Learning to Care for Those in Harm’s Way

The Official USU Newsletter

Volume 12, Issue 2 ■ Feb 28, 2017

 www.usuhs.edu
2 the pulse Feb 28, 2017

Sharon Holland

Deputy Vice President for External 

Affairs and Managing Editor

Christopher Austin

Writer and Interim Editor

MC2 Laura Bailey

Writer and Photographer

SSgt. Stephanie Morris, USAF

Writer and Photographer

Sarah Marshall

Contributing Writer and 

Photographer

Tom Balfour

Photographer

Production

Editorial content is edited, prepared 

and provided by the USU Office of 

External Affairs unless otherwise indicated. The Pulse staff may include 

or exclude articles based upon news 

value, impact on the University and 

space availability.

Submissions

The Pulse is published biweekly on 

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

publication date. Submissions can be 

sent to christopher.austin.ctr@usuhs.

edu or by calling 301-295-3338.

On the cover

The USU campus looks serene after 

an early morning snowfall. (Photo by 

Cathy Hemelt)

Borrow or Serve? An Economic Analysis 

of Options for Financing a Medical 

School Education

By USU External Affairs

An American medical education 

is expensive. The median cost of 

attending a four-year, public medical 

school is more than $240,000 and 

the median cost of a private medical 

school education is more than 

$314,000. Because few students 

are wealthy enough to pay cash, or 

fortunate enough to secure a nostrings scholarship, most take out 

large education loans. As a result, 

more than four out of five medical 

students graduate in substantial 

debt. 

To help prospective medical 

students understand the long-term 

fiscal consequences of borrowing 

versus other major options for 

financing their education, a team 

of federal officials and a health 

economist modeled the 30-year 

economic impact of self-funding, 

taking out a federally-insured loan 

,and attending medical school with 

the support of one of three types of 

national-service scholarships — the 

National Health Service Corps, the 

Armed Forces’ Health Professions 

Scholarship Programs, or attending 

the Uniformed Services University 

of the Health Sciences (USU). 

National service scholarships cover 

all costs of a student’s medical 

education in exchange for four or 

more years of national service after 

residency training. 

The results of this analysis have 

just been published in the latest web 

edition of Academic Medicine, the 

flagship journal of the Association 

of American Medical Colleges.

Key findings include: 

• Over time, the value of a medical 

degree offsets its high up-front cost. 

However, it can take years, even 

decades, for medical students who 

borrow to catch up with those who 

avoid taking on debt. 

• Debt avoidance, whether 

through self-financing or a national 

service scholarship, confers 

substantial economic benefits. 

Students who attend medical school 

with the help of a national service 

scholarship start their internship 

and residency training $300,000 to 

$400,000 ahead of peers who finance 

their medical education with loans. 

• The benefits of debt avoidance 

last longer than commonly 

realized. It is widely thought that 

because doctors who enter privatesector practice earn more than 

their counterparts who serve in 

the military or U.S. public health 

service, students who borrow 

quickly catch up and soon surpass 

the earnings of classmates who 

attended with the help of a national 

service scholarship. In fact, the 

length of time it takes to reach 

economic parity depends a lot on 

the doctor’s choice of specialty. For 

example, private-sector orthopedic 

surgeons are paid much more than 

military orthopedic surgeons, 

so economic parity is reached 

roughly four years after completing 

residency training. However, for 

most specialties, including general 

surgeons, ophthalmologists and 

other comparably paid specialists, 

economic parity may not be 

reached for 20 years or longer.

Continued on pg. 13
3 the pulse Feb 28, 2017

USU helps bring advanced prostheses to 

wounded warriors

During a recent ceremony at Walter Reed, retired Army Col. (Dr.) Paul 

Pasquina, professor and chair of USU's Department of Rehabilitation 

Medicine, expressed how meaningful the LUKE arm is to so many people. 

(Photo by Joe Nieves, WRNMMC Public Affairs)

The first production versions 

of LUKE arms were on display 

during a recent ceremony held at 

Walter Reed. (Photo by Joe Nieves, 

WRNMMC Public Affairs)

By Sarah Marshall

Researchers at the Uniformed 

Services University of the Health 

Sciences (USU) are supporting efforts 

to bring ground-breaking bionic 

prostheses to amputees recovering 

from upper limb-loss, ultimately 

improving their independence and 

enhancing their quality of life.

Although technology that powers 

prosthetic legs has advanced over the 

last two decades, prosthetic arms and 

hands have been more of a challenge 

to develop, in part because of the 

need for greater degrees of dexterity. 

In collaboration with Walter Reed 

National Military Medical Center

(WRNMMC) and USU, the Defense 

Advanced Research Projects Agency 

(DARPA) has been working to 

develop bionic arms for those Service 

members and veterans who are

rehabilitating after upper-limb loss. 

These efforts have led to DARPA 

recently receiving FDA approval for 

the “LUKE” arm. 

LUKE stands for Life Under

Kinetic Evolution, and is a passing 

reference to the limb given to Luke 

Skywalker in the Stars Wars series. 

This modular, battery-powered

limb is near-natural in control, size 

and weight. It enables dexterous

arm and hand movement with grip 

force feedback, through an intuitive 

control system. It has six userselectable grips, and an arm that 

allows for simultaneous control of 

multiple joints using a variety of 

inputs, including wireless signals 

generated by sensors worn on the 

user’s feet. The goal is to continue 

providing amputees even greater 

dexterity and highly-refined sensory 

experiences by eventually being able 

to connect these limbs directly to 

the patient’s peripheral and central 

nervous systems.

During a recent ceremony held 

at WRNMMC, DARPA presented 

the first production versions of this 

ground-breaking prosthesis to a 

team of collaborators, including 

WRNMMC leadership and staff, 

along with USU’s retired Army 

Col. (Dr.) Paul Pasquina, professor 

and chair of the Department of 

Rehabilitation Medicine, and Air 

Force Col. (Dr.) Jeffrey Bailey, 

professor of Surgery at USU, and 

director of Surgery at WRNMMC. 

Continued on pg. 5
4 the pulse Feb 28, 2017

New Study Links ‘Mastermind’ Gene to 

Rare Cancer-Causing Tumor

Co-senior author on the Cancer Cell study, Dr. Matthew Wilkerson, associate 

professor and Bioinformatics Director of The American Genome Center 

and the Collaborative Health Initiative Research Program at the Uniformed 

Services University. (Photo by Sarah Marshall, USU)

By Sarah Marshall

Scientists have discovered

that a new “mastermind fusion

gene” may be associated with

a rare cancer-causing tumor –

pheochromocytomas (“pheo”)

and paragangliomas, according

to a study published Feb. 13 in 

Cancer Cell, by researchers at the 

Uniformed Services University of 

the Health Sciences (USU) and

the National Cancer Institutes’

The Cancer Genome Atlas. This

breakthrough discovery could lead 

to more precise treatment and a 

better understanding of cancer

itself.

These adrenal gland tumors

are often benign, but they can

become malignant, and in some 

cases lead to life-threatening

hypertension, arrhythmia, and

stroke, but it’s not clear which

tumors will become metastatic

because of the disease’s rarity and 

complex biology. Therefore, patients 

with the metastatic disease have 

few treatment options and poor

prognosis. To help detect genetic 

mutations and better understand

this disease, a group of researchers 

at USU and the nationwide Cancer 

Genome Atlas Research Network

examined 173 tumors, performing 

six genomic tests, such as DNA and 

RNA sequencing.

The researchers found what

they refer to as the mastermind

fusion gene – the first fusion gene 

associated with this type of tumor. 

This hybrid gene forms from two 

previously separate genes and only 

occurs in a new subtype of this 

disease. The researchers suggest

this disrupts the normal biology of 

the cell and thus producing tumor 

cells. The researchers believe this 

mastermind fusion gene will help 

describe for some patients why the 

tumor has developed, and better 

predict patient outcome. The fusion 

gene may also lead to future targeted 

therapy and have implications for 

other cancers.

Additionally, the researchers 

found 18 “driver” genes in this 

type of tumor, meaning there 

are 18 different ways this tumor 

could become cancerous. This 

is an unusually large amount 

of drivers, not typical for many 

other tumor types, according the 

study’s senior author Dr. Matthew 

Wilkerson, associate professor and 

Bioinformatics Director of The 

American Genome Center and 

the Collaborative Health Initiative 

Research Program at USU. This 

finding allowed their team to classify 

tumors into four major molecular 

subtypes, which could also lead to 

developing new therapies.

“For patients who have this 

diagnosis, surrounded by its 

uncertainties, this new discovery 

sheds light on the disease. We think 

these results will ultimately lead 

to individuals and their families 

having a better understanding of 

their prognosis and more precise 

treatment,” Wilkerson said.

The paper’s co-senior authors are 

Dr. Katherine Nathanson, a professor 

in the division of Translational 

Medicine and Human Genetics at 

the University of Pennsylvania’s 

Abramson Cancer Center, and Dr. 

Karel Pacak, chief of the section 

on Medical Neuroendocrinology 

at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver 

National Institute of Child Health 

and Human Development at the 

National Institutes of Health.

The study was supported with 

grants by the National Institutes of 

Health.
5 the pulse Feb 28, 2017

Shriver receives Breast Cancer Research 

Foundation grant

Army Col. (Dr.) Craig Shriver, 

professor of Surgery at the Uniformed 

Services University of the Health 

Sciences, was recently awarded a 

$500,000 team science grant by the 

Breast Cancer Research Foundation. 

(Courtesy Photo)

By Sarah Marshall

As part of an effort to advance 

the understanding of metastatic 

disease, the Breast Cancer Research 

Foundation (BCRF) recently 

awarded a $500,000 team science 

grant to Army Col. (Dr.) Craig 

Shriver, professor of Surgery at the 

Uniformed Services University of 

the Health Sciences (USU). 

The BCRF announced a $57 

million commitment to breast 

cancer research. Nearly one-third 

of those grants (more than $16 

million) are focused on metastatic 

breast cancer. Shriver and Dr. 

Peter Kuhn, at the University of 

Southern California, who are both 

the principal investigators at their 

institutions, were awarded the grant 

by BCRF.

The grant recognizes researchers 

leading the way in studying the 

biology of why and how cancer 

cells spread, and will support pilot 

projects that are using multiple 

technologies for analyzing rare 

events in the blood of cancer patients. 

These efforts will also be focused 

on developing new treatments for 

advanced disease, and correlative 

studies to discover biomarkers that 

can predict which breast cancers are 

more likely to spread. Subsequently, 

their data and associated protocols 

will be deposited into a recentlyestablished Blood Profiling Atlas in 

Cancer (PAC). 

In alignment with former 

Vice President Biden’s Moonshot 

initiative, the Blood PAC supports 

progress directly benefiting patients 

through research. It aims to create 

a database for liquid biopsies to 

expedite the development of safe and 

effective blood profiling diagnostic 

technologies, accelerating drug 

development, streamlining clinical 

research, and ultimately improving 

the lives of cancer patients. This 

public-private partnership includes 

more than 20 organizations 

contributing liquid biopsy data, 

protocols, and expertise.

“We’re excited that this grant will 

allow for continued collaboration, 

with the Blood PAC initiative, in 

order to better understand real-time 

metastatic diseases, and progress 

toward a future without cancer,” 

Shriver said.

While focusing his research on 

breast cancer, pancreatic cancer, 

and endocrine malignancies, 

Shriver also serves as director of the 

John P. Murtha Cancer Center at 

Walter Reed Bethesda. He leads the 

congressionally-mandated Clinical 

Breast Cancer Project, a militarycivilian coalition that has received 

more than $100 million since its 

inception in 2000. This targeted 

cancer research has amassed one of 

the world’s most extensive human 

biorepositories of breast cancers and 

tissues, which are used by researchers 

around the world to study breast 

cancer and its treatment. 

Prosthesis, continued from pg. 3

“This arm represents so much 

to so many people,” Pasquina

said. “Knowing that hundreds of 

engineers, scientists, and clinicians 

are behind just this single arm, all 

motivated to help our wounded 

warriors, is inspirational to say the 

least.” 

Bailey emphasized that bringing 

this capability to our wounded

warriors is all about making sure 

each patient receives a continuum 

of care, starting at the point of 

injury, all the way through their 

rehabilitation, allowing them to

return to a life that’s meaningful. 

“That is really what we all strive to 

do,” he said.

DARPA will transfer LUKE arms 

from an initial production run to the 

medical center for prescription to 

patients. The New Hampshire-based 

company that’s manufacturing the 

arm will train WRNMMC staff to 

fit, service and support the arms.
6 the pulse Feb 28, 2017

CNRM Provides Scientific Cores to Support Research

USU's Center for Neuroscience and Regenerative Medicine is a federal 

research collaboration between the DoD and NIH, and provides support for 

the TBI research community. The use of advanced neuroimaging technology 

provides a window into the brain, better characterizing the injury in research 

participants. (Photo by Tom Balfour)

By Sarah Marshall

The Uniformed Services 

University of the Health Sciences’ 

(USU) Center for Neuroscience and 

Regenerative Medicine (CNRM) 

is a federal research collaboration 

between the Department of Defense 

and the National Institutes of Health 

(NIH), and has an overarching goal 

of accelerating TBI research and 

improving warfighter recovery. The 

center also provides unique support 

for the TBI research community 

at both the University and other 

DoD sites throughout the National 

Capital Area. The Center’s 11 

cores offer an array of services to 

investigators, such as assisting with 

data management, recruiting study 

participants, and consulting on data 

collection and interpretation.

“The center addresses the full 

spectrum of TBI, with a special 

focus on military-related TBI, and 

has been driving TBI translational 

research for the DoD since 2008,” 

said Dr. Regina Armstrong, 

professor in the Department of 

Anatomy, Physiology and Genetics 

(APG) at USU, and CNRM director.

A critical component to CNRM’s 

mission is its core research services, 

or “cores,” which provide technical 

expertise and state-of-the-art 

facilities, enabling the development 

of innovative ideas, techniques, 

and methods that support both 

preclinical and clinical studies – 

a pairing that’s a hallmark of the 

center. The cores also house muchneeded research resources such as 

a biospecimen, brain tissue, and 

data repository, each of which are 

used to answer immediate research 

questions and serve as a foundation 

for accomplishing future research 

more quickly and effectively. 

The cores also support research 

participants, assisting with travel 

and providing information about 

the research process and their 

injuries. 

“We want to make sure people 

know they can reach out to CNRM’s 

cores and access these resources,” 

Dr. Armstrong said. “Accessing 

these facilities and expertise is a 

win-win for everyone – it helps all 

those working toward a shared goal 

of advancing TBI research.” 

Researchers are granted access to 

the cores’ support on a tiered basis, 

with priority given to CNRM-funded 

studies, and access for other projects 

that are approved as collaborative 

studies. Second tier priority is given 

to on-site investigators working 

on research projects that are not 

CNRM-funded, but are related to 

TBI and/or PTSD. Access can also be 

approved for diverse research topics 

led by other federal investigators and 

then, finally, to external academic 

researchers based on capacity and 

funding.

The cores’ functions are separated 

into either the pre-clinical or clinical 

research area, or the research resource 

area. The Pre-Clinical Studies core is 

led by Dr. Joseph McCabe, professor 

Continued on pg. 9
7 the pulse Feb 28, 2017

USU welcomes new assistant Research Vice 

Presidents

Retired Navy Rear Adm. (Dr.) Bruce 

Doll, the new assistant vice president 

for Technological Research and 

Innovation at Uniformed Services 

University of the Health Sciences. 

(Photo by Tom Balfour)

U.S. Public Health Service Capt. 

(Dr.) Steven Hirschfeld, as the new 

assistant vice president for Research 

Initiatives Compliance at Uniformed 

Services University of the Health 

Sciences. (Courtesy Photo)

By Christopher Austin

The Uniformed Services University 

of the Health Sciences’ (USU) Office 

of Research welcomed two new 

faculty members. Retired Navy Rear 

Adm. (Dr.) Bruce Doll, as assistant 

vice president for Technological 

Research and Innovation, and U.S. 

Public Health Service Capt. (Dr.) 

Steven Hirschfeld, as the assistant 

vice president for Research Initiatives 

and Compliance.

Since his arrival at USU, Doll 

has commended the University for 

its commitment to new ideas and 

moving medical knowledge forward. 

“This is a wonderful opportunity 

for empowering people – both 

military and civilians – that 

comprise USU,” he said. “I’ve 

enjoyed my time in academic 

environments because there’s a 

community of insightful, intelligent 

people who flourish in these 

institutions and create an atmosphere 

of asking questions, pursuing 

medical challenges: asking ‘what can 

we do to improve?’”

Doll wants to pursue 

the development of USU’s 

biorepositories – collections of 

various biological materials that 

serve as source material for medical 

research. Additionally, he intends 

to develop and lead the University’s 

capability in the area of databanks as 

it matures throughout the country.

“It’s a question of developing a 

general strategy for the University’s 

data management and integration 

with Big Data [working with other 

institutions],” Doll said. “It’s important 

to look across the DoD medical 

research community to see how we can 

complement and amplify other areas.”

Doll’s research experience includes 

his role as chief operating officer of 

Rutgers University and the Cleveland 

Clinic Armed Forces Institute for 

Regenerative Medicine Consortium. 

Coordinating 17 different academic 

institutions, the consortium 

conducted research on regenerative 

medicine for the wounded warrior. 

He is a grantee of both private and 

public organizations, most notably 

the National Institutes of Health. 

Doll began his career in the 

military as an ensign in the U.S. 

Navy Reserve. After graduating 

from State University of New York 

Buffalo School of Dentistry, he was 

commissioned as a lieutenant in 

1982. In addition, Doll served tours 

aboard ships, with the Marines, 

NATO and deployed overseas. 

Prior to his retirement, he served 

as the director for the Research, 

Development and Acquisition 

Directorate for the Defense Health 

Agency, overseeing the execution of 

$1.6 billion in annual funding for 

medical research. Concurrently, he 

was the deputy commander for the 

U.S. Army Medical Research and 

Materiel Command.

Hirschfeld came to the University 

in September and seeks to help use 

research to improve the quality of life 

for all Americans. 

“I find the University to have a 

nice institutional atmosphere. I like 

the blend of military culture and 

academic priorities,” he said.

Hirschfeld hopes to make the 

USU Office of Research even more 

responsive to researchers so that 

processes, such as the Institutional 

Review Board, might be streamlined. 

Continued on pg. 12
8 the pulse Feb 28, 2017

USU Opens New College of Allied Health Sciences

Dr. Mitchell Seal Selected as Founding Dean

Dr. Mitchell Seal, founding dean 

of the new College of Allied Health 

Sciences at the Uniformed Services 

University. (Uniformed Services 

University photo)

By Sharon Holland

The Uniformed Services 

University of the Health Sciences 

(USU) recently established a new 

College of Allied Health Sciences for 

both graduate and undergraduate 

education programs.

“We are excited to bring this new 

opportunity, through the University’s 

College of Allied Health Sciences, to 

address the needs of our students 

and the military Services,” said Dr. 

Richard W. Thomas, president of 

USU. “This is consistent with the 

National Defense Authorization 

Act directive and represents a 

tremendous opportunity for 

enabling superb graduate education 

for our officers across the Military 

Health System and ensuring high 

quality undergraduate education 

opportunities for our enlisted 

medics, corpsmen, and technicians.”

The College, which is 

headquartered on Joint Base San 

Antonio in Texas, will partner 

with existing graduate programs 

as determined by each of the 

military Services, as well as with the 

Medical Education and Training 

Campus (METC) for undergraduate 

programs. The Campus is aligned 

under the Defense Health Agency 

and is initially interested in USU 

assessing academic portfolios for 

students in four of their programs 

– surgical technologist, medical 

laboratory technologist, nuclear 

medicine technician, and neurodiagnostic technician. Students’ 

qualifications, as well as the training 

received at METC, will be properly 

documented and transferred to 

recognized, transcripted college 

credits with the opportunity to 

complete a degree awarded from 

USU. Approximately 1,100 students 

are anticipated to be phased over the 

next several years.

“All of these accredited programs 

yield civilian-sector health care 

credentials and reduce the initial 

cost of training to the Department 

of Defense. This also increases the 

longer-term value of the military 

education benefit as funds can now 

be applied to complete an associate, 

bachelor or master’s degree. Not 

only are we training better for 

the mission, we’re educating for a 

lifetime of service to the military 

and, ultimately, to the communities 

we call home,” said Dr. Mitchell Seal, 

founding dean of USU’s College of 

Allied Health Sciences.

Seal was selected as dean 

following a nationwide search. He 

has more than 30 years’ experience 

in higher education. Seal served 

in the Navy for 25 years, first as a 

drummer in the U.S. Navy Band, 

and later as a Nurse Corps officer. 

Among his assignments, Seal served 

as a medical-surgical staff and 

charge nurse at the Naval Hospital 

in Charleston, South Carolina.; head 

of the Nursing Staff Development 

Division and Staff Education and 

Training department at the U.S. 

Naval Hospital in Guam and at 

the Naval Hospital in Lemoore, 

California; as head of the Education 

Support Services department at the 

Naval School of Health Sciences in 

San Diego; and as the Director of 

Strategic Planning and Partnerships 

at METC.

He retired from the Navy in July 

2015 at the rank of commander. 

Following retirement, he served as 

the dean of the School of Online 

Learning at the University of the 

Incarnate Word in San Antonio, 

Texas.

Seal earned an Associate of Science 

degree from Trident Technical 

College in North Charleston, South 

Carolina, summa cum laude, in 

1994, followed by a Bachelor of 

Science degree in Nursing from 

the Medical University of South 

Carolina, Charleston, summa 

cum laude, in 1996. In 2004, he 

earned a Master of Education and 

Instructional Technology, with 

honors, from the University of West 

Florida, and a Doctor of Educational 

Administration, in 2009, from the 

University of the Pacific, Stockton, 

California.

He began his duties as dean Feb. 

1, 2017. As dean, he will advise 

the President of USU on a variety 

of issues related to non-privileged 

graduate and undergraduate health 

science technical and professional 

education, research, and workforce 

development.
9 the pulse Feb 28, 2017

CNRM Cores, continued from pg. 6

Patricia Lee works diligently in 

CNRM's Brain Tissue Repository, 

housed and maintained by CNRM's 

Neuropathology core. (Photo by 

Cathy Hemelt)

in APG at USU, and provides 

equipment and training for diverse 

TBI models, and for those evaluating 

behavioral outcomes resulting from 

brain injuries. The core also provides 

investigators technical expertise 

for experimental design and data 

interpretation.

The Translational Imaging core, 

led by Dr. Bernard Dardzinski, 

assistant professor in the Department 

of Radiology, Radiological Sciences 

and Neuroscience (RAD) at USU, 

augments work done in the PreClinical studies core by providing 

state-of-the-art neuroimaging 

support for those conducting in 

vivo research (involving living 

organisms) or ex vivo (involving 

tissues). The team assists with study 

design, data acquisition, analysis 

and interpretation. Scans from this 

core can also be correlated with 

functional data, and can be collected 

by the Pre-Clinical core at specific 

times to provide a comprehensive 

picture of the injury. This core also 

offers technical support for research 

studies at Walter Reed National 

Military Medical Center to facilitate 

clinical translation of advanced 

neuroimaging techniques. The 

Microscopy core, led by Dr. Sharon 

Juliano, professor in the Department 

of APG at USU, offers specialized 

fluorescence microscopy for high 

resolution analysis of cellular 

structure and function. They also 

have advanced tools to examine 

neuronal circuits, which dictate the 

flow of information in the nervous 

system. 

The clinical cores work directly 

with research participants enrolled 

in CNRM observational or 

intervention studies. Participation 

in these studies begins with the 

Recruitment core, led by Dr. 

Michael Roy, professor in the USU 

Department of Medicine. This 

core helps researchers recruit, 

consent and evaluate participants, 

offering each the study options 

that match their interest and injury 

characteristics. They’ve also created 

a resource to educate research 

participants, through a series of 

patient-focused YouTube videos, 

about what to expect when they 

enroll in a clinical study. These 

videos can be found through the 

clinical studies website, www.usuhs.

edu/cnrm/core10.

The Phenotyping core provides 

in-depth patient assessments and 

can also help enhance recruitment 

by serving as a study site for 

screening. This core conducts longterm parallel military and civilian 

natural history studies of patients 

who have experienced TBI. Dr. Louis 

French, at the WRNMMC/National 

Intrepid Center of Excellence, 

leads the study for WRNMMC 

patients, and Dr. Leighton Chan, 

at the NIH Clinical Center (NIHCC), leads the phenotyping 

work at the NIH, which includes 

assessments evaluating cognitive 

functioning. Additionally, this core 

can help identify comparable cohort 

participants for CNRM-funded and 

collaborative projects.

Dr. Vincent Ho, chair of the 

Department of Radiology at USU, and 

Dr. John Butman of NIH-CC, lead the 

Human Imaging core, which guides 

researchers using CNRM human 

imaging facilities at WRNMMC and 

NIH-CC. The use of this advanced 

neuroimaging technology provides 

a window into the brain, better 

characterizing the injury in research 

participants. This core helps clinical 

investigators design and implement 

sequences for neuroimaging scans, 

and can help researchers with 

Magnetic Resonance Imaging and 

Positron Emission Tomography data 

extraction and archiving. The Image 

Processing core, led by Dr. Dzung 

Pham, research assistant professor 

in the Office of the Vice President 

for Research, and Dr. John Butman, 

at NIH-CC, processes and manages 

data for CNRM neuroimaging 

studies from multiple sites, such as 

Continued on pg. 10
10 the pulse Feb 28, 2017

CNRM Cores, continued from pg. 9

NIH and WRNMMC. This imaging 

data also reveals how the brain has 

been damaged, e.g. hemorrhages, 

or whether brain structure has been 

altered from the injury.

“Our role is to help investigators 

analyze and interpret these images 

by either highlighting the effects of 

the injury, or quantifying various 

properties of the brain,” Dr. Pham 

said.

A high priority in TBI research 

is to study the brain soon after a 

head injury happens, so the Acute 

Studies core, led by Dr. Lawrence 

Latour at the National Institute of 

Neurological Disorders and Stroke 

(NIH/NINDS), focuses on gathering 

data on TBI within hours of an 

injury. This team initiates contact 

with patients to offer enrollment 

into CNRM studies. In some cases, 

as they work with local Level I 

trauma centers in the National 

Capital Region, they’ve been 

able to enroll patients and begin 

neuroimaging within hours after 

their injury. This allows researchers 

to collect and analyze the clinical 

variables at the acute stage to help 

improve detection and prognosis. 

This early interaction has detected 

changes that have benefited clinical 

care and may otherwise have been 

missed without this advanced early 

neuroimaging. 

Together, the clinical cores form 

the foundation of all clinical studies 

carried out by CNRM, providing a 

comprehensive way to fully evaluate 

research participants with TBI. 

CNRM study participants provide 

researchers a wealth of data and 

biospecimens that can be used for 

current and future studies. These 

specimens and data are stored in 

either the CNRM data, biospecimen, 

or brain tissue repositories. 

The data repository is housed 

within the Informatics core, led 

by Dr. Ann Scher, professor in the 

Department of Preventive Medicine 

and Biostatistics at USU, and Dr. 

Yang Fann (NIH/NINDS). This 

core provides data management, 

storage and analytic services for 

CNRM clinical studies, and helps 

the research community capture 

and report electronic data for 

clinical protocols. They’ve also 

provided their technical and clinical 

expertise to help develop multiple 

software modules used in the 

Federal Interagency TBI Research 

Informatics system.

Many of these clinical studies 

conducted by CNRM involve 

collecting blood samples for 

current and future analyses, and to 

facilitate these efforts, the Clinical 

Biomarkers core, led by Dr. Brian 

Cox, professor in the Department 

of Pharmacology at USU, and Dr. 

Jessica Gill at the National Institute 

of Nursing Research, focuses 

on developing and managing a 

biospecimen repository for related 

conditions and appropriate control 

subjects.

“These specimens are used to 

support research on biomarkers for 

TBI, which can help lead to advances 

in diagnosis, treatment and clinical 

care for TBI patients,” Dr. Cox said.

Finally, assessing brain injury 

from a structural standpoint, the 

Neuropathology core is led by 

Dr. Daniel Perl, professor in the 

Department of Pathology at USU. 

This core houses and maintains the 

CNRM Brain Tissue Repository, to 

which families of deceased service 

members, veterans and other 

eligible donors, including civilians, 

may contribute. Through these 

donations, scientists can conduct 

research on many aspects of TBI, 

which can lead to identifying 

causes and possible treatments 

for the short- and long-term 

neuropathologic consequences 

of TBI and TBI-related illnesses. 

CNRM has an approval process 

to help distribute brain tissue 

specimens to investigators from any 

institution.

To learn more about CNRM’s 

cores, and to find out how to request 

access to these resources, visit 

www.usuhs.edu/cnrm/coresindex. 

CNRM Hosts Annual 

NCA TBI Research 

Symposium to Advance 

TBI Recovery

Those interested in TBI and 

PTSD can also learn more about 

the CNRM cores, and research 

efforts across the region, at the 

annual National Capital Area TBI 

Research Symposium March 8-9 

at the NIH Natcher Conference 

Center (NIH Building 45). The 

Center hosts this event as an 

opportunity for local scientists 

and clinicians to exchange ideas 

and network across the TBI 

community, Armstrong said. 

For more details, visit the 2017 

NCA TBI Research Symposium 

website.
11 the pulse Feb 28, 2017

Cybersecurity tips for USU personnel 

Courtesy of the Office of the USU 

CIO

While new technology makes life 

easier, it also gives malicious actors 

greater means to compromise users’ 

identity and data. Information

Security at Uniformed Services

University of the Health Sciences

(USU) has released a list of

cybersecurity tips in order to help 

inform USU personnel in how they 

can protect themselves.

1. You are an attractive target

to malicious actors. Always

be "cyber aware" and realize

your online actions can have

consequences both to you

personally and to your unit/

organization. 

2. Be a good steward of passwords/

passphrases. Use a strong mix 

of characters (see Cyber Alert

2016-001 for additional tips).

Do not share them with others, 

write them down, or post them 

in your work space(s) and do

not allow your browser to store 

your passwords/passphrases. 

Although it's convenient, it

increases your risk since anyone 

with access to your browser can 

see them. 

3. Use two-factor authentication

when logging into your DoDaffiliated account at work (e.g., 

your CAC). When accessing

sensitive web services such as

financial and email accounts, use 

services requiring a password

and a code that is sent to your 

specific device as an added

measure of security. 

4. Ensure embedded links are 

legitimate before clicking on 

them. Double-check the URL 

of the website by holding the 

cursor over the link to display 

the real website you're being 

taken to before you click on 

it. If the link doesn't match or 

looks suspicious, it's very likely 

a phishing attempt. Institutions 

such as banks, utilities and 

retailers almost always have 

your account information to 

include PINs, Passwords, and 

Security Questions so they 

shouldn't need you to provide 

this information via email. If 

there is a question, call them 

directly. 

5. Use caution when web browsing 

in public areas. Only use a device 

that belongs to you if accessing 

private/personal data such as 

banking information. Publicly 

available Wi-Fi hotspots are 

often insecure and put your 

private/personal data at risk so 

avoid entering personal data, 

information, or passwords when 

using these public services. 

6. Surf the Internet securely. Ensure 

URLs begin with "https://" and 

display a locked padlock symbol 

for secure Internet sessions. 

Also, bad actors often take 

advantage of spelling errors to 

direct you to harmful domains. 

So, take care in typing website 

names to avoid mistakes. 

7. Stay up to date. Specifically, 

operating systems and browser 

updates often include security 

patches. Set your devices to 

automatically install updates 

when they become available so 

you never miss an update. Also, 

don't forget to back up your data 

on a regular basis

8. Watch what you post on social 

media. Facebook, Twitter, 

LinkedIn, and other social 

media platforms are invaluable 

tools for networking purposes. 

However, malicious actors can 

easily gain access to sensitive 

information such as where you 

work, information about your 

family, upcoming deployments, 

and other valuable information 

-- that could allow them 

access to even more sensitive 

information. 

9. For your home router(s), take 

the time to enable encrypted 

connections to your wireless 

devices. In general, the stronger 

encryption techniques such as 

"WPA2/PSK" (Strongest) or 

"WPA/TKIP" (Moderate) are 

best. 

10. Be diligent when you plug devices 

into your computer. Malicious 

software, viruses, or malware 

can easily be spread through 

infected flash drives, external 

hard drives, smartphones, and 

other similar devices. The 

DoD specifically prohibits the 

use of removable media unless 

specifically wavered by your 

Installation Commander. 
12 the pulse Feb 28, 2017

New attorney joins USU General Counsel staff

Steven Weiss, is a new civilian 

attorney for the Uniformed Services 

University of the Health Sciences, 

where he advises the University's 

leadership on civilian labor and 

employment laws, ethics, contracting, 

and policy. (Photo by Tom Balfour)

By Christopher Austin

Steven Weiss, a civilian attorney 

for the Uniformed Services 

University of the Health Sciences 

(USU), began his work at USU in 

2016, and advises leadership on 

topics of labor and employment 

laws, ethics, contracting, and policy.

"If people have any questions, I 

welcome the opportunity for them 

to stop by,” Weiss said. “Anyone who 

supervises a civilian, they’re likely 

going to have labor and employment 

questions. I’m a resource for them.”

One of the things that Weiss enjoys 

about the University is how collegial 

it is. He previously worked in the 

Pentagon in labor and employment 

law, and enjoys the more personal 

atmosphere the University provides.

“People here are very friendly. The 

Pentagon has 205,000 employees 

and 5,000 visitors every day. You 

don’t get a chance to know people 

well,” Weiss said. “Here, you get a lot 

more time to learn about people and 

talk to them, which I appreciate.”

Weiss began his career in 1990 

when he joined the Army Reserves. 

There, he served as an operating 

room technician until 1994, 

passing through some of the same 

military hospitals that many USU 

alumni have worked at. He then 

went through officer candidate 

school and was commissioned the 

following year in the Army National 

Guard. He left the National Guard 

in 2003 as a first lieutenant. 

From 1999-2002, Weiss attended 

Fordham University School of Law in 

New York where he earned his Juris 

Doctor degree, and then returned 

to Federal service as a lawyer for 

the Army Corps of Engineers in 

Virginia. In 2005, he worked at 

the Pentagon until coming to USU 

this past year, working his entire 

legal career in the Department of 

Defense.

Assistant Vice Presidents of Research, continued from 

pg. 7

“The interdisciplinary centers 

here are a wonderful model for 

collaboration and for effective team 

science. I think the University is 

uniquely positioned to become more 

of a leader in innovative research,” 

he said. “We have many strengths 

and accomplishments to provide 

credibility, and we have to remain 

flexible to accept the cultural and 

operational changes in a highly 

dynamic environment.”

Joining the U.S. Public Health 

Service in 1989, Hirschfeld is a 

pediatric hematologist-oncologist, 

and previously worked at the 

National Cancer Institute as a clinical 

and lab investigator. 

In 1995, he joined the Food 

and Drug Administration where 

he contributed to government 

initiatives focused on child health. 

These include the 1998 Pediatric 

Rule to mandate pediatric studies 

when diseases of children could be 

linked to diseases in adults, the Best 

Pharmaceuticals for Children Act, 

the Pediatric Research Equity Act, 

and the Pediatric Medical Devices 

Safety and Improvement Act. These 

initiatives led to 500 labeling changes 

for medical products for children. 

Hirschfeld has taken part in several 

disaster response deployments 

including to Louisiana in 2005 for 

the Gulf Coast hurricanes, to Texas in 

2008 for Hurricane Ike, and to New 

York City in 2012 for the November 

nor’easter. He was also the founding 

operations chief and chief medical 

officer of the U.S. Public Health 

Service Rapid Deployment Force 

Team 1 in 2006, and is currently 

the chief medical officer and deputy 

team commander. 
13 the pulse Feb 28, 2017

Borrow, continued from pg. 2

Illustration by Christopher Austin

• National service scholarships 

are particularly worthwhile for 

students interested in primary care 

(e.g., general internal medicine, 

family medicine and pediatrics). 

That’s because military and public 

health service doctors earn salaries 

roughly comparable to those paid 

in the private-sector. As a result, 

borrowers never catch up with 

peers who avoid debt by securing a 

national service scholarship.

Dr. Art Kellermann, dean of the 

School of Medicine at USU, and a 

study co-author, notes the study’s 

findings affirm a medical degree is 

well worth the cost in the long run, 

but the benefits of debt avoidance 

in pursuit of that degree are both 

greater and longer-lasting than 

commonly realized. 

“The Armed Forces Scholarship 

Programs (Army, Navy and Air 

Force), the National Health Service 

Corps or attendance at the F. Edward 

Hebert School of Medicine at USU 

– is a win-win-win,” Kellermann 

said. “Medical students win because 

their tuition is paid and they earn a 

stipend or salary to help with living 

expenses. The sponsoring services 

win by attracting dedicated men 

and women who are prepared to 

serve their country or a physician 

shortage community, and our 

nation wins because these programs 

provide a doorway for many 

students who might not otherwise 

become doctors.” 

For many years, half of America’s 

medical students have come from 

the top quintile of household 

incomes, while only 5.5 percent 

have come from the bottom quintile. 

So, Kellermann and his fellow 

authors believe it’s important for 

policymakers to consider options 

to make medical school more 

affordable. That will help attract a 

more diverse population of aspiring 

physicians and, therefore, a more 

diverse health care workforce. 

Economics are only one of many 

factors medical students consider 

when choosing a financing pathway. 

The authors note that National 

Health Service Corps scholarships 

are restricted to students willing 

to commit to primary care and 

prepared to practice up to 4 years 

in a federally-designated health 

professions shortage area, so 

students interested in becoming 

specialists are unlikely to apply. 

Likewise, students averse to military 

service are unlikely to consider a 

military scholarship, regardless of 

the economic advantage of doing do. 

Conversely, the authors note, “debtaverse students and those drawn to 

the ideals of national service may 

find [National Service Scholarships] 

attractive.”

“Borrow or Serve? An Economic 

Analysis of Options for Financing 

a Medical School Education,” was 

authored by a group of USU faculty 

members including Kellerman; 

Dr. Jerri Curtis, associate professor 

and associate dean for Graduate 

Medical Education; Dr. Charles 

Rice, president emeritus, and Dr. 

Gail Wilensky, Board of Regents 

member. The lead author of the 

study, Dr. Mircea Marcu, is an 

economist at the U.S. Office of 

Personnel management. Dr. 

Christine Hunter, Chief Medical 

Officer at the Office of Personnel 

Management and an adjunct 

assistant professor in Preventive 

Medicine and Biostatistics at USU, 

also co-authored the study.
14 the pulse Feb 28, 2017

Navin provides legal guidance for USU 

Service members

Air Force Lt. Col. Nicole Navin is 

the new brigade judge advocate 

for Uniformed Services University 

of the Health Sciences, coming to 

the University on July 21, 2016. 

(Courtesy Photo)

By Christopher Austin

Air Force Lt. Col. Nicole Navin 

joined the Uniformed Services 

University of the Health Sciences 

(USU) in 2016 as the brigade judge 

advocate, advising the brigade 

commander on legal matters, as 

well as providing legal support to 

more than 1,300 military personnel 

at USU.

“Most of my job is advising the 

command on a variety of legal 

issues, to include military justice, 

ethics, and general law, but I also 

do a lot of legal assistance for the 

University’s military faculty, staff, 

students, and their dependents,” 

Navin said. “Individuals come to 

see me for advice on a broad range 

of civil law matters...whether 

it’s landlord-tenant or family law 

issues, wills, notaries, powers of 

attorney, legal advice, etc.”

Navin enjoys working at the 

University, particularly because it is 

a joint environment and enables her 

to exercise her legal skills in a way 

that is unique from a traditional 

Air Force judge advocate role. In 

addition, as the only attorney to 

the brigade, she’s allowed to engage 

in a wide variety of legal practice 

areas. She also enjoys working 

in the medical environment of 

the University, having spent two 

years as a regional medical law 

consultant at the medical center at 

Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in 

Dayton, Ohio. 

She was inspired to become a 

judge advocate by her twin sister’s 

career path, and her own prior 

experience in the Air Force.

“After graduating from college, 

I enlisted in the Air Force for 

four years in the intel career field 

while my twin sister went on to 

law school,” Navin said. “After 

graduation, my sister became an 

active duty attorney in the Marine 

Corps. Since I already knew that I 

liked the military culture from my 

time in the Air Force, and because 

of my sister’s positive experiences 

as a military lawyer, I decided to 

separate from active duty after four 

years and pursue a law degree.”

Hailing from Kenosha, 

Wisconsin, Navin enlisted in the 

Air Force in 1997 and was stationed 

at Hickman Air Force Base, Hawaii, 

as a Chinese linguist. She separated 

from the military in 2001 and 

attended law school at Florida State 

University, and was admitted to the 

Hawaii Bar in 2004.

The next year, Navin was 

commissioned through the 

Air Force Direct Appointment 

Program and attended 

Commissioned Officers’ Training 

School at Maxwell Air Force Base 

in Montgomery, Alabama. She 

started her judge advocate career at 

Langley Air Force Base in Langley, 

Virginia as an assistant staff judge 

advocate and area defense counsel. 

She then went on to serve as a 

regional medical law consultant at 

Wright Patterson Air Force Base 

in Dayton, Ohio; the deputy staff 

judge advocate at Spangdahlem Air 

Base in Germany; as chief of both 

the Fraud Remedies Branch, and 

Contingency Contracting Branch at 

Joint Base Andrews, Maryland; and 

as a deployed assistant command 

judge advocate for CENTCOM 

Joint Theater Support Contracting 

Command at Camp As in Sayliyah, 

Qatar. 

While on active duty, Navin also 

attended the Army Judge Advocate 

General’s Legal Center and School 

in Charlottesville, Virginia, where 

she graduated with a Master of 

Laws, specializing in government 

contracts and fiscal laws.
15 the pulse Feb 28, 2017

Final Frame

Members of the Daniel K. Inouye Graduate School of Nursing at the Uniformed Services University of the Health 

Sciences, celebrate the achievements of certified registered nurses during National Nurse Anesthetist week, on Jan. 26. 

(Photo by Tom Balfour)