The Official USU Newsletter

Learning to Care for Those in Harm’s Way

Volume 10, Issue 18 n October 13, 2015

www.usuhs.edu
2 the pulse October 13, 2015

On the cover

The Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Robert A. 

McDonald explains the VA's mission and 

took audience questions regarding veteran 

healthcare and other VA topics in the Sanford Auditorium, October 2. See story, page 

3. (photo by Tom Balfour)

See Riggs. Page 3

Sharon Holland

Deputy Vice President for External Affairs and Managing Editor

Eric Ritter

Writer and Editor

MC3 Laura Bailey

Writer and Photographer

Tom Balfour

Photographer

 

Production

Editorial content is edited, prepared and 

provided by the USU Office of External 

Affairs unless otherwise indicated. The 

Pulse staff may include or exclude articles based upon news value, impact on 

the university and space availability.

Submissions

The Pulse is published biweekly on 

Mondays. The deadline for submissions 

is at 4 p.m. Tuesday prior to the publication date. Submissions can be sent to 

eric.ritter2@usuhs.edu or by calling 301-

295-3791.

CDP Director Named New Medical and 

Clinical Psychology Department Chair

Courtesy Article

Dr. David Riggs, one of the 

nation’s foremost psychologists and 

an expert on the effects of military service and deployments, will 

become chair of the Department 

of Medical and Clinical Psychology (MPS) at the F. Edward Hébert 

School of Medicine at the Uniformed Services University of the 

Health Sciences (USU). He will assume this new role in November 

2015.

Riggs currently serves as 

executive director of USU’s Center 

for Deployment Psychology (CDP), 

a program he will continue to lead 

after he becomes MPS Chair. As executive director of the CDP, Riggs 

oversees the development and delivery of training seminars for behavioral health professionals to prepare them to provide for the needs 

of warriors and their families. Since 

2006, the CDP has played a pivotal 

role in Department of Defense efforts to disseminate evidence-based 

psychotherapy for posttraumatic 

stress disorder and other psychological health problems as well as 

efforts to increase military cultural 

awareness among civilian behavioral health providers and more recently, other healthcare workers. In 

fact, CDP’s “Military Culture Online 

Course” is used as a core element of 

training in cultural awareness for 

VA and DoD providers and was 

recently recommended for civilian 

providers through Presidential Executive Action. In addition, the CDP 

has developed several innovative 

programs that leverage 21st-century 

communication technology to train 

providers in evidence-based treatment techniques at a distance.

Riggs earned his doctorate at Stony Brook University and 

completed a clinical psychology 

internship at the Medical University of South Carolina. Prior to his 

leadership position with the CDP, 

he held clinical research positions 

at the Center for the Treatment and 

Study of Anxiety at the University 

of Pennsylvania and the National 

Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) at the Boston Veterans Administration Medical Center. 

While in Boston, he held faculty positions at the Tufts University School 

of Medicine and Boston University 

School of Medicine.

A clinical and research psychologist, much of Riggs’ work 

focuses on trauma, violence and 

anxiety. He has a particular interest in the impact of PTSD and other anxiety disorders on the families 

of those directly affected by these 

conditions. He has published more 

than 80 articles and book chapters 

and presented more than 250 papers 

and workshops on topics including 

PTSD, domestic violence, and beDr. David Riggs (Courtesy photo)
3 the pulse October 13, 2015

by Eric D. Ritter

Secretary of Veterans Affairs visits USU

The Secretary of Veterans 

Affairs, Robert A. McDonald visited 

the Uniformed Services University 

of the Health Sciences, October 2, to 

deliver his message of the VA’s present and future vision for improving 

the lives of the veteran community.

McDonald was here at USU 

to reach out to the university community about the VA ‘s mission and 

vision. He engaged the audience in 

an extensive question and answer 

session addressing a multitude of 

questions about military and veteran's healthcare.

“The VA and USU have a 

very close working relationship,” he 

said. “Many of the doctors currently 

in the VA medical system have retired from the military or finished 

their service obligation and brought 

what they learned [from USU] over 

to the VA.”

McDonald added that the 

VA and USU are some of the most 

proactive organizations when addressing issues such as PTSD.

“Mental health is a big issue,” 

he said. “This is a role the government and the DoD needs to continue taking leadership of and to work 

to solve it for the sake of the country.” 

Since McDonald was appointed as Secretary of the VA, he 

said he goes out of his way to express 

his respect and gratitude to those 

who have chosen military medicine 

as their profession.

“This is the highest calling in 

the government,” he said. “To care 

for veterans who have put their lives 

on the line for all of us, is one of the 

greatest honors you can have."

Dr. Art Kellermann, dean of the Hébert School of Medicine (left) meets with 

Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Robert A. McDonald, during the secretary's visit 

to USU, October 2. (Photo by Tom Balfour)

havioral therapy. He has also trained 

and supervised numerous students 

and mental health professionals 

from the United States and other 

countries in techniques for treating 

PTSD, obsessive compulsive disorder and other anxiety disorders. 

This includes training professionals 

in ways to address the emotional 

and psychological needs of survivors of combat, international terror, 

natural disasters, and sexual and 

physical assault.

The department Riggs will 

lead is one of USU’s first. Established 

in 1976, USU’s then-Department of 

Medical Psychology graduated its 

first Ph.D. students in 1984. In the 

early 1990s, at the request of the U.S. 

Congress, the department added a 

second Ph.D. program in Clinical 

Psychology to educate active duty 

psychologists for the military Services. In the late 1990s, a civilian 

Clinical Psychology track was added 

by the now renamed “Department 

of Medical and Clinical Psychology” 

to educate scientist-practitioners to 

deliver outstanding patient care and 

contribute to clinically-relevant science in psychology. Over the years, 

USU MPS graduates have gone on 

to become leaders in military clinical psychology, clinical research, 

clinical practice, and scholarship.

“We are thrilled that Dr. Riggs has 

agreed to assume the role of chair 

in one of USU’s most distinctive 

and important departments. Few 

medical schools have an autonomous clinical department dedicated 

to psychology; we have one of the 

nation’s best. Our warfighters deserve nothing less. Under Dr. Riggs’ 

leadership, we will advance the department’s mission to educate great 

practitioners and researchers, and 

make discoveries that will improve 

the psychological health and resilience of Service members and their 

families,” said Dr. Art Kellermann, 

dean of the Hébert School of Medicine.

Riggs from Page 2
4 the pulse October 13, 2015

Committee oversees USU strategic framework

Courtesy Article

In October of 2014, Uniformed Services University of the 

Health Sciences (USU) President 

Dr. Charles Rice issued USU’s 2014-

2018 Strategic Framework (SF) – the 

fundamental roadmap by which the 

University will navigate in the years 

ahead to realize its full potential as 

a key element in America’s defense 

establishment. 

Recognizing the need for 

discipline and rigor in the real-world 

implementation of the SF, Rice then 

created the Standing Committee on 

Strategic Performance and Resourcing (SPR). The SPR has the President’s imprimatur to ensure the integration of the SF and SF-directed 

critical tasks throughout the USU 

community. The committee is cochaired by Dr. Patrick Sculley, USU 

Senior Vice President, and retired 

Navy Capt. Steve Henske, Assistant 

Vice President for Accreditation 

and Organizational Assessment, 

with membership drawn from senior representatives from each of 

the University’s Responsibility Centers (RC). 

Since its establishment, the 

SPR has focused on two key functional areas: how to determine 

whether USU is achieving the objectives laid out in the SF, and how 

the University is to meet SF-related 

resource requirements. These issues 

have been brought into sharp focus 

as the University’s RCs develop and 

implement their own strategic plans 

and institutional strategies. Performance assessments and resources 

are then captured in a series 

of “stop-light” 

charts that summarize where we 

are in terms of 

the implementation of the SF. As 

might be expected, the RCs are 

at different stages in their own 

strategic planning processes, 

and the University level “stoplights” provide 

a compelling visual snapshot of 

progress in each 

RC and across 

the entire University. 

The SPR also concentrates 

on the integration of strategy-related initiatives throughout the USU 

community, with particular emphasis on areas in which individual RC 

tasks require coordination with other RCs or support from the University staff. An example of this sort 

of integration is the recent establishment of USU’s Center for Global 

Health Engagement – an SF-driven 

initiative that crosses RC lines. 

“What we are increasingly 

finding is that the implementation 

of RC strategies requires a ‘whole of 

University’ approach in which the 

assets and expertise of the entire institution must be brought to bear,” 

said Henske, underscoring the need 

for integration and unity of effort. 

The SPR operates under 

some significant calendar-driven 

demands, the most important of 

which is the requirement to report 

on the SF to the Board of Regents by 

the end of the year and the need to 

prepare for the University’s annual 

strategic offsite which will be held in 

early January, 2016. 

“The clock is ticking,” said 

Sculley. “But I’m pleased with how 

well we are working together and 

how far we have come in implementing a very ambitious University-level strategic framework.” 
5 the pulse October 13, 2015

USU participates in International Military Medical School conference

Courtesy Article

Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences 

(USU) President Dr. Charles Rice, 

along with Army Col. (Dr.) Jeffrey Hutchinson, associate dean for 

clinical affairs and Chief Diversity 

Officer at USU’s F. Edward Hébert 

School of Medicine, and medical 

students Navy Ensign David Lin and 

Army 2nd Lt. Amanda Case, participated in the first International Military Medical School Conference in 

Bangkok, Thailand, Sept. 1-3.

Military medical schools 

from Bangladesh, China, India, Japan, Malaysia, Myanmar, Pakistan, 

Russia, and Vietnam also participated. Highlights of the trip included a 

presentation, discussion and tour of 

the Armed Forces Research Institute 

of Medical Sciences, established in 

1977 as a joint research laboratory 

leading tropical infectious disease 

threat detection led by Maj. Gen. 

Sayan Sawatsri and Army Col. (Dr.) 

Christopher Soltis (SoM ’99). 

Rice presented “Disaster Response: The Need for Professional 

Education” in line with the conference theme of “Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief in the Military Medical School Curriculum,” 

while Hutchinson presented “U.S. 

Military Medicine: The Making of 

a U.S. Uniformed Physician.” 2nd 

Lt. Case gave a talk entitled, “Personal Growth and Leadership: My 

Personal Journey through USU,” 

and Ensign Lin presented his poster, 

“USUHS: A Snapshot of ‘America’s 

Medical School’.” 

Thailand’s Phramongkutklao College of Medicine also demonstrated their medical field exercise 

which they patterned after USU’s 

Bushmaster exercise. 

“The conference was an 

overwhelming success building relationships and exchanging ideas in 

this international venue,” said Rice. 

USU President, Dr. Charles Rice (center) takes the stage with 11 other heads 

of international delegations/university presidents during the International 

Medical School Conference held in Bangkok, Thailand last month. (Courtesy 

photo)

(Left) Army Col. (Dr.) Jeffrey Hutchinson, associate dean for clinical affairs 

and Chief Diversity Officer at USU’s F. Edward Hébert School of Medicine 

discusses field operations and techniques with a member of Thailand's 2nd 

Infantry Division HQ, Queen’s Guard. (Courtesy photo) 
6 the pulse October 13, 2015

Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner Program providing 

military with specific female care

by Eric D. Ritter

The role of women in the 

military continues to grow as more 

and more females enter and make 

a career out of the military. Along 

with women’s increasing role within 

the Department of Defense comes 

a need for addressing their specific 

needs.

The Uniformed Services 

University’s (USU) Graduate School 

of Nursing (GSN) has developed a 

Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner 

Program (WHNP) that meets the 

specific health needs of women. 

According to acting Program Director of Family and Women’s Health, Dr. Heather Johnson, 

the Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner program began in 2014 at the 

request of the Air Force to meet a 

stringent list of requirement it has 

for women’s health care.

“We were asked by the Air 

Force to develop a women’s health 

nurse practitioner program that 

meets the needs of the military,” 

Johnson said. “The Air Force is the 

only branch of service that trains 

active duty members to be Women’s Health Nurse Practitioners, 

and most civilian programs did 

not meet the Air Force’s training requirements. 

"So, what we did was look 

at our [nurse practitioner] curriculum, and through adding and 

modifying some courses, we were 

able to create a unique curriculum 

that fulfilled the Air Force requirements and strengthened the Family 

Nurse Practitioner skillset across 

all service branches,” Johnson said. 

She added that though the Air Force 

is the only branch that specifically 

has active duty WHNPs, the other 

branches employ civilian WHNPs.

“The Women’s Health and 

Family Nurse Practitioner students 

sit through many of the same classes,” she explained. “The difference 

mainly comes down to the projects 

they do and the type and amount 

of women’s health clinical exposure 

they get across the program.” New 

content was added to enhance the 

skills of all students such as IUD 

(intrauterine device) insertion, embryology, drugs in pregnancy and 

lactation, among others. 

Essentially, the WHNP is 

a program that ensures the specialized care of women of all ages. 

“Many people think women’s health 

is limited to the genitalia and reproduction,” she said. “We look at 

it from a primary care perspective 

and try to take care of all their prevention needs as well as acute and 

chronic issues.” The students are 

even required to understand related 

men’s health concerns such as erectile dysfunction and STIs (sexually 

transmitted infections).

Johnson added that even 

though the other service branches 

outside of the Air Force don’t send 

their active duty students to the 

USU WHNP program, there still is 

a great deal of collaboration in other 

fields such as sexual assault training.

“Military members aren’t going to necessarily be near a stateside 

military base if they’re the victim of 

a sexual assault,” Johnson explained. 

She continued that the movement 

across the service branches is to ensure that appropriate sexual assault 

care is available at every military facility across the globe. 

The program will also bring 

some welcome reassurance to female deployers. “In the deployed 

environment, there are a lot of unmet needs for our women service 

members,” Johnson said. “With 

this specialized program, our nurse 

practitioners can deploy and meet 

those needs in the field.”

Johnson concluded that 

there is an added benefit for the 

WHNP and dual track FNP/WHNP 

graduates. With their qualifications, 

they can sit for both the family and 

women’s health certification exams 

and be used in either billet.

USU, Georgetown Lombardi Cancer Center Awarded $4.5 Million for breast cancer study

The National Institute of 

Environmental Health Sciences 

(NIEHS) of the National Institutes 

of Health awarded $4.5 million to 

the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) 

and Georgetown Lombardi Cancer 

Center to study the impact of environmental metal and metalloid exposures on mammographic breast 

density, a marker of breast cancer.

The five-year study, which 

will be led by joint Principal Investigators Celia Byrne, Ph.D., an associate professor in USU’s Department 

of Preventive Medicine and Biostatistics, and Mary Beth Martin, 

Ph.D., a professor at the Georgetown 

Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer 

and former post-doctoral fellow at 

USU, will focus on the women in 

the Washington, DC, community 

who have been disproportionately 

affected by breast cancer and who 

By Sharon Holland

See Award, Page 7
7 the pulse October 13, 2015

Award, from Page 6

live in areas with high levels of environmental metal exposures. Dr. 

Byrne is an epidemiologist who has 

been a leader in breast cancer research helping to establish the role 

of mammographic breast density 

as one of the strongest predictors of 

breast cancer risk. Dr. Martin is a 

biochemist who established the role 

of metals as “metallo-estrogens” 

showing that environmental levels 

of metals mimic the biological effects of hormones. Working with 

community groups in Washington, 

DC, the researchers will combine 

their efforts to determine the role of 

environmental metal exposure on 

mammographic breast density in 

women across the menopausal transition. 

“This type of research is important since, by combining both a 

populations study and laboratory 

studies with community involvement, our study will work to address 

the reasons why Washington, DC, 

has one of the highest rates of breast 

cancer incidence in the country, “ 

said Byrne. 

The award is part of the 

Breast Cancer and the Environment 

Research Program (BCERP) to support integrated scientific research 

to enhance knowledge of environmental and genetic factors underlying breast cancer risk. This funding 

opportunity will support trans-disciplinary research projects to investigate the influence of environmental exposures during specific time 

windows of susceptibility on breast 

cancer risk. The BCERP, a joint effort by the NIEHS and the National 

Cancer Institute, began in 2003 and 

was renewed in 2010. 

USU's Taneff takes 1st place in the Navy-Air Force Half Marathon/5k

USU Class of 2019 student Army 2nd Lt. Blake Taneff crosses the finish line in 1:09:51 to win the 2015 U.S. Navy-Air 

Force Half Marathon/5K beating out almost 6,000 other runners and averaging a 5:26-minute mile. (U.S. Navy Photo 

by Michelle Gordon, Joint Base Anacostia Bolling Public Affairs)
8 the pulse October 13, 2015

Final Frame

Lt. General Mark Andrew Brilakis (center), Commanding General, Marine Corps Recruiting Command, visited USU to help the Navy and 

Marine Corps staff celebrate the United States Navy's 240 birthday. (Photo by MC3 Laura Bailey)