USU Newsletter

VOLUME 4, ISSUE 14 WWW.USUHS.MIL September 14, 2009
by Staff Sgt. Matthew Rosine

Marguerite Littleton-Kearney, Ph.D., 

assumed responsibilities as the Associate 

Dean for Research at the Graduate School 

of Nursing, Uniformed Services University 

of the Health Sciences, Sept. 2009.

Navy Capt. Patricia Kelley served as 

acting Associate Dean prior to LittletonKearney’s arrival.

A former critical care nurse at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., and a Navy Reserve captain, 

Littleton-Kearney is no stranger to the 

University’s mission.

“I am really excited to be here,” said 

Littleton-Kearney. “It is a great opportunity to be part of this unique and 

exciting institution.”

Littleton-Kearney’s diverse career 

provides many experiences, such as being 

activated to full active-duty status on two 

occasions, from which she can draw as she 

settles into her new role at USU. 

She earned her bachelor’s and master’s 

degrees from the Medical College of 

Georgia in Augusta as well as a diploma 

from the Mercy Hospital School of 

Nursing in Baltimore. She also earned a 

Ph.D. from Rush University in Chicago. 

Littleton-Kearney also completed a 

post-doctoral fellowship at Rush University, and most recently served as an 

associate professor at The Johns Hopkins 

University School of Nursing. 

Her areas of academic expertise cover 

hormone status and platelet biology, 

cerebral ischemia, microvascular blood 

flow, shock and mediators of shock and 

ischemia. Her clinical expertise covers 

trauma and critical care nursing as well 

as disaster management and emergency 

preparedness. 

She has also been a critical contributor 

to more than 30 different publications 

on a wide range of topics from adult 

respiratory distress syndrome following 

thoracic trauma to the effects of estrogen 

on postischemic pial artery reactivity to 

adenosine diphosphate. 

Littleton-Kearney’s primary focus 

as the new associate dean will be the 

continued success of the students and the 

GSN’s research department. 

“The most important thing to me is to 

make sure the students are able to learn 

as much as possible and, of course, ensure 

our research mission continues to be a 

success,” said Littleton-Kearney.

A Profile in Leadership: Marguer ite 

Littleton-Kear ney 

Dr. Marguerite Littleton-Kearney is the new 

Associate Dean for Research at the GSN. Littleton-Kearney said she is excited to be a part 

of the GSN’s unique and important mission.

Bill Bester 

Acting Vice President for

 External Affairs and 

Managing Editor

Ken Frager

Public Affairs Specialist

Staff Sgt. Matthew Rosine

Production Editor

MC1 Chad Hallford

Layout and Design

Christine Creenan

Contributing Writer

Production:

Editorial content is edited, prepared 

and provided by the USU Office of 

External Affairs unless otherwise 

indicated. The Newsletter staff may 

include or exclude articles based 

upon news value, impact on the 

university and space availability. 

Submissions: 

The USU Newsletter will be published bi-weekly on Mondays. The 

deadline for submissions is at 4 

p.m. Friday prior to the publication 

date. Submissions can be sent to 

usunewsletter@usuhs.mil or by 

calling 301 295-0895. 

USU Newsletter

The USU Tri-Service Honor Guard 

presented the colors before the 

Baltimore Orioles baseball game 

against the Texas Rangers on 

Saturday, Sept. 5.

(Cover photo:

Ken Frager)

Courtesy photo 

PAGE 2

The Compassion of Individuals. The Power of Community. 

from Army Capt. Sean Tyler, CFC vice campaign manager

The fall 2009 Uniformed Services University Combined Federal Campaign officially starts 

on Sept. 17, with the Kickoff BBQ scheduled for Oct. 1. Appropriately, the year’s CFC theme 

“The compassion of individuals.The power of community.” provides each of us with this 

opportunity to voluntarily help others and ourselves by donating to community, national and 

international level human, health and environmental service organizations. This year, over 

3,500 human and health service organizations, are listed in the CFC Catalog of Caring. 

Please join me, Navy Lt. Christine Schlaerth and the entire campaign team in making this our 

best ever Combined Federal Campaign fund raising result.
PAGE 3

by MC1 Chad Hallford

Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Peter 

W. Chiarelli and Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. James 

F. Amos visited the USU campus and 

spoke with students, faculty and staff, 

Sept. 1.

The second highest ranking Army 

and Marine officers reinforced the importance of military medical professionals and emphasized the need for education and training in the early detection, 

referral and treatment of individuals 

with potential TBI, PTSD, depression 

and suicidal behavior.

“We are having some real issues 

in behavioral health throughout 

the military. The doctors say we 

shouldn’t call it the signature ‘wound’ 

of this war, but quite frankly, when I 

look at the numbers, TBI and PTSD, 

as one injury, impacts more than 50 

percent of our wounded Soldiers,” 

said Gen. Chiarelli.

“This is truly about sacrifice. You, 

as the frontline medical professionals 

will be changed forever. You will meet 

young men and women who are willing to sacrifice for a cause greater than 

themselves,” said Gen. Amos. “Seventy 

percent of our active-duty servicemembers have seen combat, many 

multiple times.”

“That becomes part of your education 

over the next four years as you will begin to understand why the young man 

or woman will make that sacrifice for 

those around them,” said Amos.

The generals highlighted key medical roles and responsibilities resulting 

from today’s conflict and the need for 

compassionate health care providers.

“You [future doctors] are going to 

enter the lives of the service member’s 

families as well. You will be medically-trained well enough to treat the 

Militar y leaders visit USU

injured service members, but the part 

you may not be prepared for is the 

need to provide their family with a 

compassionate environment where 

they understand you care for them as 

they do,” said Amos. “The family will 

need to know that you and every great 

thing available in the medical care 

in this country, are going to do every 

single thing possible to get their sons 

or daughters back,” said Amos.

The generals also discussed downrange operational tempo’s effect on 

behavioral health.

 “We have more Soldiers deployed 

today than we did at the height of the 

surge,” Chiarelli said. “We are looking 

at that being that way for the next 10-

12 months. That’s an amazing number.”

 “The goal is to get rotations to one 

year deployed, two years at home,” said 

Chiarelli. “It is a tired, stressed force, 

but at the same time, it is an amazingly 

resilient force.”

The operational tempo — length, 

number, and severity of deployments 

— and many other stressors are part 

of the complexities surrounding the 

military’s current efforts, and unfortunately adding to Army and Marine 

Corps losses from suicide.

“We have had 110 active-component 

suicides in the U.S. Army, this year, 

eleven in August. Those numbers are 

absolutely horrible. We are working 

hard to figure out what is really causing 

this,” said Chiarelli.

USU’s Center for the Study of 

Traumatic Stress is leading efforts to 

reduce the rate of suicide among the 

military, spearheading an effort that 

will involve an interdisciplinary team of 

four research institutions to carry out 

a National Institute of Mental Health 

study – the largest study of suicide and 

mental health among military personnel 

ever undertaken, with $50 million in 

funding from the U.S. Army. 

photo by HM2 Michael Oliver

Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. James F. Amos speaks to an audience of faculty, 

staff and students at USU, Sept. 1. The general, along with Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Peter W. 

Chiarelli spoke at the campus to express the important role military medical professionals play in 

the early prevention of suicide. 

Town Hall Meeting with President Rice

Sept. 16, 3 p.m. 

USU Cafeteria
PAGE 4

IOM President shares perspectives on H1N1 

with integ rated g rand rounds

by MC1 Chad Hallford

Harvey V. Fineberg, M.D., Ph.D., 

president of the Institute of Medicine 

of the National Academy of Sciences 

spoke to a wide audience of more 

than 200 health science professionals from throughout the National 

Capital Region, on Sept. 8.

This was the second in a high 

profile series of Integrated Grand 

Rounds sponsored by the USU, Walter Reed Army Medical Center and 

the National Naval Medical Center.

Dr. Fineberg addressed the relevance of history in understanding the 

current H1N1 virus pandemic fears, 

comparing it to other viral epidemics 

throughout the last century.

“There are a wider range of intervention possibilities today than 

in 1976,” said Fineberg. He also 

emphasized that the risk of spreading the virus is higher because of the 

increased mobility in today’s society, 

but that at the same time stopping 

the spread was equally possible with 

proper hygiene. 

Dr. Fineberg spoke of the national 

and world public health concerns 

raised by this potential pandemic. He also 

spent time addressing questions on a broad 

range of topics, from immunization efficacy 

and dangers to post-exposure antivirals to 

public safety approaches.

“The vast majority of people, I hope, will 

heed the views of nearly every responsible expert,” said Fineberg. “If given the opportunity, 

and especially if they are in a high risk group, 

everyone should protect against H1N1 [with 

the vaccine].”

Fineberg emphasized that open communication will be critical to stemming the 

spread and continued development of the 

2009 H1N1 pandemic with an effective 

vaccine campaign. “Our communications 

will need to be open, transparent honesty. 

It is the only way to ensure credibility,” 

said Fineberg.

“We were very honored to have Dr. 

Fineberg serve as the guest lecturer for our 

integrated grand rounds series. His careful analysis of the policy and political issues 

involved in the 1976 swine flu story provided 

important lessons for civilian and military 

leaders of today,” said USU President Dr. 

Charles L. Rice. “Many of the military and 

public health leaders of tomorrow receive 

their education here at USU. Dr. Fineberg’s 

message provides important context as the 

Dr. Fineberg spoke in USU’s Sanford Auditorium on the importance of public health 

concerns surrounding the H1N1 virus.

The Graduate Education Office announced earlier this month 

that three USU graduate students were awarded the Henry M. 

Jackson Foundation Fellowships in Medical Sciences and the Val 

G. Hemming Fellowship for the 2009-2010 academic year. 

Rob Clark of the Medical and Clinical Psychology Program 

is a recipient of an HJF fellowship in medical sciences. Kristen 

Hamilton of the Medical and Clinical Psychology Program was 

also awarded an HJF fellowship in medical sciences. Kathleen A. 

Jones, an Emerging Infectious Diseases Program student, is the 

recipient of the Val G. Hemming Fellowship. 

The fellowships are competitively awarded to outstanding USU 

School of Medicine doctoral graduate students. These fellowship Awards are provided by the Henry M. Jackson Foundation 

in support of senior graduate students who have excelled in their 

graduate studies.

USU trio receive foundation fellowships

photo by Sharon Willis

photo by HM2 Michael Oliver

nation and the world respond to the 

H1N1 pandemic.”

The presentation was broadcast 

live to more than 40 guests from 

around the country via Defense 

Connect Online and is available 

for viewing on the USU website at 

www.usuhs.mil.

The IOM website includes Dr. 

Fineberg’s paper on the 1976 episode at www.iom.edu/MS/65954.

aspx.
PAGE 5

A Letter from the battlefield

Editor’s note: The USU Learning Resource Center recently 

received a letter from USU Class of 1989 alumnus Col. (Dr.) 

Warren Dorlac, USAF, currently the Deployed Director, CENTCOM Joint Theater Trauma System, Trauma Consultant to the 

USAF Surgeon General, regarding the value of his LRC remote 

access account and digital resources. 

LRC,

My current job as the theater trauma director is to find 

problems that impact trauma care and fix them. I rarely have 

any nice things to report back to people due to the nature of 

my job. In my opinion, we cannot sit back and admire our 

accomplishments but rather we should always be looking at 

what we can do better.

photo by HM2 Michael Oliver

Air Force Lt. Col. William Boyce, Brigade Judge Advocate and Dr. Dale Smith, Ph.D., USU 

senior vice president presented awards to USU faculty and staff Aug. 28.

Brigade Awards Presented

photo by Staff Sgt. Matthew Rosine

Preparing for flu season

In preparation for the coming flu season, the USU Brigade and 

command recently received seasonal flu vaccinations en masse 

as part of a training exercise in response to a potential exposure. 

Pictured, Air Force Staff Sgt. Marisa Burri took part in the effort, 

offering participants the option of inhaled or injected vaccination. 

Burri is the assistant noncommissioned officer in-charge of the 

University Family Health Center.

An average of 5-20 percent of the US population gets the flu on an 

annual basis. More than 200,000 are hospitalized and 36,000 people 

die each year from flu-related complications. Concern is higher this 

year because of the H1N1 strain.

Please join the USU 

Postdoctoral Fellows 

Association in celebrating 

the FIRST ANNUAL National 

Postdoc Appreciation Day!

Sept. 24, 2-4 p.m.

Building B/C 

Level 2 Breezeway 

Stop by for a refreshing break 

from the grind.

All are welcome!

(The PFA didn’t make this 

up....... honest)

www.nationalpostdoc.org

I wanted to give you all some positive feedback from the 

field — something that I rarely do.

I am constantly running into old classmates and all of us 

seem to rely on the USUHS LRC full text internet download 

capability. In fact I do not think that I could do my job without it. As much as a pain it is to fund and maintain, for those 

of us deployed, it is one of the few DoD electronic pieces that 

actually works and makes us do our job better.

Thanks for the support that you lend to casualty care.

 Respectfully,

	 	 	

 Warren C. Dorlac, MD, FACS
Drug Resistant Bacteria Found in Returning Wounded Service Members

PAGE 6

photo by Air Force Staff Sgt. Shawn Weismiller

(Health.mil)Monday, August 31, 2009

A new study suggests that Military 

Health System hospitals and treatment 

facilities may be vulnerable to multidrug 

resistant (MDR) bacteria, but says there 

is no cause for alarm.

The study was conducted by a team 

of doctors from Brooke Army Medical 

Center, the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences and the 

Infectious Disease Clinical Research 

Program. Researchers found indications 

that certain bacteria are developing drug 

resistances and may be able to survive in 

military hospitals. 

“Service members should not be 

scared of MDR bacteria,” said Army Lt. 

Col. (Dr.) Clinton Murray, USU alumnus, class of 1996, the lead author of the 

study. “Civilian and military hospitals 

place significant emphasis on protecting 

patients from being exposed to multidrug resistant bacteria during inpatient 

admissions through aggressive infection 

control measures.”

Published in the June 2009 issue of 

Military Medicine, the study recommends that the Military Health System 

place a “continued emphasis on infection 

control” and calls for “novel strategies” to 

fight infections, especially in war zones. 

The multidrug resistant bacteria 

include Acinetobacter, which can cause 

pneumonia and meningitis, and other 

organisms with increased resistance like 

E-coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae and 

Staphylococcus aureus, the main cause of 

staph infections.

“MDR bacteria have been increasing around the world over the last few 

years and the military has also noted an 

increased rate of infections with MDR 

bacteria in our service members injured 

during combat operations in Iraq and 

Afghanistan,” Murray said. “This [study] 

supports that newer infection control 

strategies might be needed.”

Unfortunately, it is difficult to determine where and when the infections 

begin due to the complex military medical 

evacuation process, which can take a patient to as many as five health care facilities, each with varying infection control 

strategies and priorities, the study found.

To learn more about the ways that 

MDR bacteria affects service members, 

Murray and his research team remained 

stationed at one military treatment facility 

from 2005 to 2007, watching for cases 

that arose in service members returning 

from Operation Enduring Freedom and 

Operation Iraqi Freedom, as well as those 

arising in non-OIF/OEF patients.

The typical OIF/OEF patient arrived 

at the facility about seven days after 

being injured in theater, and was immediately placed into contact isolation 

and screened for MDR bacteria. Each 

patient remained in isolation until his or 

her subsequent screenings for bacterial 

cultures came back negative.

Murray’s team found that the MDR 

bacteria was infecting combat casualties from both Iraq and Afghanistan. 

Acinetobacter was found to be the most 

common bacteria, and it showed high 

rates of antibiotic resistance, especially 

in intensive care units. In addition, the 

research team found that although 

nosocomial infections – infections that 

possibly come about as a consequence of 

prolonged exposure during health care 

– were low and stable, combat patients 

had a substantially higher chance of 

contracting this type of infection than 

civilian patients.

Other researchers who worked on the 

study are: Maj. Health Yun, Maj. Matthew Griffith, Bernadette Thompson, 

Helen Crouch, Linda Monson, Lt. Col. 

Wade Aldous, Katrin Mende and Col. 

Duane Hospenthal.

Senior Airman Maria Baird provides care to a patient during an aeromedical evacuation mission to 

transport patients July 19 from Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, to Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan. Airman 

Baird is an aeromedical technician assigned to the 451st Expeditionary Aeromedical Evacuation Flight.

Toastmasters

Wednesdays 12-1 p.m. --- USU A2053

Special Meeting this Wednesday, Sept 16. 

Practice and Improvement in public speaking, leadership skills and communication

For more information call 295-3313
Helpdesk Closure: The UIS helpdesk is closed for training on Thursdays from 10 to 11 a.m. During this time, you 

can leave a voicemail message at 295-9800, utilize the HEAT 

Self Service (http://www.usuhs.mil/uis/forms/trouble.html), 

or email help@usuhs.mil. If an emergency should arise, please 

call 295-9870.

Personal Exercise/Fitness Areas: Physical Fitness training should be conducted in designated areas. The only authorized space for PT within the university is room G060. 

All other spaces within the university are not authorized for 

exercise or fitness, with the exception of the Student Community Lounge area during specified PFT testing dates/

times. Indoor PT is also authorized on base at the Comfort 

Zone Complex, or CZC, in building 23. The CZC hours of 

operation are Monday – Friday from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. and 

on weekends and holidays from are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

PFT/PFA/APFT Fall 2009: The Fall 2009 Physical 

Fitness Test for all services is scheduled for Oct. 13-15 and 

20-22, 2009 at 0700 and 1200. Plan accordingly as all physical 

fitness testing, height, weight, and body fat measurements will 

be conducted at USU. No exceptions. If there are any questions please contact your service specific fitness coordinators 

- Air Force contact Tech. Sgt. Troyann Ernle at 295-3281; 

Navy contact IT3 Robert Grounds at 295-9800 or HM1 Joe 

Monsivais at 295-1479; and Army contact Staff Sgt. David 

Rogers at 295-3720. 

Proper Use of Computer Resources: Security incidents 

continue to be a drain to limited USU Information Assurance 

manpower. The following highlight current DoD policy and 

best practices:

Personnel must not install self-coded or non-licensed software on network resources; add, remove, configure, or attempt 

to modify USU computer operating systems or programs; move 

audio/visual or network cables, computers or attempt to connect personal computers to the network including MDL and 

lecture hall spaces; connect personal devices except for those 

previously authorized by UIS; download pornographic material 

and store or display offensive material, such as racist literature, sexually harassing or obscene language or material; store 

or process classified information on any USU system; permit 

unauthorized individuals access to a government-owned or 

government-operated system or program; access online gambling, games and social engineering sites.

Military Awards Nominations: The next military awards 

panel will convene September 29. Nomination packages will 

be due through the chain of command no later than September 22. Any award with higher precedence than the Defense 

Meritorious Service Medal must be submitted 150 days prior 

to presentation. Please provide a signed copy as well as an 

electronic version to Air Force Tech. Sgt. Louella Campbell at 

295-1515 or lcampbell@usuhs.mil or HM2 Sylvia McBee at 

295-3423 or Sylvia.mcbee@usuhs.mil.

USU Briefs

Name the Newsletter... 

Thanks to all who have submitted suggestions 

over the last few weeks to rename the USU 

Newsletter. We have received dozens of responses and now need to consider all of the suggestions. Watch for our decision in early soon. 

Thanks for your participation and for your 

continued support and readership.

The USU Newsletter Staff

PAGE 7

Caption contest

The winning caption: “Can you believe the Redskins are winning 63 to 0!!!!!!!!” 

submitted by Dee Harron, USU Records Management.

Congrats to the runner-up, David Sandgren, AFRRI Research Biochemist and to 

third-place Jay Thakar. 

...and thanks to all who submitted.

photo by MC1 Chad Hallford