 

much that I 

came back. Now, I can’t imagine doing anything 

else. I’ll continue serving for as long as the Navy 

allows me,” she said.

 Anderson’s goal is to specialize in obstetrics and 

gynecology after she graduates from USU in May 

and finishes a transitional year at Naval Medical 

Center San Diego. 

 “It’s such an interesting specialty because it’s so 

diverse. I can work in a clinic or an operating 

room, and I can perform all kinds of procedures,” 

she said. “It’s a great mix of medicine.”

 Although Anderson is excited to begin the next 

chapter in her military career, she’s still a little 

wistful to leave USU. 

 “I have to admit, medical school is a bear, but I 

learn so much every day at USU from my instructors and my amazingly talented classmates,” said 

Anderson. “I’m excited to graduate but I’ll miss 

this place tremendously.”

Navy Ensign Christine Anderson
March 3, 2014 5

USU home to “America’s Medical School”

by Christine Creenan-Jones, editor

 The Uniformed Service University is home to 

the nation’s only medical school designed for aspiring physicians in the Army, Navy, Air Force 

and Public Health Service. At USU, these students learn traditional benchmarks as well as 

military-specific medical skills that will come to 

bear once they graduate and begin caring for 

America’s troops. 

 Dr. Arthur Kellermann was inspired by the 

school’s unique mission and began calling it 

“America’s Medical School” soon after he accepted a position as the new dean of the F. Edward 

Hébert School of Medicine in 2013.

 “We are America’s Medical School because we 

belong to everyone in this great nation. After all, 

our school is federally funded, and our graduates 

take care of American troops, the backbone of our 

country,” Kellermann said. “By calling ourselves 

America’s Medical School, we are acknowledging 

the awesome responsibility that comes with our 

charge of answering to 317 million American 

stakeholders.” 

 Kellermann’s nickname for the school resonated 

with USU’s leadership, who embraced the tagline 

and have encouraged others to do the same. 

 “You can help by regularly using the new phrase 

to describe our school. The phrase is easy to remember and it communicates a powerful idea: 

We are America’s Medical School,” said Kellermann.

 The phrase embodies a feeling of patriotism that 

is personified by USU’s more than 6,000 physician and graduate program alumni, who travel far 

and wide — often to dangerous places — to care 

for America’s troops. 

 “America’s Medical School is a great foundation 

for military medicine. We teach skills that can’t 

be learned anywhere else, because our patient 

population — mostly the U.S. military — do extraordinary things in service to our country, and 

as a result, often require specialized levels of care. 

We’re here for them, and the rest of America, who 

count on the military to protect our nation.”

The F. Edward Hébert School of Medicine at the Uniformed Services University was dubbed “America’s 

Medical School” by its dean, Dr. Arthur Kellermann, 

because the school is federally run and centered 

around military medicine. Students in the SoM are 

uniformed officers learning to care for those in harm’s 

way.

Photo by Thomas Balfour

Each year, the Uniformed Services University invites an accomplished 

public figure to speak at graduation. Last year, this former United 

States Senator and Congressional Medal of Honor recipient delivered 

the 34th commencement address.

Who is he? The first person to correctly identify last year’s keynote 

speaker and e-mail their response to christine.creenanjones@usuhs.edu wins a large coffee and donut courtesy of the USU 

cafeteria.

Countdown to Commencement

Trivia Question #2
6 The Pulse · The Official USU Newsletter 

A look at USU’s faculty: Air Force Col. (Dr.) Edwin Burkett

Director of the Global Health Division in the Department of Preventive Medicine and Biometrics

By Christine Creenan-Jones, editor 

 Air Force Col. (Dr.) Edwin 

Burkett is an international health 

expert with years of global health 

and medicine experience. He was 

also the chief of medical staff for 

two large military clinics and has 

run several global health programs 

for the Department of Defense. 

 Burkett’s unique background and 

leadership skills were the basis for 

his selection as the director of the 

Global Health Division in the Department of Preventive Medicine 

and Biometrics at USU’s F. Edward 

Hébert School of Medicine and to 

serve on the Advisory Board for the 

Center for Global Health at Old 

Dominion University.

 In his role, Burkett has worked 

tirelessly to develop a universitywide Global Health Program and 

expand the educational reach 

across disciplines and space. Part 

of this effort involves developing a 

distance learning Global Health 

Certificate program that will be 

available to educate health professionals throughout the Department 

of Defense. Although the program 

is still in its nascent stage, Burkett 

and his team have both the will 

and fortitude to see the job 

through.

 After all, Burkett’s success record 

is long with deep roots. In high 

school, he earned near-perfect 

marks on his report cards and 

graduated at the top of his class. 

His SAT scores were also impressive, which caught the attention of 

top American colleges, including 

Washington University in St. Louis.

 Burkett eventually graduated 

from WUSL with a double-major in 

Biology and Spanish – a language 

he’d learned mostly through osmosis while living in Rialto, Calif.

 “I grew up in a diverse neighborhood. A lot of my friends and 

neighbors spoke Spanish, so I 

picked up the language from 

them,” Burkett said. “I chose to 

study Spanish in college, because I 

like being able to communicate 

across borders and figured it would 

be a really good investment for a 

career in military medicine.”

 He was right. After earning a 

Doctor of Medicine from the F. Edward Hébert School of Medicine at 

USU, Burkett completed his family 

medicine residency in 1994 and 

began delivering primary care in 

clinics and hospitals around the 

world. He attained the International Health Specialist designation in 

2001 and began serving in IHS billets in 2006. 

 “Joining the IHS team was especially meaningful, because global 

health is a discipline that can bring 

forward significant change, and the 

reason I chose a career in medicine 

in the first place was so I could 

help as many people as possible,” 

he said.

 As the chief of Global Health at 

the Joint Forces Command Headquarters in Hampton Roads, Va., –

his duty assignment before USU –

Burkett worked to bridge health 

disparities by forging international 

partnerships, crafting policy and 

joint doctrine, and helping mobilize military resources to some of 

the world’s most underserved areas. 

 His deployment experience and 

participation in humanitarian missions to places like Zimbabwe, El 

Salvador, and Haiti gave him the 

personal resonance to excel as a 

leader. It also taught him valuable 

lessons, including the importance 

of strategic planning when developing global outreach operations.

 “I took part in a humanitarian 

mission in Haiti to deliver primary 

care to local nationals. Our clinic 

was set up in a school house, five 

blocks away from the city’s hospital. Upon visiting the hospital –

which was a minimally staffed, 

open-bay facility – I realized our 

outreach would have been far more 

effectual had we worked alongside 

the local healthcare providers, who 

would continue taking care of the 

injured and ill Haitians long after 

we left.”

 As a USU faculty member, 

Burkett is encouraging his students 

to think analytically and weigh factors beyond medicine when planning global health operations to 

avoid oversights like his experience 

in Haiti. This will help ensure the 

military outreach that USU students will likely take part in after 

graduation is both effective and 

enduring. These benchmarks are 

major threads of the curriculum 

Burkett’s division is developing for 

the Global Health Certificate, 

which is scheduled to launch in 

2016.

 “Global health studies have blossomed at USU over the past several 

years, which is great, because it’s 

an emerging discipline that continues to gain traction as an important focus area for both the Military Health System and the Department of Defense as a whole,” 

he said. “The Global Health Certificate is another way for USU to

build the knowledge and expertise 

needed to ensure our nation’s safety and improve world health.”

 Leaders like Burkett – who have 

the will to succeed and a passion to 

affect positive change – is another 

way for USU to continue thriving 

on the global scale. 

Air Force Col. (Dr.) Edwin Burkett

Photo by Thomas Balfour
March 3, 2014 7

By Christine Creenan-Jones, editor 

Photo by Thomas Balfour

McCoy selected for Junior Employee of the Quarter

 Suzanne McCoy, an educational support assistant in 

the Norman M. Rich Department of Surgery, is the 

new Junior Employee of the Quarter at the Uniformed 

Services University. 

 McCoy is being lauded for carrying out all of her 

workplace responsibilities with exceptional ability. 

This includes coordinating rotation schedules for 

more than 320 students, organizing and maintaining 

academic records and communicating with adjunct 

faculty across the country to help ensure USU’s medical students had positive learning experiences during 

their Core Surgical Clerkship.

 Furthermore, McCoy performed all of these tasks 

during a period of significant transition, since the 

School of Medicine is currently using two frameworks 

until the new Molecules to Military Medicine becomes 

the prevailing curriculum for all four SoM classes beginning next year.

 “Ms. McCoy’s nomination is based upon her unparalleled commitment to excellence and service to the 

School of Medicine and university community. This 

commitment has been particularly well demonstrated 

by Ms. McCoy’s consummate support of the curriculum reform initiative, which could not have gone forward for the Department of Surgery without her unwavering assistance,” said Navy Capt. (Dr.) Lisa Cartwright, deputy 

chair of the Norman M. Rich Department of Surgery.

 The Department of Surgery 

also highlighted 

McCoy’s professional diligence, 

which has improved education 

at USU on many 

levels.

 “Ms. McCoy is 

a somewhat shy 

and unassuming 

person. Nevertheless, her willingness to go the 

extra mile to ensure that the medical students in the 

university never missed an opportunity for the best 

clinical educational possible, and that the Department 

of Surgery continued to meet Liaison Committee on 

Medical Education accreditation standards, deserves 

formal recognition,” said Cartwright.

Suzanne McCoy

Barnes selected for Senior Employee of the Quarter

 Nicole Barnes, an administrative 

officer in the Facilities Department, 

is the new Senior Employee of the 

Quarter at the Uniformed Services 

University.

 Barnes was selected because she 

demonstrates a commitment to excellence in all of her workplace endeavors, which includes performing 

extra duties such as manning the 

trouble call line and processing a 

large number of work requests for 

Facilities.

 Barnes assumed these and several 

additional collateral duties during a 

staff shortage in Facilities. She also

provided training for a new program support assistant and modified the position’s standard operating procedures, which resulted in 

uninterrupted Facilities customer 

support. Furthermore, Barnes is 

the government purchase card billing official for her department, 

which she oversees with exact precision.

 “Ms. Barnes’ attention to detail 

and mathematical acumen have 

resulted in zero discrepancies on 

her assigned budget accounts. She 

expertly managed all expenditures 

going to great lengths to ensure 

funding was available to support all 

customer product lines and that the 

division’s operating needs were 

met. Ms. Barnes reviewed and certified the billing statement reports 

for the government purchase card 

prior to their due dates. Through 

outstanding personal integrity and 

superior work ethics, she greatly 

improved the financial management process and ensured compliance with all financial regulations 

for the Facilities Division,” said 

Michelle Kilosky, a supervisory 

program analyst in Facilities.

 Barnes’ coworkers also lauded her 

ability to multitask and comradeship during the employee shortage, 

which was a busy, difficult time for 

Facilities.

 “Ms. Barnes, true to form, went 

above and beyond her regular duties and performed in an exemplary 

fashion. She has truly been the 

glue that has kept the Facilities Division together and on course during this challenging period,” said 

Kilosky.

By Christine Creenan-Jones, editor 

Nicole Barnes

Photo by Thomas Balfour
Final Frame

Last month, students from the Naval Postgraduate Dental School of the Uniformed Services University’s Postgraduate Dental College partnered with experts from the Navy Medicine Professional Development Center to teach children good oral hygiene habits in recognition of Children’s Dental Month. The 

community outreach program included free dental screenings, games and a 

visit from the “tooth fairy.”

All photos by Cynthia Hilsinger