The Official USU Newsletter

Volume 8, Issue 12 • August 5, 2013

www.usuhs.edu
2 The Pulse The Official USU Newsletter

On the cover 

Frank Shewmaker, PhD, an assistant 

professor in the Department of 

Pharmacology at the Uniformed Services 

University, is mentoring Adrienne Kehne, a 

senior at Montgomery Blair High School in 

Silver Spring, Md., and a member of USU’s 

new Summer Research Training Program. 

Read more about the USRTP high school 

internship program on page 2.

Sharon Willis

Deputy Vice President for External 

Affairs and Managing Editor

Gwendolyn Smalls 

Chief, Media Affairs

Tech. Sgt. Oshawn Jefferson

Deputy Chief, Media Affairs

Christine Creenan-Jones 

Editor

MC2 Brittney Cannady

Writer

Lori Fields 

Layout and Design

The Pulse is printed by USU’s Duplicating Center.

Production 

The Pulse is funded by the Department of Defense and 

published by the Uniformed Services University. It is 

authorized for members of the U.S. military services, 

USU alumni, faculty and staff. Contents of the Pulse are 

not necessarily the official views of, or endorsed by, 

the DoD or USU. Appearance of anything resembling 

advertising in this publication does not constitute 

endorsement by the DoD, USU or Pulse staff members.

The contents of this publication shall be made 

available for use or patronage without regard to race, 

color, religion, sex, national origin, age, marital status, 

physical handicap, political affiliation or any other 

non-merit factor of the user or patron.

Editorial content is edited, prepared and provided by 

the USU Office of External Affairs. The editor reserves 

the right to edit articles to conform to DoD policy 

and Associated Press style. All photos are DoD photos 

unless otherwise indicated. 

The Pulse will be published bi-weekly on Mondays. 

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

to the publication date. Submissions can be sent to 

christine.creenan-jones@usuhs.edu or 301-295-3338.

Photo by Thomas C. Balfour

New internship brings 

science-minded youth to USU

By Christine Creenan-Jones, editor

Adrianne Kehne has spent the past 

five weeks growing strains of yeast 

in petri dishes at the Uniformed 

Services University. Her yeast 

produces amyloid aggregates—fibers 

that accumulate and disrupt cellular 

machinery—to model neurodegeneration in the human body.

Like most research, the process is 

slow, but Kehne is hoping for a scientific breakthrough before she leaves 

USU in August...to finish high school.

Although Kehne is young, her 

ambition and scientific acuity 

resonate strongly. She’s eager to 

learn and push new boundaries, 

along with the 14 other high school 

students participating in USU’s 

Summer Research Training Program. 

The formal internship was created 

in 2012 to give local students a 

hands-on experience in a biomedical laboratory. Participants also gain 

other fundamental skills at USU, 

including techniques for writing 

scientific papers and methods 

for developing hypothesis-driven 

research projects.

“My experience at USU has been 

incredible. I’m surrounded by smart, 

passionate people, who are willing 

to share their knowledge with me,” 

Kehne said. “I love being part of this 

environment and knowing that I’m 

contributing something important to 

science, even if it’s in a small way.”

The program is a way for the 

university to give back as well, 

according to the founding faculty 

members, Frank Shewmaker, PhD, 

Rachel Cox, PhD, John Wu, PhD, 

and Markos Koutmos, PhD. They 

created the internship to bridge ties 

with local neighborhoods and attract 

science-minded youth from diverse 

socio-economic backgrounds.

“It’s part of our responsibility to the 

community,” Shewmaker said. “Our 

faculty has a lot to offer young scholars, 

and USRTP is a great way to reach out 

in a meaningful way.”

As part of their internship, 

USRTP students must also develop 

and present a research poster, Aug. 

15. The showcase will demonstrate the 

work they’ve completed at USU, and 

all members of the campus community 

are welcome to attend.

“We have some remarkable high 

school students at USU,” Shewmaker 

said. “I’m certain the poster presentations will highlight their skills and 

creativity. I look forward to seeing 

their work.”

 Visit http://www.usuhs.edu/

rtp/ for more information about the 

poster presentations and the USRTP 

internship.

Trivia Question #2 : Graduate School of 

Nursing 20th Anniversary

This nursing 

pathfinder said, “Civilian colleges of nursing 

can prepare nurses for 

the military, but they 

cannot prepare military 

nurses,” while serving on a task force 

to study the feasibility of establishing 

a Graduate School of Nursing at the 

Uniformed Services University in 1989. 

The GSN was formally established 

a few years later, and she became the 

school’s first dean. 

Can you name the charter dean of 

the Graduate School of Nursing? If 

so, e-mail your answer to Christine.

Creenan-Jones@usuhs.edu. The first 

person to respond correctly wins a 

large coffee and doughnut courtesy of 

the USU Cafeteria.
August 5, 2013 3

Photo courtesy of USU Archives Department

Change of command becomes 

informal mini-reunion for USU alumni

The change of command ceremony 

at the U.S. Army Aeromedical Research 

Laboratory became an informal 

mini-reunion for Uniformed Services 

University graduates, June 14, as the 

leadership reigns were passed from one 

School of Medicine alum to another.

Army Col. (Dr.) John Smyrski, III, a 

class of ‘99 graduate, assumed command 

of USAARL from Army Col. (Dr.) 

Dana Renta, a class of ‘95 graduate, in a 

ceremony held at the U.S. Army Aviation 

Museum at Fort Rucker in Ala. 

The USU connection continued with 

then-Army Brig. Gen. (Dr.) Joseph 

Caravalho, Jr., a class of ‘83 graduate 

and commanding general of the U.S. 

Army Medical Research and Materiel 

Command. He presided over the 

ceremony and passed the unit colors 

from Renta to Smyrski, which signified 

USAARL’s leadership change in traditional military fashion. 

“We are delighted to welcome Col. 

Smyrski to the MRMC team,” said 

Caravalho. “With a variety of combat 

aviation and medical corps assignments under his belt, as well as deployments to Haiti, Afghanistan and Iraq, 

I know he comes fully prepared for the 

mission at hand.”

His preparation for a command-level 

position has taken shape through many 

different military assignments, both 

before and after USU. Smyrski’s career 

began at St. John’s University in 1985, 

where he received an Army commission 

as a second lieutenant in the aviation 

branch at Fort Rucker. He went on to 

serve as the company executive officer 

of the 2nd Battalion, 82nd Combat 

Aviation Bridge at Fort Bragg in N.C.; 

a force modernization officer for the 

224th Military Intelligence Battalion 

at Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, 

Ga.; and his most recent assignment as 

the chief of clinical operations at the 

Pacific Regional Medical Command in 

Honolulu, Hawaii.

Besides recognizing Smyrski’s achievements, Caravalho also highlighted the 

organization’s strengths during the 

change of command ceremony.

“USAARL has a proud, 50-year 

history of supporting the ground and 

aviation communities,” he said. “The 

work being done at (the organization) is improving Army systems and, 

most importantly, saving the lives of 

our warfighters.” 

The lab’s work – done mostly by 

physicians, engineers, scientists, 

pilots and administrators – includes 

equipment testing and research to 

study environmental issues such as 

jetlag and fatigue. 

Caravalho credits much of 

USAARL’s success over the past 

several years to Renta, who was 

commander when several important 

advancements were made, including binocular vision testers – which 

detect subtle impairments of visual 

performance and physiology in mild 

traumatic brain injuries, the aviation 

common helmet display – a new 

design standard for helmet-mounted 

displays, and the noise-immune 

stethoscope – which gives health care 

providers the ability to hear heart 

sounds in the noisy compartments 

of rotary-wing aircraft during highspeed flight.

“Col. Renta, you have done an 

amazing job honoring the call of duty, 

both day and night,” Caravalho said. “I 

know I speak for many when I say that 

you will be missed as you move on to 

your new position.”

The departure from USAARL was 

bittersweet for Renta as well.

“It was an incredible privilege and 

honor to serve as the commander of 

the USAARL,” she said. “Their’s is not 

an easy mission, yet the staff does it so 

well and makes it look so easy, and I’m 

extremely confident that John will take 

the unit from a great level to an even 

higher level.”

Renta’s new assignment is as the 

Installation Management Command 

surgeon at Fort Sam Houston in Texas.

New USU display 

highlights women 

in the Civil War

Courtesy of USU Archives staff

The archives at the Uniformed 

Services University installed a new 

exhibit on women in the Civil War 

called, “Nursing, Aid Societies, and 

Sanitary Service: The Role of Women 

in the Civil War.” 

The historical display highlights 

the vast Civil War era collections that 

are being housed at USU, including 

rare book and manuscript collections. Of particular note, are the 

quotations from memoirs written by 

women about their role in the war 

and photos from that time.

The exhibit will be on display on 

the first floor of the James A. Zimble 

Learning Resource Center adjacent to 

the computer classroom through fall.
4 The Pulse The Official USU Newsletter

USU alumna makes huge strides for public health, 

military medicine

By Christine Creenan-Jones, editor

Dr. Victoria Davey, 

chief officer of 

Public Health 

at the Department of Veterans Affairs, 

works tirelessly 

to keep the 

nation’s largest 

integrated health care system moving 

on the cutting edge. 

She does this by overseeing several 

major health programs and supervising hundreds of VA personnel. 

Her multidisciplinary team includes 

experts in infectious disease epidemiology, occupational health and health 

effects of military service. 

Davey, a recognized leader in these 

fields, gained a lot of her expertise at 

the Uniformed Services University, 

where she earned both a Master of 

Public Health and a Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing Science degree.

Besides a formal education, USU 

also gave Davey her first real exposure 

to military life. Most of her classmates 

were officers in the U.S. Army, Navy 

and Air Force, and they taught Davey 

important lessons about military 

culture and medicine. 

“I was still pretty young and new 

to my career when I earned my MPH, 

but I was surrounded by knowledgeable people whom I admired and 

respected very much. I’m very grateful for their mentorship and my USU 

experience,” she said.

Both were launch pads for a highly 

successful career at top research 

laboratories, including a position at the 

National Institutes of Health, where 

Davey worked under the leadership of 

Dr. Anthony Fauci, a world-renowned 

HIV/AIDS researcher. 

Davey’s work at NIH was pioneering. Her team helped demystify a 

misunderstood, stigmatized disease 

while catalyzing new drug therapies 

that significantly prolonged life expectancies for people with HIV. 

“I had the opportunity to work 

with all of the leading people in HIV/

AIDS research. It was a really exciting, invigorating time in my professional life,” she said.

The breakthroughs continued at 

Veterans Affairs. After 13 years at 

NIH, Davey accepted a VA leadership 

position, where she became immersed 

in a military environment once again. 

Davey’s focus at the VA was still 

on public health, but her scope 

broadened significantly to eventually include every infectious disease 

impacting veteran populations across 

the globe, from hepatitis C and West 

Nile Virus to malaria and SARS.

“It’s a great honor to work with 

veterans. I can’t think of a more 

deserving population,” she said. “I’m 

truly humbled to serve the people 

who’ve served our nation.”

For Davey, better service for veterans meant going back to school. 

During her VA tenure, she completed 

a doctorate from USU’s Graduate 

School of Nursing. 

Her PhD coursework at USU was rigorous, but Davey excelled once again. As 

a student, she even conducted successful epidemiological modeling research 

to study the effects of deadly outbreaks. 

She also developed interventions to 

stem and prevent widespread infection.

Davey’s research at USU was designed 

to improve health and wellness on a 

global scale. She takes the same broad 

approach at the VA, where her policies 

affect millions of veterans every day.

“Adopting good policies, ones 

that make a difference, is the best part 

of my job, hands down, because I know 

we’re helping lots of people. That’s what 

my work is all about,” Davey said. 

Victoria Davey, PhD

Courtesy Photo

USU graduate receives AHA award

By Sharon Willis, managing editor and deputy vice president for External Affairs

Navy Capt. (Dr.) Maureen Padden 

(SoM ‘92), commanding officer of 

the Naval Hospital, Pensacola, Fla., 

was recently presented with the 2012 

Federal Health Care Executive Award 

for Excellence by the American 

Hospital Association.

Padden received the award for 

using her extensive experience as a 

family physician, teacher and executive to dramatically transform the 

way primary care is delivered in 

the Navy medical department and 

the Military Healthcare System. 

Padden’s colleague, Navy Cmdr. 

Matthew Case, Naval Hospital, 

Camp Lejeune, N.C., received the 

2012 Federal Health Care Executive Special Achievement Award 

for his significant contributions in 

combat and hospital-based assignments as the principal driving force 

behind improved operational health 

services support for U.S. and Coalition Forces in Helmand Province, 

Afghanistan. 

The AHA president and CEO Rich 

Umbdenstock said the two officers 

“exemplify dedication to excellence 

and service to their country and on 

behalf of the American Hospital 

Association,” and thanked them “for 

the incredible work they do each day.”Courtesy Photo
August 5, 2013 5

Eight years after she completed 

medical school, Navy Lt. Cmdr. 

(Dr.) Tammy Servies came back to 

the Uniformed Services University to explore new opportunities in 

medicine, and a master’s in Public 

Health. The former flight surgeon 

became interested in a career change 

during a general surgery residency 

in 2008. 

Servies didn’t transition into a new 

discipline right away, though. She 

wanted to experience another unique 

side of military medicine first.

“I missed the public health and 

prevention aspects of flight surgery, but 

I also wanted to deploy,” Servies said.

So she left the operating room to 

practice medicine on the grounds of 

an abandoned air base in the middle 

of a barren desert in Bahrain. Space 

and supplies were limited, but Servies 

improvised, even turning an old 

sleeping tent into a functional clinic.

“It was a great learning experience that I’ll take with me as I advise 

future first-time medical deployers,” 

she said.

The rewarding assignment also 

awakened a feeling of wanting to 

move medicine beyond patient care 

alone. Although she didn’t know 

it then, other experiences steered 

Servies in the public health direction 

as well. 

A fire in California was one of 

them. It raged through San Diego 

County, burning more than 280,000 

acres and killing 15 people in 2003. At 

the time, Servies was just beginning 

her career as a military physician. 

Still, she wanted to help and reported 

to Qualcomm Stadium – where the 

San Diego Chargers play – after 

hearing a call for medical professionals on a local radio station.

“I got to Qualcomm as fast I could. 

When I arrived, there was only one 

doctor there. He was dealing with a 

patient who appeared to be having a 

hypertensive crisis and a few others 

who had minor difficulties breathing. 

I told the doctor I was an unlicensed 

intern, so he asked me to set up a 

medical station instead,” Servies said. 

She began organizing donations and 

supplies when a fellow USU graduate 

and a group of military police officers 

arrived on the scene. The physicians 

created a makeshift casualty bay in 

the stadium and the police officers 

managed the patient flow.

“The training I received in USU’s 

Military and Contingency Medicine 

course immediately kicked in. I created 

traffic lanes and separate spaces for 

triage, transport and 

treatment areas,” 

she said.

Before long, 

Servies became the 

unofficial person 

in charge, and 

oversaw the sophisticated operation 

until the turmoil 

subsided the 

following evening. 

It was a grueling 

but rewarding two 

days that highlighted 

Servies’ professional 

strengths, including her ability to plan 

and execute seamless health plans in a 

crisis situation.

Servies demonstrated her leadership ability during another disaster 

situation as well. In 2008, she was 

working at a remote clinic in Nevada, 

when an irrigation canal overflowed 

and flooded hundreds of homes in 

Fernley, a small city about 30 miles 

from her clinic.

Servies was part of the Navy’s search 

and rescue team.

“All together, we rescued 18 

people, including residents who were 

stranded on their rooftops. It was a 

crazy experience, but I’m so glad my 

team was able to help a community in 

need,” she said.

Helping communities in need is 

what public health is all about. Servies, 

who finished a preventive medicine 

residency from USU a few months 

back, is excited to continue pushing 

this mission forward as a board-certified public health physician.

“I’m drawn to public health for so 

many reasons, but I especially like 

the fact that I will be doing work that 

helps many people at once. I can’t 

imagine anything more rewarding 

than knowing I’ll be part of a discipline that has the potential to make 

the entire world a healthier place,” 

Servies said.

USU alumna returns for new purview into public health

By Christine Creenan-Jones, editor

Servies deployed to Bahrain in 2009 and turned a tent into a 

functional clinic.

Courtesy photo

Courtesy photo

Navy Lt. Cmdr. (Dr.) Tammy Servies is 

a double alumnus who earned both a 

Doctor of Medicine and Master of Public 

Health from the Uniformed Services 

University. The former flight surgeon 

has had many unique experiences 

throughout her medical career that 

recently led to a specialty change. 
6 The Pulse The Official USU Newsletter

The National Center 

for Disaster Medicine 

and Public Health at the 

Uniformed Services University has a unique mission 

to improve education and 

training for health professionals across the nation. 

One way NCDMPH pursues 

this goal is by developing and propagating core 

competencies for disaster 

health curriculums.

The center’s most recent 

effort is a curriculum recommendations project based 

on a recent article published 

in “Disaster Medicine and 

Public Health Preparedness,” 

written by experts from the 

NCDMPH and the Center 

for Public Health Preparedness and Disaster Response. 

These collaborators identified 

11 core competencies for all 

personnel who could potentially fall under Emergency 

Support Function #8 – a 

method for providing coordinated 

federal assistance to victims of major 

disasters or public health and medical 

emergencies. 

The NCDMPH has taken the 

journal’s 11 recommendations and 

turned them into proposed curriculum benchmarks in concert with 

Graduate School of Nursing faculty 

members, Drs. Heather Johnson and 

Catherine Ling, assistant professors in the Family Nurse Practitioner Program at USU. Together, they 

created, “Curriculum Recommendations for Disaster Health Professionals: The Pediatric Population.” 

Their peer-reviewed curriculum 

recommendations are designed to aid 

disaster educators in teaching about 

the needs of children. They align 

with the core competencies relating 

to mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery and can be customized 

to meet the specific needs 

of health care scholars. 

“The unique aspect 

of this project is that it 

connects competencies 

for pediatric care in disaster situations [to] learning 

objectives and resources 

[identified by content 

experts],” said Ling. “This 

allows the educator to focus 

a class or course on identified critical topics while 

tailoring learning activities and evaluations to the 

learner population.”

Johnson expounded on 

the value of a customizable curriculum, citing 

the need to plan for 

adolescent care during 

unexpected tragedies. 

“The recent events in 

Boston underscore the 

unpredictability of disasters,” she said. “Sadly, children and others 

from vulnerable populations were among 

the victims. The importance of being 

prepared to care for children in these 

situations cannot be over-emphasized.”

A draft of NCDMPH’s curriculum 

recommendations were presented at the 

March 2013 Public Health Preparedness 

Summit and can be accessed online at 

www.ncdmph.usuhs.edu. 

NCDMPH collaborates with GSN to provide 

disaster health curriculum recommendations

By Liz Brasington, communications and administrative assistant for NCDMPH

The National Center for Disaster Medicine and Public Health recently 

developed curriculum recommendations for health care professionals 

that can be used in a variety of situations, including major disasters 

and public health and medical emergencies.

Courtesy photo from the National Center for Disaster Medicine and Public Health

Save the Date

August 15, 2013 at 11:30 a.m.

Festival of Cultures

The festival will include food and beverages, music, face painting, 

clowns and other family-friendly activities.
August 5, 2013 7

The Uniformed Services University is home to many distinguished 

faculty members, and two of them 

were recognized by the University of 

Pittsburgh recently.

Pitt alumni, Army Col. (Dr.) 

Priscilla Hamilton, dean of USU’s 

Army Postgraduate Dental College, 

and her predecessor, retired Col. 

(Dr.) Robert Manga, former dean and 

professor emeritus of the APDS, were 

honored for outstanding accomplishments in dental medicine.

Hamilton – a comprehensive dentist 

with extensive deployment experience 

– is one of Pitt’s 225th Anniversary 

Medallion recipients. Hamilton earned 

the prestigious award for her many 

pioneering contributions to military 

dentistry, which include serving as the 

first female commander of the U.S. 

Army Dental Command.

“I’m still awed that I was selected to 

receive this honor from the university. 

To say that I’m humbled would be an 

understatement,” she said.

Manga, a fellow trailblazer and 

career Army dentist, received the 

Distinguished Alumnus of the Year 

Award from the Pitt School of Dental 

Medicine for his contributions to 

society and the profession of dentistry. 

Before retiring from the military in 

February, Manga was chief of graduate 

dental education for the Army Dental 

Corps and the first dean of the Army 

Postgraduate Dental School at USU. 

“I always said that when serving as 

dean of the Army Postgraduate Dental 

School and the chief of Graduate 

Dental Education I had the third best 

job in the Dental Corps. The second 

best was to be a program and assistant program director of a residency 

program. The best was to be able to 

treat patients. The soldiers are the 

reason we serve,” said Manga.

For Hamilton and Manga, part 

of that service has included teaching other military dentists to care for 

servicemembers as esteemed members 

of USU’s faculty.

“Awards like these further demonstrate the quality of USU’s faculty. 

They truly are a world class group. 

The respect and esteem they’ve earned 

from other leaders in academic health 

care speaks volumes about USU’s 

programs and reputation,” said Dr. 

Patrick Sculley, executive dean of 

USU’s Postgraduate Dental College. 

“I’m humbled and honored to work 

alongside top-caliber dentists like Drs. 

Hamilton and Manga.”

USU dental faculty earn top honors from 

prestigious university

By Christine Creenan-Jones, editor

Army Col. (Dr.) Priscilla Hamilton (left), dean of the the Army Postgraduate Dental College at 

the Uniformed Services University, and retired Col. (Dr.) Robert Manga (right), former dean and 

professor emeritus of the APDS, were recognized by Dr. Thomas Braun (center), dean of the 

University of Pittsburgh’s School of Dental Medicine, for their contributions to the field of dentistry 

with prestigious alumni awards given at the Dean’s Scholarship Ball earlier this year.

Courtesy Photo

The university’s color guard is seeking 

new brigade volunteers to represent 

the Uniformed Services University at 

ceremonies and public events. In the 

past, this has included USU’s commencement, change-of-command ceremonies, 

Major League Baseball games, warrior 

galas and other high-profile events.

Although membership on USU’s color 

guard team is rigorous, it’s also prestigious and rooted in military history.

“(As a member of the color guard,) 

you get to learn a lot about the other 

service cultures. It’s a great experience in general,” said HM1 Juan Vega, 

USU’s newest color guard member.

For more information about USU’s 

color guard, contact Army Staff Sgt. 

Michael Bennett at michael.bennett@

usuhs.edu. Membership is open 

to all enlisted personnel currently 

assigned to USU.

USU’s color guard seeks new talent

By MC2 Brittney Cannady, writer
Final Frame

Dr. Paul Pasquina, a School of Medicine alumnus and chair of 

the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the 

Uniformed Services University and Walter Reed National Military 

Medical Center, briefed the new Joint Staff Surgeon Maj. Gen. 

(Dr.) Nadja West during her recent visit to WRNMMC.

Photo courtesy of Walter Reed Public Affairs