UNIFORMED SERVICES UNIVERSITY

 of the Health Sciences

2006 REPORT
Incoming students take the Hippocratic Oath

Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) 

The University is the nation’s federal school of medicine and graduate 

school of nursing, located in Bethesda, Maryland, a suburb of Washington, 

D.C. It was authorized by Congress in 1972 and is funded by the 

Department of Defense (DoD) to ensure military medical readiness.
Message from the President

The Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) offers something found 

nowhere else—a unique combination of education, research and military and public 

service. It is the very special nature of this University that attracts a distinctive group of 

faculty, students and staff, all of whom share the common goal of providing good medicine 

in bad places. 

This institution is singularly charged with teaching its students to care for those in harm’s 

way. The USU faculty, students, staff, administration and alumni embrace a shared mission, 

and each brings their distinct strengths and talents to this pursuit. In large measure, it is this 

clarity of commitment and shared vision that makes the people of USU exceptional. 

Our students learn in a multi-service environment—one that emphasizes and capitalizes on the strengths of each 

service. Throughout their education, they discover what it means to be a military or Public Health Service officer and 

how to interact with the other services. Through training exercises and daily interactions with our enlisted men and 

women in the USU Brigade, our students learn to become better officers.

Our faculty members serve as educators, clinicians and scientists. From developing vaccines for lethal viruses to 

conducting fundamental research in radiation biology, they advance the boundaries of science. Faculty and students 

take part in special research relationships afforded by our interactions with other federal agencies, including the 

National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel 

Command and the Naval Medical Research Center.

Our accomplished alumni serve their country around the world. These men and women practice the clinical skills 

that we teach and advance medical knowledge and capabilities through their research. They continue a tradition of 

excellence in military and public health medicine.

A key element of our unique environment is our affiliation with the local military hospitals with whom we are about to 

embark on a transformative journey. At the core of any quality health sciences center is a health care delivery system, 

and the U.S. military has the largest system in the country. Looking ahead, this university will play a key role in the 

delivery of that health care and in advancing military-relevant clinical research. USU will be at the core of the new 

Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, the new world-class academic health center being constructed on the 

Bethesda, Maryland campus, adjacent to the University. 

I am particularly proud that the University is an integral part of this ambitious and far-reaching plan. USU is embarked 

on a shared mission to expand and strengthen our partnerships within the military health system, with other federal 

agencies and with our nation’s great universities. We also are working with the U.S. Public Health Service to educate 

a cohort of officers prepared to better respond in emergency situations and times of national crisis. We will serve as a 

resource to the nation on military medical matters, and our role in international relations, through medical diplomacy, 

will increase as we provide support for and strengthen our relationships with partners worldwide. 

This report highlights some of our many accomplishments in the last year. I am proud to serve as the fifth president of 

this University, especially at such a critical time for our military and our country. My goal is to maximize our contribution to the military, the nation and the world by advancing military medicine and improving health worldwide. 

1

Charles L. Rice, M.D.
USU: Our Past, Our Future

The Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences 

(USU) was chartered in 1972 by an Act of Congress, as 

envisioned by Congressman F. Edward Hébert (D-LA). The 

medical school, later named for Congressman Hébert, 

opened in 1976 and the Graduate School of Nursing 

was added in 1993. USU is the nation’s military medical 

academy, with missions that include the accession of 

fully qualified officers into the medical departments of 

the uniformed services, the building of a cadre of career 

officers to provide much of the future senior leadership of 

the uniformed services health activities and the generation 

of new knowledge, particularly related to the care of those 

who go into harm’s way on behalf of the nation.

In 1947, Congressman Hébert first advocated the idea of a 

“West Point for doctors.” Historically, the military acquired 

physicians primarily through the draft. As a result, turnover 

was high, with roughly 30 percent of the force departing 

each year as obligations were completed. Medical departments were chronically short of experienced specialists.

In 1970, when President Nixon called for an end to the draft, 

the DoD began to plan for an all-volunteer environment. 

Scholarship programs and compensation enhancements 

were believed to be the best solution. In 1971, Congressman 

Hébert became the chairman of the House Armed Services 

Committee and reintroduced his vision of a military 

medical academy. The next year, the Health Professions 

Revitalization Act became law, establishing the Armed 

Forces Health Professions Scholarship Program and 

chartering USU.

A Board of Regents was appointed and academic leadership 

for the University recruited. This included military medical 

department officers, civilian medical educators of national 

repute and promising young scholars. The question 

facing the group was how to add to the standard medical 

education in a way that would produce the leadership cadre 

needed to ensure effective military health care. The medical 

students would have to become not only physicians, but 

also military medical officers. Further, there were things that 

deployed physicians would need to know that civilians likely 

would not. There also were aspects of military medicine—

largely operational—that were not directly related to any 

traditional medical school department, and would have to 

be the province of an additional department.

Today, approximately 25 percent of active duty military 

medical officers are USU graduates. Faculty and graduates 

also have made significant contributions to military medical 

research efforts that benefit both the military and civilian 

populations. However, one of the best examples of the 

University’s contributions to scholarship is the development 

of a joint-service medical way of thinking. 

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The University’s charter class of 1980

“We will create a new medical center—Walter 

Reed National Military Medical Center, located in 

Bethesda, Maryland, co-located with the Uniformed 

Services University of the Health Sciences. This new 

entity will be a clinical, research, education and 

training facility whose excellence will rival that of 

Johns Hopkins, the Mayo Clinic and other top-rated 

medical centers.”

–The Honorable William Winkenwerder, Jr., 

Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs
“With every war, it can take military medical 

folks a while to become prepared to provide 

care in the military setting. These USU 

grads hit the ground running—they have 

commitment and are ready at any time for 

wartime and disasters. 

“The establishment of USU marked a turning 

point for the Department of Defense. USU 

students are loyal, with a strong commitment 

to serving the nation and working as a team 

with the various services. We are producing 

the leaders in military medicine.”

–Colonel (Ret.) Norman M. Rich, M.D., was Chair of 

the USU Department of Surgery (now the Norman 

M. Rich Department of Surgery) for 25 years. Rich 

has had a distinguished career as a military medical 

surgeon and educator and was one of the first 

surgeons to be deployed to the jungles of Vietnam.

Prior to 1975, both strategically and operationally, joint 

military medical endeavors were rare. USU faculty 

assembled textbooks, compiling knowledge from the 

various services. They prepared and ran joint exercises for 

fourth-year students. Perhaps most importantly, the faculty 

and students wrote and talked about “military medicine” as 

a joint ideal. By the early 1980s, when the rest of the DoD 

began to embrace the idea of “jointness,” defense medicine 

was already largely accustomed to the concept. 

Today, a Marine cared for by a Navy shock trauma platoon 

can be transferred to an Army Combat Surgical Hospital, 

then to an Air Force combat casualty evacuation team who 

returns him home for further care in the U.S. At all levels, 

the Marine is likely to encounter a USU medical or nursing 

school graduate. Such increasingly seamless transitions are a 

testimony to USU’s founding ideals. 

Since graduating its first class in 1980, the University has 

become a nexus for military medical research and education. 

USU is now poised to begin a new stage of evolution—

becoming the home of military medicine throughout the 

DoD system. 

The Congressionally mandated May 2005 Base Realignment 

and Closure (BRAC) Commission directed the establishment 

of a world-class academic health center on the grounds of 

the Bethesda National Naval Medical Center and the USU 

campus. The University will become the academic core 

of the new Walter Reed National Military Medical Center 

(WRNMMC), which is envisioned to be a world-renowned 

biomedical research, education and patient care facility.

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The University is working closely with colleagues throughout 

the National Capital Area on an integration plan that will 

establish the organizational structure to support this vision. 

The WRNMMC will be the core health care facility in the 

area. It will serve as the tertiary care teaching hospital for 

the area and the University, and will enhance USU’s already 

strong collaborative relationships with the NIH by providing 

clinical research opportunities.

The location of a world-class teaching hospital adjacent to 

USU’s campus provides the University with the opportunity 

to expand its undergraduate medical education program, 

and to develop leading-edge graduate education programs 

in a multi-service environment. USU faculty also will have 

expanded teaching and clinical research opportunities. 

These developments will allow USU to broaden its already 

significant contributions to military medicine, helping to 

create a stronger, more effective military medical system.

The University’s class of 2006
The mission of the University’s F. Edward 

Hébert School of Medicine (SOM) is 

to provide the nation with physicians 

dedicated to career service in the DoD 

and Public Health Service. The SOM was 

created by visionary members of Congress 

who understood that a military-trained 

cadre of physicians is a critical component 

of national security. A USU medical school 

education prepares students to practice 

good medicine in bad places and make 

decisions in the context of complex and 

high-intensity situations. 

The SOM delivers a unique year-round, 

four-year curriculum roughly 20 weeks 

longer than at other U.S. medical schools. 

Additional education and training, beyond 

that in a civilian medical school, focuses on 

epidemiology, health promotion, leadership 

and field exercises, disease prevention, 

tropical medicine and other topics related 

to the distinct requirements of military 

physicians and those who will practice 

in the Public Health Service. The SOM’s 

Department of Military and Emergency 

Medicine enjoys worldwide recognition 

for establishing and expanding the military 

medical curriculum. 

The uniformed services offer the same 

medical career opportunities as civilian 

medicine, but also include expanded 

specialties in areas such as preventive 

medicine and public health medicine, 

because a prime responsibility of military 

medicine is keeping forces healthy. In addition, the Army, Navy and Air Force, as well 

as the Public Health Service, have concentrations in service-unique practice areas, 

such as aerospace medicine, undersea 

medicine, global infectious disease, combat 

resuscitation and disaster medicine. 

USU attracts distinguished faculty and staff 

from all over the world and the University 

is dedicated to fostering their success and 

growth. USU was one of the first institutions 

to adopt the acclaimed Stanford Faculty 

Development Program. For more than 20 

years, the Department of Medicine has 

provided this state-of-the-art curriculum to 

hundreds of faculty at our affiliated hospitals 

across the country.

Clinical Training

Students may do their required third-year 

clerkships at several hospitals in the 

Washington, D.C., area or other military 

treatment facilities throughout the United 

States. USU’s two main teaching hospitals in 

the National Capital Area are Walter Reed 

Army Medical Center (WRAMC) and the 

National Naval Medical Center (NNMC). 

In 2011, a new state-of-the-art academic 

health center will open adjacent to the USU 

campus—the Walter Reed National Military 

Medical Center—which will serve as the 

University’s primary teaching hospital and will 

provide expanded opportunities for clinical 

training and research.

USU has made a singular commitment to intersite consistency. The University has established 

rigorous guidelines to ensure that, regardless 

of location, each student receives top-quality 

medical training consistent with that obtained 

by all other students. USU has set a nationally 

recognized standard for timely, reliable and 

valid evaluation and feedback for students 

working on clinical rotations in hospitals. 

Following graduation, students enter 

graduate medical education (GME) programs 

(internship, residency and fellowship) of three 

to seven or more years in length, leading 

to board certification in a specialty. These 

programs are a prerequisite for licensure and 

The University’s SOM attracts 

students from all 50 states with 

diverse backgrounds. Approximately 

45 percent have prior military 

backgrounds, including graduates 

of the service academies. Students 

pay no tuition or fees and receive 

salary and benefits as entry-level 

commissioned officers in exchange 

for a seven-year service commitment.

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the independent practice of medicine. The military operates 

an extensive system of GME programs, with 237 programs at 

31 teaching facilities in 58 specialties and subspecialties. As in 

the civilian sector, each of these programs and sites is subject 

to stringent requirements by accrediting agencies, including 

the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education 

(ACGME). Unlike the civilian programs, however, the military 

programs offer additional training in military-unique topics, 

such as the Combat Casualty Care Course, to prepare trainees 

for practice in austere environments. As in the civilian sector, 

the military conducts a match for graduating students. USU 

students fare well in this process, with the majority receiving 

their first choice of both specialty and training site and more 

than 90 percent receiving first choice of specialty.

The GME programs within the National Capital Consortium 

are managed centrally through USU and include programs at 

WRAMC, NNMC, Malcolm Grow Air Force Medical Center and 

DeWitt Army Community Hospital.

The ACGME has demanded more systematic and rigorous 

assessment of finishing residents’ readiness for independent 

medical practice. The University sponsors a week-long course to 

train program directors how to demonstrate that their residents 

are competent and fully prepared to meet the demands of a 

career in military medicine.

M.D./Ph.D. Program

USU’s M.D./Ph.D. program was established to train outstanding, 

dedicated military officers as independent physician-scientists to 

carry out both clinical investigations and biomedical research in 

the basic and clinical sciences. The program combines a 

rigorous basic science graduate curriculum with outstanding 

clinical training and special integrated M.D./Ph.D. activities that 

qualify students for careers in academic medicine, biomedical 

and clinical research and clinical practice.

Colonel (Ret.) Louis Pangaro, 

M.D., Professor and Vice Chair 

of Educational Programs for the 

Department of Medicine, is a 

recipient of the Master Teacher 

Award from the Army Chapter of 

the American College of Physicians, 

and the Sol Katz Teaching Award 

from the Washington Chapter. He 

recently received the Robert J. 

Glaser AOA Distinguished Teacher 

Award from the Association of 

American Medical Colleges. He is 

a member-at-large of the National 

Board of Medical Examiners.

“USU is providing something for the 

military that is done among the best 

of its civilian counterparts...[But] 

we achieve a level of educational 

consistency that our civilian 

counterparts only dream of.”

“Lou Pangaro at USU is recognized 

by his colleagues around the country 

as a leader in developing approaches 

for assessing, in a developmentally 

appropriate way, the acquisition of 

clinical skills by medical students.”

–Michael E. Whitcomb, M.D., former 

Senior Vice President, Division of Medical 

Education, Association of American 

Medical Colleges

In 2006, the new 

Radiation Biology 

Department was 

established in the 

School of Medicine.

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Graduate education is an important and 

integral component of the academic 

mission and scholarly environment at the 

University. Students who receive degrees 

from USU will have the opportunity to 

make significant contributions to the 

advancement of health and science in 

both public and private institutions.

The University offers 14 graduate 

degrees in the biomedical sciences and 

public health. Doctor of Philosophy 

degrees are offered in nine areas that 

range from emerging infectious diseases 

to clinical psychology. The University 

offers both a Master and Doctor of 

Public Health degree and has a physician-scientist (M.D./Ph.D.) program. 

The Graduate Program in Biomedical 

Sciences at USU currently has 170 

full-time students. Most of the graduate 

programs are open to civilians, with no 

service obligation and tuition is waived. 

The University provides stipends to its 

civilian graduate students for three years. 

USU’s nationally recognized civilian 

and military faculty is comprised of 

leading educators and world-renowned 

scientists. SOM faculty are committed 

to excellence in medical education, 

military medicine, public health, 

science, technology and patient care. 

The central location of the campus in 

the metropolitan Washington, D.C. area 

attracts quality faculty members and 

students, many of whom collaborate with 

scientists at nearby research institutes, such 

as the National Institutes of Health, Walter 

Reed Army Institute of Research and the 

Naval Medical Research Center. 

The University offers the following 

graduate programs:

Interdisciplinary Programs

• Emerging Infectious Diseases 

• Molecular and Cell Biology

• Neuroscience

Departmental Programs

• Preventive Medicine and Biometrics

- Doctor of Public Health

- Ph.D. in Medical Zoology 

- Master of Public Health 

- Master of Tropical Medicine and 

Hygiene 

- Master of Science in Public Health

• Medical and Clinical Psychology

• Military Medical History

• Pathology 

Physician/Scientist Program (M.D./Ph.D.)

USU students benefit from the 

military’s overseas network of 

research laboratories. Many of the 

faculty members have conducted 

research at these field sites, and they 

bring these real-world experiences to 

the classroom. In addition, graduate 

students have opportunities to study 

at the laboratories, which are located 

in Africa, Asia and South America.

“Because it’s a smaller school, the faculty can give more 

individualized attention to the students. There is a friendly 

atmosphere here that promotes discussion and collaboration.” 

–Bethanie Morrison, class of 2008

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The deadly Ebola virus has a mortality 

rate estimated at 80 percent among 

humans. A 2005 outbreak of the 

Marburg virus claimed more than 300 

lives. Currently, there are no approved 

vaccines or therapeutics for these 

Category A agents—pathogens that 

pose a risk to national security. 

Groundbreaking research conducted 

by 2003 USU graduate Thomas 

Geisbert, Ph.D., and other investigators at the United States Army Medical 

Research Institute of Infectious 

Diseases shows tremendous promise 

for a single vaccine to protect against 

both viruses. Studies conducted by 

Geisbert and his colleagues have 

demonstrated complete protection 

from Ebola and Marburg hemorrhagic 

fevers using a vesicular stomatitis 

virus-based vaccine platform. 

“The education that I received at USU 

was instrumental in preparing me for 

a successful career as a virologist. 

I gained a fuller understanding of 

molecular biology, received skills that 

will benefit me throughout my career 

and made professional and personal 

relationships that will last a lifetime.” 

Prime Location for Collaboration

The University’s close proximity to the National Naval Medical 

Center, the National Institutes of Health and the National Library 

of Medicine provides a 

rich and unparalleled 

environment for education 

and research. Additionally, 

USU is situated close to the 

I-270 Biotechnology Corridor, 

Walter Reed Army Medical 

Center, Walter Reed Army 

Institute of Research and the Naval Medical Research Center, 

which enables frequent interactions with some of the world’s 

premier researchers at seminars and conferences, as well as guest 

lectures at the University.

USU’s Master of Public Health Program was ranked as one 

of the top public health programs in the United States for 

the third year in a row by U.S. News and World Report.

“USU has a phenomenal faculty. Each 

of them has a unique perspective 

that comes across in their teaching 

and mentoring. It makes for a great 

educational experience.”

–Jeremy Henriques, class of 2007

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The USU Graduate School of Nursing (GSN) 

was established in 1993 by members of 

Congress who understood the key role of 

advanced practice nurses in the military. The 

GSN provides the nation with highly skilled 

nursing professionals dedicated to a career of 

service in the Armed Forces, Public Health 

Service and other federal health agencies. This 

innovative program offers a unique, international perspective on leadership, education, 

research and service. GSN students who are 

members of the uniformed services incur 

varying service obligations, determined by the 

lengths of their programs.

The graduate program provides comprehensive education that prepares nurses to 

deliver high-quality care and services to all 

beneficiaries of the uniformed services during 

peace, war and other contingencies, including 

natural disasters. The signature curriculum 

includes three focused research and practice areas that are woven throughout all 

programs: Operational Readiness in Changing 

Environments, Population Health and 

Outcomes and Clinical Decision-Making in 

the Federal Healthcare System. Each of these 

areas includes emphasis on patient safety, 

ethics, evidence-based practice, leadership, 

force protection and international health.

GSN faculty are dedicated to student success 

and to advancing medical research and 

patient care. The GSN teaching staff includes 

25 military and civilian faculty members.

Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) Program

Building on the foundation obtained from an 

undergraduate nursing education, masters 

students take part in learning experiences 

that are designed to increase the breadth and 

depth of their knowledge base. 

The University’s MSN program prepares 

students for collaborative and autonomous 

advanced nursing roles in both acute and 

primary care settings. The curriculum is 

designed to foster professional development, 

enhance clinical expertise, support patient 

teaching and stimulate clinically relevant 

research. The program emphasizes health 

promotion; disease prevention; case 

management; perioperative and anesthesia 

services; emergency preparedness; patient 

safety and administration. Students also 

advance the profession by conducting 

evidence-based research and applying 

findings to nursing practice.

MSN program options include:

• Perioperative Clinical Nurse Specialist

• Family Nurse Practitioner

• Nurse Anesthetist

The GSN has accredited clinical practice sites 

for each of its masters program options. These 

include 58 military treatment facilities and 62 

civilian and non-DoD federal clinical sites.

The USU Graduate School of 

Nursing is the home of the 

nation’s only Clinical Nurse 

Specialist program dedicated 

to the perioperative specialty, 

whereby clinical application of 

the specialty, along with militaryspecific training, are integrated 

throughout the curriculum.

Students in the GSN benefit significantly from USU’s 

location. One resource that contributes to student 

education is the National Capital Area Medical 

Simulation Center—one of the most advanced 

medical simulation facilities in the world.

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GSN students are uniquely prepared to provide 

top-quality care in challenging environments. 

Ph.D. Program

GSN doctoral students transition from a masters 

specialty domain to a program of study that 

emphasizes nursing leadership, research, education 

and practice. The program is uniquely focused on a 

signature curriculum that encompasses operational 

readiness and force protection, clinical decision 

making and population health and outcomes, within 

the context of the federal/military health sector.

The Ph.D. program in Nursing Science includes a 

foundation of required courses, as well as a diverse 

selection of cognates and electives. The curriculum 

fosters research, while providing opportunities for 

development, such as structured assistantships 

designed to broaden and improve expertise. Areas 

of concentration include nursing knowledge; 

research methods, statistics and designs; and federal 

and military healthcare policy and issues.

Students take full advantage of USU’s location in 

the heart of the National Capital Area. Practicum 

opportunities include research-focused experiences 

at local federal or military agencies under the guidance of seasoned military nurse researchers, federal 

health care researchers and civilian university 

researchers.

Ph.D. areas of curriculum concentration are:

• Nursing knowledge

• Research methods, statistics and designs

• Federal and military health care policy 

and issues

At the GSN, students are provided 

guidance for identifying topics 

for publication and submitting 

manuscripts for refereed review. 

As a result, many GSN Ph.D. 

students are published as early as 

their second year of enrollment.

Colonel Richard Ricciardi, Ph.D., 

a 2006 graduate of the GSN 

doctoral program, worked with 

co-investigators to identify the 

physiological risks for military 

personnel associated with personal 

protective equipment, such as body 

armor, and to develop strategies 

for preventing or mitigating 

negative effects. He received the 

Military Officers Association of 

America Distinguished Student 

award—the highest academic honor 

a graduating student can receive. 

He also was the first GSN student 

to receive the prestigious Board of 

Regents Award.

“Being a nurse practitioner in 

the Army, I have always been 

interested in injury and disease 

prevention in war-fighters and their 

families... Thanks to the mentoring 

of senior scientists in both the 

GSN and School of Medicine, 

along with support from many 

civilian and military personnel in 

the Department of Military and 

Emergency Medicine...I had the 

opportunity to conduct militarilyrelevant research that is quickly 

translatable to the war-fighters, and 

to policymakers in all services.”

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“During my tenure as Chief of the 

Army Nurse Corps, I had many 

opportunities to work with USU 

faculty, students and alumni. During 

this time, the Army Nurse Corps 

made the decision to send all of 

our students pursuing a degree as a 

family nurse practitioner to USU’s 

GSN. We believed this program, 

more than any other, prepared 

our future leaders, clinicians, 

researchers and academicians at a 

level best suited for today’s military 

missions worldwide.”

–Brigadier General (Ret.) William T. 

Bester, R.N., acting Dean, USU 

Graduate School of Nursing
Throughout their tenure at USU, both School 

of Medicine and Graduate School of Nursing 

students take part in several unique exercises 

designed to impart real-world wisdom and 

experiences, and prepare them for their future 

roles as uniformed officers.

Antietam Road March

First-year students take part in a distinctive 

training exercise designed to give them a 

historical perspective on wartime medicine, 

as well as basic military training. The students 

travel to Sharpsburg, Maryland, where they 

take part in a six-mile road march, stopping 

periodically at designated stations to learn 

about medical treatment during the Battle of 

Antietam. What makes this event even more 

meaningful is that the instructors are USU 

faculty and professional Civil War historians 

dressed in period attire.

Part of USU’s Military Medical Field Studies 

course, the activity is designed to reinforce the 

military-unique curriculum and demonstrate 

how landmark events, such as the Civil War, 

have shaped current practices in military 

medicine. Additionally, the exercise is 

students’ first experience wearing load-bearing 

gear and moving cross country in controlled 

movements by platoons.

Operation Kerkesner

More than half of USU students have no prior 

military service. Operation Kerkesner was 

created to give first-year students their first real 

experience of how to live and work in military 

field conditions. 

Throughout the four-day exercise, medical 

students receive training from noncommissioned officers, most of whom have 

deployment experience. The education they 

receive covers critical military skills—such as 

land navigation, use of firearms, hand-to-hand 

combat, camouflage skills, effects of wearing 

body armor and use of military vehicles and 

radios—that other military physicians might not 

learn prior to a real-world deployment. 

Field Training Exercises

At Operation Bushmaster, 

students learn and practice 

some fundamental medical 

skills in field conditions. 

For example, all medical 

students learn how to 

initiate an IV under duress 

and time constraints, while 

wearing a flak vest and 

helmet and carrying a rifle. 

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Operation Bushmaster

Ask any USU graduate about their most memorable experiences 

from their time at the University and it’s certain that one of 

them will be Operation Bushmaster. A four-day field exercise, 

Operation Bushmaster is the culmination of, and the practical 

exam for, USU’s rigorous Military Contingency Medicine (MCM) 

course. 

Taken by all fourth-year School of Medicine students, and many 

Graduate School of Nursing students, the MCM course is the 

capstone of USU’s military-unique curriculum. It is designed 

to prepare students to provide the highest quality care possible 

in austere, resource-poor environments. The course augments 

students’ clinical knowledge with specialized medical training 

that enables them to excel as General Medical Officers in 

operational settings. The curriculum covers a broad range of 

militarily relevant topics, including advanced trauma life support, 

preventive medicine, patient care in flight, military medical 

ethics, medical considerations following biological attack and 

combat stress control. Students also learn how to provide care in 

natural disaster settings.

Once classroom training is complete, students embark on 

Operation Bushmaster, a simulation exercise in which they 

not only put to the test the training they received in the MCM 

course, but also draw upon experiences and education from 

their previous years at the University. The exercise begins with 

students being transported by CH-47 helicopters to the exercise 

site at Fort Indiantown Gap, Pennsylvania. While on board, 

the students are tasked with monitoring partners’ vital signs, 

demonstrating some of the difficulties of attending to patients 

during transport. Once they arrive, students receive training 

Consistently, USU graduates recognize the MCM 

course and Operation Bushmaster as some of the most 

valuable education they have ever received.

NIH Director Elias Zerhouni, M.D. (center), Rear Admiral 

Richard Wyatt, USPHS (left) and USU President Charles Rice, 

M.D., observe as a USU first-year medical student is outfitted 

for his role as an injured soldier for Operation Bushmaster. 

“We at the NIH are pleased at the growing 

interactions between NIH and USU. During 

the past year since Dr. Rice has been appointed 

President, our Institute and Center leadership 

have met with Dr. Rice on several occasions. 

We have explored new ways of interacting with 

USU; two of our Institutes are now supporting 

medical students at the University, and that 

will certainly bring our institutions closer. I 

personally gained a new appreciation of the 

medical school’s unique capacity to train its 

students under field conditions by observing the 

Bushmaster mass casualty exercise this summer.”

–Elias Zerhouni, M.D., NIH Director

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“USU was my top choice for a medical school because I wanted to get the best 

education to be a military physician and serve my country. USU was the best place 

for that. Every day I’m here confirms that I made the right choice.” 

–2nd Lieutenant Roselyn Clemente, class of 2010

classes to familiarize them with the equipment and procedures 

they will use throughout the following three days.

Throughout Operation Bushmaster, students live in field 

conditions and work in groups of roughly 15 to run an entire 

medical unit by themselves under perpetually changing 

conditions. The students set up sites and begin to receive 

casualties, played by moulaged first-year students, suffering 

both routine illness and battle injuries. Those running the unit 

must triage the casualties and treat them making the best use of 

their available resources.

Students are evaluated by USU faculty on their medical 

knowledge and leadership abilities as they rotate through 

positions as commander, executive officer, medical officer and 

ambulance team leader. They also take part in a combat stress 

rotation. Students are assessed on their abilities to stabilize 

and treat combat casualties at the point of wounding and 

evacuate them to higher levels of care. Additionally, they are 

assessed on their abilities to provide routine care for non-battle 

related injuries and illnesses, to protect from illness through 

appropriate preventive medicine measures and to provide 

screening and initial treatment for combat stress-related 

problems. When not under evaluation, students fill in as 

medics, radio operators and security personnel.

All students rotate through the deployable medical facility to 

gain a full joint military experience. They spend one day each 

at an Army, Navy and Air Force facility. During these rotations, 

they must attend to their own sick-call patients, as well as 

requests for evacuation. 

The event culminates in a demanding nighttime mass casualty 

exercise in which students must respond to a platoon that has 

sustained significant casualties. They arrive at the scene in total 

darkness, hearing voices calling for help from the surrounding 

woods, and must locate and retrieve the casualties, treat them 

and arrange for their evacuation.
USU is dedicated to developing leaders in military medicine 

who are not only committed to providing outstanding patient 

care, but also observe the highest level of ethical standards. 

Issues of ethics are woven throughout the curriculum and 

are an integral part of the rigorous field exercise Operation 

Bushmaster. The keystone of the University’s ethics education 

is a multifaceted, dynamic course designed to impress upon 

students the importance of ethical behavior and potential 

impacts of their actions.

Central to the course’s effectiveness is the high caliber of the 

guest lecturers. Students receive in-depth instruction from 

some of the world’s most renowned ethicists, including Edmund 

Pellegrino, M.D., Chair of the President’s Council on Bioethics; 

Robert Veatch, Ph.D., from Georgetown University’s Kennedy 

Institute of Ethics; and Nancy Sherman, Ph.D., Georgetown 

University Professor, former Chair of Ethics at the U.S. Naval 

Academy and author of the acclaimed book on military culture, 

Stoic Warriors. This dynamic class uses a diverse range of 

approaches—from lectures and small-group discussions to 

dramatic presentations and films—to address a broad range of 

issues that students will likely face during their careers.

13

Commitment to Ethics

“I feel very privileged to 

have the opportunity to help 

teach our future military 

and federal physicians and 

nurses. Our students are 

motivated not only to serve 

their patients, but also to 

serve our nation. They are 

not only among the best 

and the brightest, but they are also uniquely focused 

on service to their country and their fellow human 

beings. Many of them come to USU with previous 

military experience that makes them better students, 

and better practitioners. They are committed to 

service over self, and this core value will make them 

superb health care providers.”

–James G. Smirniotopoulos, M.D., Professor of Radiology, 

Neurology and Biomedical Informatics and Chair, Radiology 

and Radiological Sciences

 “It is a pleasure to interact with so many talented 

students. One of the most rewarding aspects of being a 

faculty member is to watch our student body develop into 

competent and caring physicians dedicated to providing 

the best health care for our patient population.”

–Colonel Richard M. Conran, M.D., Ph.D., 

Professor of Pathology and Emerging Infectious Diseases

USU Department of Pathology faculty members Colonel Richard Conran, M.D., 

Ph.D., (left) and Colonel Tom Stocker, M.D., review an interesting pediatric case.
Students enrolled in USU’s F. Edward Hébert School of Medicine can elect to serve 

in one of the Armed Forces—Army, Navy or Air Force—or the Public Health Service, 

which operates under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Department of Health and Human 

Services. Students enrolled in the Graduate School of Nursing also are officers in one of 

the four services.

Army, Navy and Air Force students have the opportunity to experience a variety of 

assignments throughout their careers, ranging from providing clinical care in a military 

treatment facility, caring for troops in a combat theater of operations or conducting tropical medicine research overseas to ensuring the health of our nation’s top political leaders 

on Capitol Hill and in the White House. Many currently serve as faculty members on the 

USU campus. Whether they are serving in hospitals or on the front lines of the battlefield, their unique USU education prepares them to be leaders who work collaboratively 

across all uniformed services.

Students serving in the PHS are presently assigned to the National Institute of Allergy 

and Infectious Diseases, the National Cancer Institute or the Indian Health Service. 

Students assigned to either of the Institutes have the opportunity to conduct research 

on critical health issues facing the country and the world. Those working with the 

Indian Health Service provide high-quality healthcare and related services to medically 

underserved Native American populations.

The military and the PHS have assumed greater roles in large-scale disaster response as 

well as humanitarian relief efforts. At USU, students benefit from learning side-by-side 

with counterparts in each of the four services, thus becoming distinctively adept at 

working in a joint environment in times of crisis. All students have the opportunity to 

contribute to the broader mission of the 

uniformed services.

Members of the U.S. Public Health Service, including 

USU alumnae, played a key role in Hurricane Katrina 

response and recovery. PHS personnel helped to erect 

a 200-bed field hospital, including a full pharmacy, on 

the floor of a sports arena at Louisiana State University.

The Uniformed Services

“I chose USU because the curriculum 

emphasizes infectious diseases. I also 

thought the military training would give 

me the skills to work in resource-poor 

environments, such as refugee camps.

“I joined the Public Health Service 

because I’m interested in the impact of 

poverty on disease and wanted to find a 

way to help address health disparities in 

the U.S. and abroad. I’m excited to work 

for the Indian Health Service because 

the Native American communities I’ve 

met had a strong sense of culture and 

identity. Navigating the role of medicine 

within the context of their traditions and 

addressing their specific health needs 

will be an exciting challenge.

“I think USU has prepared me for my 

future career even more than I originally 

anticipated... I feel that the lessons I’ve 

learned here will be relevant throughout 

my career, whatever path it takes. The 

greatest advantage is the comfort I’ve 

gained working with the military system. 

It’s rare for a Public Health Service 

officer to have this exposure to military 

logistics, training and equipment.” 

–Ensign Molly Evans, class of 2007, 

assigned to work for the Indian 

Health Service after graduation

14

“I am proud of the strong and continued 

outstanding relationship between USU 

and the U.S. Public Health Service. Our 

Commissioned Corps has long benefited 

from the rich tradition of military medicine 

and officership that prevails as an integral 

part of the curricula of the university.”

–Rear Admiral Kenneth P. Moritsugu, M.D., 

M.P.H., USPHS, Acting Surgeon General of the 

United States
The USU Brigade is the military leadership component within 

the University. A significant number of USU graduates are 

leaders in military medicine. It is the responsibility of the 

Brigade to prepare USU students to become skilled officers 

who can function effectively in a joint service environment. 

“USU ensures that its graduates 

become not only doctors and 

nurses, but leaders, and the 

Brigade is a crucial part of that... 

In addition to the training that 

the Brigade staff provides, interacting with enlisted personnel on 

a regular basis is an important learning experience for students. 

It makes them better prepared to be officers in an actual field 

environment, and to have successful and professional working 

relationships with their enlisted personnel.” 

–Captain Tim Gerlach, Brigade Headquarters Company Commander 

USU Brigade

15

The USU Brigade helps to provide 

students with critical military training.

USU Brigade Commander Colonel Charles Serio, MSC, USA, changes 

command with Captain John R. Rumbaugh, MSC, USN (right).

All uniformed personnel at USU, including faculty and staff 

members, are part of the Brigade. Comprised of approximately 

250 members from all branches of the Armed Services, the 

Brigade serves as the school’s link to the broader U.S. military. 

The USU Brigade Commander is the senior active duty officer 

at the University and serves as the principal advisor to the 

University President on matters concerning military policy 

and requirements.

Brigade members provide students and active duty faculty and 

staff with necessary military-specific administrative, legal and 

operational support. Students also receive critical instruction 

and training from the Brigade, which makes USU graduates 

uniquely prepared for successful careers in military medicine.
USU students have access to some of the most advanced 

medical simulation technologies available in the world through 

the University’s National Capital Area Medical Simulation 

Center. The 20,000 square-foot Center conducts approximately 

8,000 simulations each academic year and is open to all 

medical and nursing students, interns, residents and others 

in the USU community. The facility also provides continuing 

medical education and training to personnel from other federal 

and DoD agencies. 

The Center utilizes state-of-the-art technologies to conduct 

both clinical and surgical skills training. The Clinical Skills 

Teaching Laboratory includes 12 patient examination rooms 

in which standardized patients are used to train and assess 

the communication, interpersonal, professional, physical 

exam and diagnostic reasoning skills of learners. Encounters 

USU students receive more simulation practice than 

at most other medical schools. By the time they 

graduate, USU learners will have participated in 

roughly 40 different simulations preparing them for 

their careers as military medical officers.

The Simulation Center, a leader in advancing 

simulation technologies, has developed a 

number of simulators that are world firsts. They 

include simulators for cricothyroidotomy, 

pericardiocentesis and diagnostic peritoneal 

lavage. Center staff conducted the nation’s first 

Advanced Trauma Life Support course using 

virtual-reality based simulators, computercontrolled mannequins and medical models.

National Capital Area Medical Simulation Center

are monitored by faculty and videotaped, allowing 

students to review the tapes with and gain feedback 

from their instructors.

The Surgical Simulation Laboratory includes a fullscale operating room and a virtual reality room, 

which provide realistic scenarios for trauma and 

surgical training. The operating room is equipped with 

computerized, high-fidelity human patient mannequins 

to teach and assess skills in resuscitation, trauma, 

anesthesia and surgical emergencies. The virtual reality 

room includes several computer-enhanced task trainers 

with the capability to teach and assess students as they 

practice surgical procedures, endoscopic skills and 

laparoscopic techniques.

New to the Center is the Wide Area Virtual 

Environment (WAVE), an 8,000-square foot full-scale 

immersive virtual reality area that allows teams of 

students the opportunity to take part in mass casualty 

drills, biochemical attacks and other medical training 

scenarios, in conjunction with simulators and live 

simulated patients. It is one of the only facilities of its 

kind in the world.

16
A significant portion of USU’s core mission involves global health. 

The University faculty and staff include acclaimed clinicians 

and researchers from other countries, and USU plays host to 

international students for military medical training exercises such 

as Operation Bushmaster. Additionally, some USU students opt to 

receive part of their elective training abroad, which is facilitated 

through the University’s network of international partners.

International Programs

17

“There are not many schools in the world 

that are full-service military medical schools. 

Medicine can build international bridges. 

USU sharing its expertise and entering into 

partnerships with international institutions 

not only facilitates collaboration and advances 

medicine, but also helps to create good will for 

American citizens who are stationed overseas.” 

–Colonel (Ret.) Emmanuel Cassimatis, M.D., 

USU Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs, School of 

Medicine, and Vice President for Affiliations and 

International Affairs

USU and India’s Armed Forces Medical College enter into an agreement that allows the 

partners to share facilities, military medical experience and professional knowledge.

“Military medicine allows 

physicians to actually practice 

medicine instead of worrying 

about things like restrictions 

created by insurance 

companies...Also, I’m married 

and didn’t want to assume the 

debt from another medical 

school. The pay I receive as a 

USU student allows my wife 

and me to live relatively the 

same lives that we lived when 

I was an O-3.”

–Ensign Ted Utz, class of 2010

The USU campus is surrounded by park-like woodlands 

and is adjacent to the National Naval Medical Center 

and across the street from the National Institutes of 

Health. Most students live close to the University and 

have access to mass transit facilities, making it easy to 

take advantage of the many cultural, educational and 

social activities in the Washington metropolitan area.

The University provides a support system 

for students and their families.
USU class of 1992 graduate Lieutenant 

Colonel Chester “Trip” Buckenmaier, 

III, M.D., Assistant Professor in the USU 

Department of Anesthesiology, is Chief 

of Regional Anesthesia at Walter Reed 

Army Medical Center. Together with 

Colonel Jack Chiles, M.D., Buckenmaier 

created the Army Regional Anesthesia 

and Pain Management Institute, a 

Congressionally funded, ground-breaking 

initiative that is changing the way military 

anesthesiologists address pain. He spends 

a great deal of his time teaching regional 

anesthesia techniques to both military 

and civilian anesthesiologists. 

“My USU education prepared me well 

as a physician, but more importantly 

I was prepared to serve as a military 

physician. This distinction is important. 

Without the unique training in military 

medicine emphasized at USU, I do not 

think the innovative answers to combat 

trauma pain my team has brought to the 

battlefield would have been realized.”

A key component of the University is the Office of Continuing Education 

for Health Professionals—an expansive program with six accreditations 

for physicians, nurses, psychologists, social workers, pharmacists and 

health care executives. Few programs address this many disciplines under 

one roof, and USU’s program is the only one of its kind in the military 

health system. 

The office conducts state-of-the-art continuing education activities on 

medical advances in clinical practice, research, medical technology, 

clinical pathways, outcomes management, quality of care, managed 

care, patient safety and other relevant topics. It also organizes and 

executes DoD medical treatment facility-based activities in response to 

quality management issues, as well as TRICARE management education 

activities. The office organizes courses and workshops, as well as Internet 

continuing education, distributes materials such as DVDs and print 

education activities and runs regularly scheduled conferences.

Key to the program’s mission is maintaining enhanced readiness among 

our Armed Forces. As part of its work to keep military medical personnel 

up-to-date on new technologies and advances in care, the office partners 

with other USU programs including the DoD Center for Patient Safety, 

Center for Disaster and Humanitarian Assistance Medicine and the 

Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute to offer leading edge 

continuing health education.

The Military Training Network (MTN) conducts advanced cardiac life 

support, pediatric advanced life support and advanced trauma life 

support classes. Not only does the MTN act as a community training 

center for CPR, but also it manages training programs embedded within 

military units all over the world. 

Continuing Health Education

The MTN is recognized 

as an American Heart 

Association Regional 

Training Center. MTN 

staff train roughly 

275,000 participants 

each year. 

18
19

Malaria kills more than one million people 

each year, and is especially widespread 

in less developed regions of the world. 

For a time, it was widely believed that the 

global eradication of malaria was a distinct 

possibility, due mainly to the use of DDT 

to control the carrier mosquito. Although 

it has been proven to be a safe insect 

repellent, DDT suffers from negative public 

perceptions, largely due to potential harm to 

the environment when overused. Because 

of these concerns, the use of DDT was 

curtailed in the 1970s. Subsequently, malaria 

began a resurgence. 

USU researchers, headed by Don Roberts, 

Ph.D., a Professor in the Department of 

Preventive Medicine and Biometrics, are 

working to reduce the incidence of malaria. 

Utilizing funding from the NIH, they have 

conducted extensive studies on compounds 

to prevent transmission of the deadly 

disease. Based on tests of hundreds of 

chemicals, their studies show that responsible and focused use of DDT is still the 

most cost-effective malaria control method 

and is crucial to stopping malaria transmission among high-risk populations. 

Roberts and his colleagues headed an effort 

to keep DDT from being banned as part of a 

global agreement to eliminate 12 persistent 

organic pollutants. Malaria workers around 

the world joined this campaign and, in the 

final agreement, DDT was preserved for use 

in disease control programs. 

The USU team also works in collaboration 

with the group Africa Fighting Malaria, and 

has testified at U.S. Senate hearings on the 

subject. Recently, they worked with the 

Agency for International Development and 

the World Health Organization to update 

their policies. Largely due to these efforts, 

the WHO now recommends indoor house 

spraying as a tool for malaria control. The 

change in U.S. policy allows government aid 

agencies to support international programs 

that use DDT.

“Using personal perseverance and the scientific 

process, Dr. Roberts and his colleagues have 

made the most significant global public 

health contribution in a decade. This work 

will literally save hundreds of thousands of 

children’s lives each year in the less developed, 

malaria-endemic regions of the world. ” 

–Captain (Ret.) Larry Laughlin, M.D., Ph.D., Dean, F. 

Edward Hébert School of Medicine

Improving Malaria Prevention

Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the 

Advancement of Military Medicine (HJF)

Research at the University is conducted in 

collaboration with the Henry M. Jackson 

Foundation for the Advancement of 

Military Medicine (HJF), a private, not-forprofit organization that supports research 

and education at USU and throughout 

military medicine.

The University’s educational, 

scientific and clinical care 

missions are supported by 

research efforts aimed at 

bringing the leading edge 

of discovery to the benefit 

of humanity.

Research
Historically, 20 percent of soldiers who sustained 

a battlefield injury to a major artery died because 

of hemorrhage within 30 minutes, while waiting 

for help to arrive. QuikClot®, a hemorrhage 

control agent manufactured by Z-Medica 

Corporation, has played a key role in efforts 

to minimize casualties in the Iraq conflict. The 

University’s Department of Surgery conducted 

tests that helped lead to the approval of QuikClot 

by the Food and Drug Administration. They 

also consulted with military officials before they 

adopted the product for use in combat. 

Now, all Marines’ first-aid kits include a small 

pouch of QuikClot, which they can either 

self-administer or use on fellow personnel. They 

simply pour QuikClot on the open wound and 

apply compression. The minerals absorb the 

fluids in and around the wound, thus concentrating the body’s own natural clotting agents and 

effectively sealing the wound until the Marine 

can be evacuated to a hospital. 

Regina C. Armstrong, Ph.D., Professor of anatomy, 

physiology and genetics, and Director of USU’s neuroscience 

graduate program, and her team are studying potential 

methods of restoring central nervous system (CNS) function 

in adults. This NIH-funded research holds special relevance 

for military service members who have experienced 

impairment of CNS function due to traumatic injuries, 

infections, exposure to toxins or genetic diseases. 

Armstrong’s research focuses on the restoration of myelin—

the white matter that coats axons (the neuron extensions that 

send signals to other neurons throughout the body). Myelin 

sheaths, which are produced by specialized glial cells in 

the CNS called oligodendrocytes, facilitate rapid transmission 

of impulses along the axons. When degeneration of the 

myelin sheath occurs, nerve impulses are slowed drastically, 

preventing the CNS from functioning normally. Myelin repair, 

known as remyelination, can protect axons from permanent 

damage and allow recovery of signal transmission along 

surviving axons. 

Armstrong’s team has put into play a research program 

that manipulates neuroreceptors for various growth factors 

that direct neural cells to grow, with the aim of repairing 

damaged nerves. In conjunction with this neural regeneration 

project, Armstrong’s team also is studying how to promote 

remyelination of damaged neurons. Both of these projects 

focus on how to project nerves and to assist nerves’ responses 

to injury.

Restoring Central Nervous System Function

Saving Lives on the Battlefield

20
The University’s U.S. Military Cancer Institute (USMCI) is a 

tri-service program that aims to identify incidence patterns 

of cancer in the military. In addition, the Institute also 

coordinates and supports multi-institutional cancer research 

within the DoD. 

USMCI has several initiatives underway including a new 

BioSpecimen Network and a Tissue Microarray Core facility. 

When it opens in 2011, the new Walter Reed National Military 

Medical Center will serve as the USMCI Clinical Research 

Cancer Center, and as the focal point for cancer research in 

the military.

The Institute operates with Congressional funding and is a 

collaborative effort among Walter Reed Army Medical Center, 

the National Naval Medical Center, the Armed Forces Institute 

of Pathology and the Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the 

Advancement of Military Medicine. The scientific team also is 

expanding its collaboration with the National Cancer Institute.

U.S. Military Cancer Institute

21

“The noncompetitive, congenial atmosphere among the students has really 

impressed me. The faculty and staff also really care about the students and 

support us in so many ways. All of this is a pleasant change from what I 

found when I was looking at other medical schools.” 

–Shana Miles, M.D./Ph.D. student

Brain trauma—as a result of head injury, 

infection or neurodegenerative disease—

can have numerous and far-reaching 

effects. One of these is seizures, which 

are potentially dangerous and can be 

difficult to control with the current 

arsenal of drug therapies. No drugs are 

available to prevent epileptogenesis—the 

process through which a normal brain 

becomes chronically prone to seizures. 

Determining How Brain Trauma Can Lead to Seizures

Sue Bausch, Ph.D., Assistant Professor 

in the Department of Pharmacology, 

has both Congressional and NIH 

funding to discern how an otherwise 

normal brain becomes “rewired” 

during epileptogenesis. She also is 

examining how several drugs affect 

these changes.

Bausch and her team use epilepsy 

models to examine changes in the 

brain and to test a full range of drugs 

that target the N-methyl-D-aspartic 

acid receptor, which plays a role in 

the pathogenesis of epilepsy. The 

researchers are compiling data on 

whether and how each of these drugs 

affects brain connections and impacts 

seizures, as well as their long-term effects. 

For some drugs, the issues that Bausch 

and her colleagues are investigating 

have not been explored previously. 

The research will provide a clearer 

picture of the benefits and drawbacks 

of these therapies, and could lead to 

different or expanded uses of the drugs. 

In turn, this could enable improved 

therapies not only for epilepsy, but 

also for other neurological conditions, 

resulting in better care for service 

members and their dependents.
Alison O’Brien, Ph.D., Professor and Chair 

of the Department of Microbiology and 

Immunology, has spent most of the last 

two decades researching a highly potent 

strain of E. coli called enterohemorrhagic 

E. coli (EHEC). O’Brien is credited with 

several seminal studies on the biology and 

pathogenicity of EHEC. Along with her 

team of USU researchers, she is developing 

new technologies to identify, prevent and 

treat this food-borne pathogen. 

O’Brien’s NIH-supported research includes 

developing an edible plant-based vaccine 

for young cattle that would prevent many 

human infections associated with undercooked hamburger meat. Her laboratory 

also developed a second plant-based 

oral vaccine that confers protection in 

mice against lethal systemic intoxication, 

a consequence of EHEC infection. The 

results of this study were published in the 

May 2006 issue of the Proceedings of the 

National Academy of Sciences. 

O’Brien developed a patented technology 

resulting in a diagnostic test for EHEC that is 

awaiting FDA approval. Related technology 

that encompasses therapeutic antibodies for 

treating EHEC-related infection in humans 

also has been licensed. The resulting products have been granted both Orphan Drug 

Status and Fast Track designation for the 

treatment of Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome. 

Clinical trials for these products are being 

conducted in the U.S. for the treatment of 

Shiga toxin-producing E. coli infections.

In another area of research, O’Brien is 

working with Army and Navy scientists to 

develop a vaccine that would serve as a 

short-term preventive and therapeutic agent 

for anthrax. In 2006, O’Brien was named 

co-principal investigator of the Middle 

Atlantic Regional Center of Excellence 

for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious 

Diseases Research (MARCE). Her team was 

selected to join the MARCE in 2003, when 

it was established. They were also recently 

selected as the Toxin Quality Control center 

for the NIH Biodefense and Emerging 

Infections Research Resources Program 

in coordination with the American Type 

Culture Collection.

O’Brien has published more than 170 

articles on her work, and has served as the 

Editor-in-Chief of Infection and Immunity, 

the American Society for Microbiology 

journal, since 1999. She is the president of 

the Association of Medical Microbiology 

and Immunology Chairs, and has been a 

member of advisory panels for the National 

Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, 

the Food and Drug Administration and the 

U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Alison O’Brien, Ph.D., is Professor and 

Chair of the Department of Microbiology 

and Immunology.She was instrumental in 

founding the University’s Emerging Infectious 

Disease Graduate Program—one of the first 

such programs in the country. 

Innovative Approaches to E. Coli and Anthrax Research

22

“I came to USU to be part of 

something bigger than just medicine 

by serving my country. I love the 

atmosphere here and everyone—

students and faculty—helps each 

other. There is a real spirit of 

cooperation and support.”

–Ensign Michael Cunningham (right), 

class of 2009

“In the three decades since its inception, USU has 

experienced remarkable growth and development. 

What began, jointly with the Armed Forces Health 

Professions Scholarship Program, as an incentive 

for the accession of physicians to the military 

services, has matured into an extraordinary 

institution that excels as an academic core for 

military medicine.

–Vice Admiral (Ret.) James Zimble, M.D., USU President 

Emeritus, former Navy Surgeon General
The threat of international bioterrorism has 

grown in recent years. Subsequently, military 

scientists and their civilian colleagues have 

stepped up efforts to create vaccines and 

therapies for a full range of biological agents 

to protect the health of both service members 

and civilians. 

Two category C agents—emerging infectious 

pathogens that could be engineered for use 

as bioweapons—are a primary area of study 

for USU researcher and immunology and 

microbiology Professor Christopher C. Broder, 

Ph.D. He and his team are among only a 

handful of scientists focused on the Nipah 

and Hendra viruses. Broder is a principal 

investigator on one of six projects from the 

Middle Atlantic Regional Center of Excellence 

for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious 

Diseases, and has three additional National 

Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases 

grants aimed at developing vaccines and 

therapeutics for these agents. 

Broder and his NIH-funded team of 

researchers and investigators have developed 

several vaccine candidates and products 

that could be used as pre- or post-exposure 

measures for infection by Hendra and Nipah. 

One vaccine, composed of a component of 

the virus particle known as the G glycoprotein, 

demonstrated complete protection from 

infection by Nipah in early-stage testing. In 

addition, Broder’s lab, in collaboration with 

the Australian Animal Health Laboratory and 

the National Cancer Institute, isolated the 

receptor for the viruses—a cell surface protein 

called Ephrin-B2.

Defending Against Emerging Biological Threats

Science Watch recognized 

Christopher C. Broder, 

Ph.D., as one of the top 20 

most cited researchers in 

microbiology from January 

1995 through August 2005. 

U.S. troops deployed throughout the world face not only threats to their 

safety, but also to their health. This is often the case when our forces are 

deployed to developing nations and tropical zones that harbor organisms 

not found in the U.S. 

One such threat is schistosomiasis, which infects roughly 200 million 

people worldwide. The disease, which is caused by parasitic worms, 

is difficult to detect and treat. The parasites have been known to avoid 

destruction by the host’s immune system for decades. Though schistosomiasis is not found in the U.S., it has been frequently diagnosed in 

personnel deployed to endemic areas, such as Southeast Asia and subSaharan Africa. The disease is particularly relevant to the current conflict 

because it is endemic to the population in Iraq.

Stephen Davies, B.V.Sc., Ph.D., an Assistant Professor in the Department 

of Microbiology and Immunology, is focusing his scientific investigations 

on the elusory disease for which there is no vaccine and, currently, only 

one approved therapeutic agent. With some early evidence that the 

parasites are starting to develop resistance to the drug, research into new 

treatments is crucial.

Scientific evidence shows that schistosomes need the human immune 

system to thrive. Funded by grants from the NIH, Davies and his USU 

team are examining the relationship between the parasite and its host, 

searching for pathway inhibitors that could stifle parasitic development. 

Research Targets Parasite That Threatens Deployed Troops

23
USU’s Department of Psychiatry and its DoD-funded Center for 

the Study of Traumatic Stress (CSTS) advance the understanding 

of the psychological and health consequences of trauma for the 

benefit of military and civilian populations. Faculty and staff 

conduct neuroscience research on trauma and translational 

research on traumatic stress response from the cellular to the 

societal level to inform disaster planning, response and recovery. 

The Department of Psychiatry and CSTS, under the leadership of 

internationally renowned clinician, researcher and Chair of the 

Department of Psychiatry Robert J. Ursano, M.D., play a central 

role in understanding and shaping the military’s response to the 

mental health aspects of disaster, war and terrorism.

Military Response to Disaster, War and Terrorism

CSTS scientists established a surveillance program to monitor 

and assess the physical and mental health of American 

troops injured during the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq. 

Early data have shown that mental health problems worsen 

over time in a significant portion of these service members, 

and that such problems are closely linked with impairment 

in function. Physical pain and injury also are closely linked 

and predict mental health problems. This research will shape 

interventions to help troops recover.

Preparing Future Practitioners 

USU students are trained on principles of combat and operational psychiatry. Through a multi-year curriculum focusing on 

application of the biopsychosocial model to general 

psychiatric patient care in 

military-unique environments, students are 

prepared to address 

mental health issues 

among service members 

and their families. They 

also receive training on the 

management of mental 

health response in the 

aftermath of mass violence or destruction, when resources 

often are scarce. Medical student curriculum culminates in the 

field training exercise Operation Bushmaster, where students 

apply their knowledge in simulated operational stress and 

psychiatric cases. 

Disaster Assistance and Consultation 

In the wake of the Asian tsunami, the CSTS worked closely with 

the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to provide 

critical information and consultation. After Hurricane Katrina, 

Houston officials enlisted the Center’s help to better understand 

and respond to the psychological and health needs of survivors. 

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration 

requested the Center’s expertise to assist their own personnel 

returning from Hurricane Katrina-related deployments. 

Understanding and Treating Traumatic Stress

Lieutenant Colonel Karen Peterson, M.D., is 

an Assistant Professor in the Department of 

Psychiatry, and also works with the Center for the 

Study of Traumatic Stress. She is a graduate of the 

USU class of 1993.

“I entered USU with no prior military experience. 

I believe my leadership training at USU helped 

me a great deal with the pressure I experienced 

and great responsibility I held at my first duty assignment in Japan, 

and beyond. I have deployed to Kuwait and Afghanistan, both times 

working as part of a combat stress team that traveled extensively. 

The military training I gained at USU, along with my experience at 

Operation Bushmaster, were key to my success in these roles.“

24

Deployment Health Clinical Center

The Department of Psychiatry 

and the CSTS are engaged in an 

active partnership with the DoD’s 

Deployment Health Clinical Center 

(DHCC) at Walter Reed Army Medical 

Center. Colonel Charles Engel, M.D., 

a Senior Scientist at the CSTS and the 

Director of the DHCC, was the lead 

investigator on a USU collaborative 

effort to study web-based education 

for primary care providers working 

with soldiers with PTSD. 

Robert J. Ursano, M.D.
With increasing frequency, the U.S. military is called upon to 

support both domestic and international disaster response and other 

humanitarian assistance efforts. The focus of these efforts is often on 

the provision of medical and health care in austere environments. 

The Center for Disaster and Humanitarian Assistance Medicine 

(CDHAM), established in 1998 within the University’s Department 

of Military and Emergency Medicine, advances the understanding 

and delivery of disaster medical care and humanitarian assistance 

worldwide. It serves as a central resource for the DoD, other 

government agencies and international partners.

CDHAM’s staff has knowledge and expertise in a broad range of 

issues, and its academic setting enables a multidisciplinary approach 

to disaster mitigation. The University’s faculty includes recognized 

experts in the fields of emergency medicine, psychiatry and 

preventive medicine who work in close collaboration with CDHAM.

The Center is engaged in a diverse range of health-related activities 

around the globe. For example, CDHAM is working with the U.S. 

Southern Command to establish a sustainable HIV/AIDS prevention 

program for select Caribbean defense forces in seven countries. 

Specifically, CDHAM staff helps host countries to develop 

educational programs and provides Continuing Medical Education 

credits to local health personnel. 

Additionally, the Center’s staff is working with the government 

of Chad to develop a landmine assistance program that will help 

government and military forces provide quality care to victims of 

landmines. This type of educational program can serve as a model 

in countries where the health infrastructure is inadequate.

Recently, CDHAM began supporting the Global Emerging Infections 

Surveillance and Response System as part of an avian influenza 

initiative. The Center serves as a central resource for commanders 

in the field to help them prepare for pandemic influenza and other 

emerging infectious diseases.

USU graduate Commander Sarah Linde-Feucht, M.D., class 

of 1992, is a medical officer in the Office of Orphan Products 

Development at the FDA. She was part of an early-response 

team dispatched to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to provide critical 

services in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Her team helped 

the Louisiana state health department erect a 200-bed field 

hospital on a local gymnasium floor. The team worked with local 

volunteers, as well as trained responders from other states, to 

organize a small hospital, including a working pharmacy.

“My experience as a USU student was superb. Not only did we 

learn the usual and customary medical school courses, we were 

also afforded the opportunity to 

learn above and beyond what most 

students learn at civilian schools... 

The faculty, in addition to being 

leaders in their fields, were dedicated and student oriented.

“...Principles of triage, doing more with less and being able 

to solve problems quickly and creatively were valuable skills 

I developed at USU. As a senior officer who now leads teams 

of other PHS officers on deployment to emergencies, such as 

Hurricane Katrina, USU prepared me well for...bringing in 

different teams of people and getting them to work together.”

Advancing Disaster Response and Recovery

25
According to incidence statistics, in just over a decade, more than 11,000 

men in the DoD system have been diagnosed with prostate cancer. The 

Center for Prostate Disease Research (CPDR) has grown into a leading clinical and research center. Based at the University and led by Colonel (Ret.) 

David McLeod, M.D., J.D., CPDR Director and Professor in the Department 

of Surgery, the program is key to the military’s and the country’s efforts to 

fight the disease. 

CPDR, which operates with both Congressional and NIH funding, has been 

responsible for a number of critical advances in prostate disease research. 

Last year, CPDR entered into a collaborative agreement with a private 

company to develop a more effective blood test to detect prostate cancer, 

and to distinguish between indolent and aggressive forms of the disease. 

CPDR research also is the focus of license agreements that could lead to a 

new diagnostic test for prostate cancer. Under the agreements, the Center’s 

patented panel of cancer markers will be used to develop and 

commercialize a diagnostic test. 

Among their many other accomplishments, a multi-disciplinary team of 

researchers led by Shiv Srivastava, Ph.D., CPDR Co-director and Associate 

Professor in the Department of Surgery, reported discovery of the common 

overexpression of the ETS-Related Gene (ERG) in prostate cancer in the 

journal Oncogene. The study showed ERG expression alterations in a large 

fraction of prostate cancer cells. The team revealed that certain features of 

Advancing the Detection and Treatment of Prostate Cancer

The Infectious Disease Clinical Research Program (IDCRP) is a major new initiative 

at USU. A collaborative effort with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious 

Diseases (NIAID), the goal of the program is to strengthen the U.S. Government’s ability 

to conduct targeted infectious disease clinical research. The program aims to build 

capacity, expertise and productivity in U.S. military medical departments and at NIAID.

Headed by Captain Gerald Quinnan, Jr., USPHS, M.D., Professor and Chair of USU’s 

Department of Preventive Medicine and Biometrics, the program capitalizes on resources 

centered at the University and the NIH. The effort will encompass USU scientists, military 

clinicians, research support personnel from the Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the 

Advancement of Military Medicine, DoD medical treatment facilities and laboratories in 

the U.S. and overseas and NIAID research and research support activities.

This cooperative relationship will leverage the DoD’s extensive health care and research 

infrastructure to foster progress in fighting new health challenges such as emerging 

infectious diseases, combat-related infections, multi-drug resistant pathogens and HIV. 

A training component of this program will increase and strengthen clinicians’ abilities to 

conduct quality research. IDCRP will develop a new clinical research degree program at 

USU to address this need. 

Infectious Disease Research 

26

Colonel (Ret.) David McLeod, M.D., J.D., (left) 

and Shiv Srivastava, Ph.D. (right)

ERG expression have potential as diagnostic and 

prognostic biomarkers. CPDR’s original discovery 

was recognized in Science. 

The Center’s work is emblematic of the collaborative, multifaceted research conducted by many 

USU investigators. Their recent discovery was the 

result of a highly coordinated effort by urologists, 

pathologists and cancer biologists from USU, 

Walter Reed Army Medical Center, the Armed 

Forces Institute of Pathology, Walter Reed Army 

Institute of Research and the National Human 

Genome Research Institute. 
HIV Vaccine Research

A team of USU researchers, headed by Public Health Service 

officer Captain Gerald Quinnan, Jr., M.D., Professor and Chair 

of USU’s Department of Preventive Medicine and Biometrics, 

and including Christopher Broder, Ph.D., a Professor in the 

Department of Microbiology and Immunology, have been 

leading an effort to produce an HIV vaccine that would induce 

broadly cross-reactive neutralizing antibodies. The researchers 

believe this could be a critical step towards creating an 

effective vaccine to protect people from this deadly threat. The 

team has shown this approach to be effective in early studies, 

and reported results in the Journal of Virology demonstrating 

the efficacy of such neutralizing antibody responses in 

protecting rhesus monkeys from experimental challenge with 

recombinant SHIV. 

The global HIV epidemic comprises multiple subtypes (or 

strains) and inter-subtype recombinant forms, each with 

distinct geographic distribution. An effective HIV vaccine 

would have to protect against multiple strains of the disease. 

This is the first study to date demonstrating protection, in nonhuman primates, from one strain of the virus with a challenge 

from another strain.

The USU Center for Health Disparities Research and Education takes a multifaceted approach 

to reducing disproportionately high rates of health risks and disease among racial and ethnic 

minorities. Funded by the NIH through a grant from the National Center for Minority Health 

and Health Disparities, and headed by Richard Tanenbaum, Ph.D., an Assistant Professor in the 

Department of Medical and Clinical Psychology, the program works in partnership with the 

University of Maryland, Eastern Shore, towards its far-reaching goals.

The Center’s efforts are centered on four key components—research, minority health and 

health disparity education, minority student training and community outreach/information 

dissemination. The program’s research efforts are based primarily in USU’s Department of 

Medical and Clinical Psychology, where researchers are examining the role of behavior in 

physical and mental health.

Two of the Center’s core objectives are to disseminate critical information about health 

disparities and teach practical skills to improve future healthcare practitioners’ cultural 

competencies. The program infuses cultural sensitivity and awareness training modules into the 

existing university curriculum, and provides similar instruction with students and practitioners 

within the community and at other military treatment facilities. In addition, the Center runs a 

summer internship program for minority high school, college and graduate school students who 

wish to pursue careers in medicine, other health care professions or biomedical research.

Among their many other efforts, Center staff are utilizing a wide variety of approaches, from 

traditional methods to psychodrama, to reach out to local minority populations. The goal is to 

involve community members in research and training opportunities and to educate them about 

health disparities, teaching individuals—professional and lay persons—how they can play a role 

in reducing them. 

The Center’s goal is to 

reduce and eventually 

eliminate health disparities 

in minority and underserved 

populations, utilizing a 

full spectrum of innovative 

strategies and techniques.

Battling the Multiple Causes of Health Disparities

Lauren Hill, Ph.D., is the Director of the 

Minority Health and Health Disparities 

Education Core of the USU Center for 

Health Disparities Research and Education, 

and is a Research Assistant Professor of 

medical and clinical psychology and a 

Research Assistant Professor of family 

medicine. She has played a critical role in 

infusing cultural competency training into 

the medical school curriculum.

27
Vaccines are among the most important advances in modern medical history. They have 

eliminated smallpox, nearly eradicated polio and spared countless people from measles, 

tetanus and hepatitis A and B, as well as other dangerous infections.

Scientists at USU’s NIH-funded Institute for Vaccine Research (IVR), led by Clifford M. 

Snapper, M.D., a Professor in the Department of Pathology, seek to improve vaccine 

technologies. Snapper and his team aim to increase the potency of current vaccines 

designed to stimulate antibody production through a variety of adjuvanting and immune 

cell targeting strategies. In so doing, the amount of vaccine necessary per immunization 

and the number of immunizations can be reduced, along with the ability to induce higher 

protective antibody titers. The IVR’s staff approach this task from a basic immunologic 

perspective, looking for clinical applications that derive from basic immunologic insights. 

One focus of their research is conjugate vaccines, which allow for effective immunization 

in infants. They may have identified a new carrier for conjugates, which could be used to 

deliver more powerful signals to the B cell. This could increase the potency of the conjugate 

vaccine, which is one of their major goals. Recently, Snapper and his team began working 

with Navy researchers on maximizing the effectiveness of DNA vaccines for Dengue fever.

These advances in vaccine technologies have the potential to improve health outcomes for 

a wide variety of infectious diseases.

Developing More Effective Vaccines

Overcoming Multidrug Resistance

Although the advent of chemotherapy has revolutionized the 

treatment of cancer and microbial infections, its success is 

challenged by the occurrence of drug resistance and reduced 

bioavailability of therapeutic agents. Among the physiological 

and cellular factors that diminish the therapeutic effectiveness 

of many drugs, the role of human P-glycoprotein, or Pgp, 

(product of the human MDR1 gene) represents the most widely 

documented phenomenon. 

Pgp is a plasma membrane protein that utilizes cellular energy 

to transport structurally unrelated hydrophobic drugs out of the 

cells. These compounds include many anti-cancer agents, such 

as paclitaxel, and anti-HIV drugs, such as HIV protease inhibitors. 

A considerable effort is underway to identify and develop 

pharmacological agents that will inactivate Pgp function and 

improve therapeutic outcomes of anticancer and antimicrobial 

agents. In an NIH-funded research endeavor, Saibal Dey, Ph.D., 

an Associate Professor in the Department of Biochemistry, and 

his colleagues at USU are working to find an “Achilles heel” in 

the protein that can be pharmacologically exploited to block drug 

transport. Using biochemistry and molecular biology, they are 

identifying and dissecting the interaction sites for Pgp inhibitors 

28

Saibal Dey, Ph.D.

and understanding how these interactions lead to 

transport blockage. 

USU researchers have identified a region in the protein 

with which a certain class of Pgp inhibitor interacts and 

shuts off drug transport. Successful inhibition of Pgp 

function in vivo will not only help overcome the 

problem of multidrug resistance in treating malignancy 

and microbial infections, but also will improve the 

effectiveness of many therapeutic agents whose 

physiological fates are otherwise compromised by 

the action of Pgp. 
Through an active technology transfer program, the University’s 

Joint Office of Technology Transfer (JOTT) facilitates private-public 

partnerships to move USU discoveries to the marketplace. The 

JOTT is a collaboration with the Henry M. Jackson Foundation for 

the Advancement of Military Medicine, which offers marketing 

support and negotiates licensing on behalf of investigators. These 

collaborative relationships not only accelerate the development of 

promising medical technologies, but also help to ensure that publicly 

funded research results are made available to benefit humankind.

From Scientific Discovery to Improved Patient Care

Roughly 250,000 to 350,000 people in 

the United States suffer cardiac arrest 

every year. Faculty members in USU’s 

Department of Medicine are working 

in collaboration with scientists at the 

University of Rochester to improve physicians’ abilities to identify those patients 

at the highest and lowest risks for sudden 

cardiac death, the most common cause of 

death in the United States. 

Mark Haigney, M.D., an Associate 

Professor in the Department of Medicine 

whose work has been funded in part by the 

American Heart Association, collaborated 

on a five-year study designed to evaluate 

the effect of an implantable defibrillator on 

survival in high-risk heart attack patients. 

The device, which was brought to public 

attention after Vice President Dick Cheney 

had one implanted, is designed to monitor 

electrical signals in the heart and check 

for abnormal heartbeats. During a cardiac 

event, the implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) immediately shocks the heart, 

sending it back into a normal rhythm.

The initial study found that patients who 

had previously suffered a heart attack 

and who had significantly reduced heart 

function had a greater chance of surviving 

cardiac arrest if they had been given an 

ICD. Haigney found that subjects with 

an increased level of variability in the 

electrocardiogram had more than a twofold likelihood of receiving an appropriate 

therapy from the device in the form of a 

shock or rapid stimulation to terminate a 

life-threatening electrical disorder. This 

predictive performance was significantly 

better than that of either echocardiography 

or invasive electrophysiologic stimulation, 

the former “gold standards” for predicting 

sudden death. Haigney is participating in 

a second multicenter, NIH-funded study 

intended to validate previous findings and 

develop new strategies.

Preventing Death from Cardiac Arrest

29

“After completing six years as a family nurse practitioner, I know that coming to 

USU was the right choice. The atmosphere, the curriculum and the training better 

prepared me in my role as a provider and military officer... We were trained for 

excellence in clinical practice, management, research and leadership.” 

–Major Sandra McNaughton, C.F.N.P., class of 2000 and USU Assistant Professor and 

Deputy Director of the Nurse Practitioner Program
Given the increased activity of terrorist organizations around the world, it is imperative that 

the military and the medical community are 

prepared for the threat of nuclear or radiological attack. The Armed Forces Radiobiology 

Research Institute (AFRRI) is a component of 

the University, and provides unique expertise 

and capabilities. Researchers there are 

working on novel assessment and treatment 

technologies to protect both military and 

civilian populations.

Assessing Exposure Levels

A nuclear or radiological attack could result in 

mass casualties and would likely cause a range 

of acute and long-term health consequences. 

Research conducted at AFRRI is improving 

our ability to rapidly assess an individual’s 

exposure to radiation. 

Scientists at AFRRI are creating new 

approaches to classical biodosimetry, which 

is based on cytogenetic damage, for casualty 

triage soon after exposure. One area of study 

focuses on developing dose-assessment assays 

that use transportable equipment to test easily 

obtained samples, such as hair, urine or a drop 

of blood. Utilizing innovative approaches, they 

also are improving the accuracy, dose range, 

ease of use and speed of biodosimetry. 

New Measures Combat Radiation Exposure

AFRRI researchers, in collaboration with 

private industry and the Henry M. Jackson 

Foundation for the Advancement of Military 

Medicine, are investigating treatment options 

to protect both service members and civilians 

in a variety of radiation exposure scenarios. 

Using their understanding of the mechanisms 

of radiation damage, AFRRI scientists are 

pursuing new and improved pharmacological 

approaches to prevent the health-degrading 

and potentially life-threatening effects of 

ionizing radiation. Making use of novel 

cellular and molecular approaches and 

complex physiological systems, the 

researchers are working to move these 

potentially life-saving drugs from discovery 

through the FDA approval process. 

Evaluating Military Health Risks 

To ensure the health of our service members, 

AFRRI scientists established a new approach 

to assessing the potential health effects of 

militarily relevant metals that may become 

embedded as shrapnel. Researchers evaluate 

the acute and long-term health risks of metals, 

such as depleted uranium and tungsten alloys, 

and they explore potential treatments for any 

adverse effects. 

Accurate casualty prediction models enable 

effective command decisions and force 

structure planning. AFRRI provides researchers 

who design such models with the necessary 

understanding of what can be expected when 

a radiological injury is combined with other 

battlefield challenges, such as trauma, disease 

and chemical exposures. 

The military looks to AFRRI 

for the latest information 

and research to preserve 

the health and performance 

of our forces in the face of 

extraordinary threats on and 

off the battlefield. 

30
A Worldwide Resource

In collaborations with the international scientific community, AFRRI acts as a 

catalyst to publish medical and technical information based on data from nuclear 

accidents or incidents in other countries, including those in states of the former 

Soviet Union. 

The benefits of these efforts are far reaching. Such information can be used to 

direct rescue operations, including those resulting from terrorist actions or industrial nuclear accidents. It also is pertinent to astronauts exposed to space radiation.

AFRRI’s sources provide scientists with a variety of radiations, energies and dose 

rates. A medium-sized research reactor, a high-energy irradiation facility and a 

low-level irradiation facility are licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 

Providing Education on Medical Effects of Ionizing Radiation 

AFRRI’s Military Medical Operations group supports the Armed Services by 

providing medical and operational personnel with up-to-date information 

concerning the biomedical consequences of radiation exposure, how the effects 

can be reduced and how to manage casualties. Students receive a unique 

education on the hazards of ionizing radiation, radiation pathology, human 

exposure resulting from radiation accidents, consequences of nuclear weapons 

detonation and nuclear accident response by government organizations.

Pataje Prasanna, Ph.D., Assistant 

Professor in the University’s new 

Radiation Biology Department, and 

his colleagues in AFRRI’s cytogenetic 

biodosimetry laboratory have 

established a method that allows them 

to rapidly process a large number 

of blood samples for radiation dose 

assessment. Specifically, they measure 

radiation-induced chromosomal 

aberrations in an automated laboratory 

environment. The sample processing 

throughput is augmented significantly 

by the use of robotic equipment and 

a laboratory information management 

system. This timely information can 

be used for clinical triage decisions for 

radiation-exposed individuals. 

The National Institute of Allergy and 

Infectious Diseases, NIH, is funding 

this AFRRI-led development effort. In 

related studies, Prasanna’s laboratory 

developed and patented a new clinical 

bioassay that enables rapid assessment 

of radiation exposure because it does 

not require the culturing of blood cells. 

“At AFRRI, we have expertise in 

radiation biology and related fields, 

along with comprehensive facilities to 

address research, development and 

technology transfer needs.”

–Pataje Prasanna, Ph.D., 

Research Biologist, Armed Forces 

Radiobiology Research Institute and 

Assistant Professor, Department of 

Radiation Biology, School of Medicine

31

The Medical Effects of Ionizing Radiation course is the 

most comprehensive training available on this topic, 

and is the only graduate-level course in the DoD for 

training healthcare professionals in the management of 

uncontrolled ionizing radiation exposure. 
USU Leadership

President – Charles L. Rice, M.D.

Chief of Staff – Stephen J. Henske, M.H.A., CAPT, MSC, USN (Ret.)

Special Assistant, BRAC Integration – Vernon D. Schinski, Ph.D., CAPT, MSC, USN (Ret.)

Special Assistant, Building E – Mary A. Dix, M.S.

Dean, School of Medicine – Larry W. Laughlin, M.D., Ph.D., CAPT, MC, USN (Ret.)

 Associate Dean for Graduate Education – Eleanor Metcalf, Ph.D.

 Associate Dean for Graduate Medical Education – Howard E. Fauver, Jr., M.D., COL, MC, USA (Ret.)

 Associate Dean for Student Affairs – Richard MacDonald, M.D., COL, MC, USA (Ret.)

Dean (Acting), Graduate School of Nursing – William T. Bester, R.N., M.S.N., C.N.A.A., BG, AN, USA (Ret.) 

 Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs – Karen Elberson, Ph.D., R.N.

 Associate Dean for Research (vacant)

Director, Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute – Patricia K. Lillis-Hearne, M.D., COL, MC, USA

Director, United States Military Cancer Institute – John F. Potter, M.D.

Senior Vice President (Acting) – Dale C. Smith, Ph.D.

 Vice President, Diversity and Recruitment – Cynthia I. Macri, M.D., CAPT, MC, USN

 Vice President, Affiliations & International Affairs – Emmanuel G. Cassimatis, M.D., COL, MC, USA (Ret.)

Vice President, External Affairs – Carol R. Scheman, M.S.S.A.

Vice President, Finance and Administration – Stephen Rice, M.S., CAPT, MSC, USN (Ret.)

Vice President, Research – Steven Kaminsky, Ph.D.

Brigade Commander – John Rumbaugh, CAPT, MSC, USN

Board of Regents

Everett Alvarez, Jr., J.D., Chair – CAPT, USN (Ret.)

Linda J. Stierle, M.S.N., R.N., C.N.A.A., Vice Chair – BGen, USAF, NC (Ret.)

Otis W. Brawley, M.D.

Colleen Conway-Welch, Ph.D.

William C. De La Peña, M.D.

Sharon A. Falkenheimer, M.D., M.P.H., – Col, USAF, MC (Ret.)

Vinicio E. Madrigal, M.D.

Lawrence C. Mohr, Jr., M.D., COL, MC, USA (Ret.)

Thomas C. Yarington, Jr., M.D., BGen, USAF, MC (Ret.)

Ex officio

William Winkenwerder, Jr., M.D., Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs

Charles L. Rice, M.D., USU President

LTG Kevin C. Kiley, MC, USA, Surgeon General, United States Army

VADM Donald C. Arthur, MC, USN, Surgeon General, United States Navy

Lt Gen James G. Roudebush, USAF, MC, Surgeon General, United States Air Force

RADM Kenneth P. Moritsugu, USPHS, Acting Surgeon General of the United States

32
This publication was produced by the Henry M. Jackson 

Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine.

®

“The University’s quality of education and caliber 

of graduates has made it a model for military 

medical education throughout the three 

services and beyond.” 

–Lieutenant General (Ret.) Ronald R. Blanck, D.O., 

former Army Surgeon General and President Emeritus 

of the University of North Texas Health Science Center
UNIFORMED SERVICES UNIVERSITY

 of the Health Sciences

4301 Jones Bridge Road, Bethesda, MD 20814

www.usuhs.edu