• share
• favorite_border

Terrorist attacks were responsible for the deaths of more than 2,977 individuals killed on Sept. 11, 2001, at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and in Shanksville, Pa., and 329 individuals (268 of them Canadian citizens) who lost their lives in the Air India Flight 182 bombing off the west coast of Ireland in 1985. Both attacks remain the worst acts of terrorism in the history of their respective countries. In a unique study examining the impact of terrorism related death on family bereavement, scientists from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress (CSTS), led by Dr. Stephen Cozza, will team with Voices of September 11th (VOICES) and the Canadian Resource Center for Victims of Crime (CRCVC) to research the impact of terrorism on surviving family members from these two attacks.

• share
• favorite_border

Retired Air Force dentist Thomas R. Schneid, DMD, was named as the new Executive Dean of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) Postgraduate Dental College. USU President Charles L. Rice, M.D., made the announcement following a nationwide search.

• share
• favorite_border

Medical students, advanced practice nurses, military dentists, and scientists, clinical psychologists, and public health professionals will move from student to alumni status on Saturday, May 16 – Armed Forces Day – as they receive their degrees at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) 36th commencement exercise at the Daughters of the American Revolution Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C.

• share
• favorite_border

National Institutes of Health director Dr. Francis Collins will deliver the Presidential lecture during the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) annual Research Days symposium, May 12-13. More than 300 basic and clinical scientists and students will also present their scholarly works during the two-day event held on the university’s Bethesda, Md., campus.

• share
• favorite_border

Army Col. (Dr.) Shad Deering will be the next chair of Obstetrics and Gynecology in the F. Edward Hébert School of Medicine at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU), according to announcement today by School of Medicine dean Arthur L. Kellermann, MD, MPH.

• share
• favorite_border

Adolescent female military dependents may be at higher risk than civilians for eating disorders and associated problems, according to a study released today in the online version of the International Journal of Eating Disorders. The study, “Comparison of Overweight and Obese Military-Dependent and Civilian Adolescent Girls with Loss-of-Control Eating,” gives insight into the additional vulnerabilities of adolescent female military dependents and shows that they reported more disordered eating and depression than civilians.

• share
• favorite_border

Childhood exposure to ionizing radiation increases lifetime malignancy risk, but a team of researchers has found that with just a little bit of education, the risk can be significantly reduced. Currently, up to 40% of computed tomography, or CT, scans are ordered (for everyone) unnecessarily. The study, “Point-of-care estimated radiation exposure and imaging guidelines can reduce pediatric radiation burden,” appears in the May 8, 2015, issue of the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine.

• share
• favorite_border

Indiana Senator Joe Donnelly introduced legislation recently to improve mental health services for veterans, and is citing a program that uses content developed at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) and speakers from the University’s Center for Deployment Psychology (CDP) as the model for future endeavors.

• share
• favorite_border

The world’s first human clinical trials for a treatment against Hendra virus, a rare but deadly viral disease, have just begun in Australia, using a human monoclonal antibody discovered by Federal scientists at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in Bethesda, Md.

• share
• favorite_border

Sixteen teams of uniformed medical students will go head-to-head to determine who wins the “Gunpowder Challenge” adventure race at the F. Edward Hebert School of Medicine, part of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. The challenge is part of a two-day medical field practicum to help third-year medical students develop team-based military/medical leadership and communication skills, March 26-27.

• share
• favorite_border

Decreased ability to identify specific odors can predict abnormal neuroimaging results in blast-injured troops, according to a new study by Federal researchers released online in the journal “Neurology,” March 18, 2015.

• share
• favorite_border

The National Capital Simulation Consortium, including the Val G. Hemming Simulation Center of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU), was granted 5-year accreditation by the Society for Simulation in Healthcare (SSH). The accreditation is for the Consortium’s Assessment, Research, Teaching/Education, System Integration and Patient Safety programs. This is the first accreditation that the international accrediting body has awarded to the Consortium, which includes USU, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and Fort Belvoir Community Hospital.

• share
• favorite_border

The National Capital Simulation Consortium, including the Val G. Hemming Simulation Center of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, has been reaccredited as a Comprehensive Accredited Education Institute (AEI) by the American College of Surgeons.

• share
• favorite_border

Former White House Physician and a 1981 graduate of the F. Edward Hébert School of Medicine, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU), Eleanor “Connie” Mariano, M.D., has been named as one of 14 members of the newly-formed Department of Veterans Affairs “MyVA” Advisory Committee (MVAC).

• share
• favorite_border

The Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) Human Performance Resource Center (HPRC), working in conjunction with the U.S. Army Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center and the United States Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine in Natick, Mass., has launched the Combat Rations Database, or ComRaD (http://hprc-online.org/comrad/) which provides nutritional information on individual combat ration meals and their food components. This interactive website features standard nutrition facts, including calories, fat, vitamins and minerals of the MRE, First Strike Ration® (FSR), and Meal, Cold Weather/Long Range Patrol (MCW/LRP), from their most recent production years.

• share
• favorite_border

Dr. Tom Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, will present “Ebola: Past, Present and Future” when he delivers the 2015 David Packard Award Lecture at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU), Wednesday, Mar. 11, 2015.

• share
• favorite_border

A new clinical trial to obtain safety and efficacy data on the investigational drug, ZMapp, as a treatment for the Ebola virus, was launched today by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), in partnership with the Liberian government. Scientists from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) will play a role in the evaluation.

• share
• favorite_border

Clinical and basic science experts from around the world will convene for the 10th Annual Amygdala, Stress and PTSD Conference, sponsored by the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress, in collaboration with the USU Departments of Psychiatry and Family Medicine, the USU Neuroscience Program, and the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center Department of Psychiatry, Apr. 21.

• share
• favorite_border

Faculty and alumni from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences topped the list of recently announced Air Force Medical Service award recipients in the areas of education, research, clinical care and leadership.

• share
• favorite_border

The Consortium for Health and Military Performance’s Human Performance Resource Center (HPRC) at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) and the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) today announced an important new partnership created to provide robust educational resources designed to help service members understand and navigate the potential dangers associated with dietary supplements.

• share
• favorite_border

A joint effort by the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) and The Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Inc. (HJF) to license assays that allow for the rapid detection of Shiga toxin has received the 2015 Federal Laboratory Consortium Award for Excellence in Technology Transfer. This marks the third consecutive award for the University, which is aided in its technology transfer efforts by HJF through the USU-HJF Joint Office of Technology Transfer.

• share
• favorite_border

Former Chief Nurse Officer for the United States Public Health Service Carol A. Romano, Ph.D., RN, BC, NEA, FAAN, FACMI, was recently selected as the new Dean of the Daniel K. Inouye Graduate School of Nursing (GSN) at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. She succeeds Dr. Ada Sue Hinshaw, who retired in August 2014.

• share
• favorite_border

Soldiers hospitalized with a psychiatric disorder have a significantly elevated risk for suicide in the year following hospital discharge, according to findings published in JAMA Psychiatry, Nov. 12, 2014. Although this has long been known in the civilian sector, it has never before been studied in the military population.

• share
• favorite_border

Scientists at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences have discovered a panel of small biological molecules called microRNAs, which can be utilized to diagnose mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), according to a study released in PLOS ONE, "Identification of Serum MicroRNA Signatures for Diagnosis of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury in a Closed Head Injury Model," Nov. 7, 2014.

• share
• favorite_border

Improvements in verbal and written communication between health care providers during patient handoffs can reduce injuries due to medical errors. I-PASS, an original system of bundled communication and team-training tools for handoff of patient care between providers resulted in a 30% reduction in injuries due to medical errors after its implementation across 9 institutions, according to a study released Nov. 6, 2014 in the New England Journal of Medicine.

• share
• favorite_border

New results from the largest-ever study of mental health risk and resilience in Army personnel show that despite higher rates of current mental disorders and suicidality among U.S. Army soldiers than similarly matched civilians, the rates of most pre-enlistment mental disorders among new soldiers are comparable to those of civilians.

• share
• favorite_border

Navy and Marine Corps enlisted service members will join their colleagues in the Air Force and Army for an opportunity to prepare for future careers as uniformed physicians through a new program headquartered at the F. Edward Hébert School of Medicine, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus officially authorized their participation in the program in a memo dated Sept. 9, 2014.

• share
• favorite_border

Charles S. Robb, former U.S. Senator and Marine Corps veteran, has been appointed by the Secretary of Defense to serve as a member of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) Board of Regents. USU is the nation’s only federal health sciences university, located in Bethesda, Maryland, adjacent to the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.

• share
• favorite_border

A possible new treatment for stopping bone growth in soft tissue following third-degree burns may also prove to be beneficial to combat troops suffering high energy orthopaedic trauma or blast injuries, according to an article to appear in Science Translational Medicine, Sept. 24, 2014.

• share
• favorite_border

Migraine suffers may be at greater risk for developing Parkinson’s disease or other movement disorders later in life, according to a new study published in the Sept. 17, 2014, online issue of Neurology ®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. Those who have migraine with aura may be at double the risk for developing these disorders.

• share
• favorite_border

The human monoclonal antibody known as m102.4, which has proven effective in protecting against the frequently fatal Hendra virus, has now been shown in studies to protect against the closely related Nipah virus -- the basis of the 2011 movie "Contagion" -- a highly infectious and deadly agent that results in acute respiratory distress syndrome and encephalitis, person-to-person transmission, and greater than 90 percent case fatality rates among humans. The results of the study, conducted by a team of Federal and university scientists, will appear in Science Translational Medicine online: “Therapeutic Treatment of Nipah Virus Infection in Nonhuman Primates with a Neutralizing Human Monoclonal Antibody." The full study will be available following the release of the embargo at 2 p.m. June 25, 2014.

• share
• favorite_border

Enlisted military service members in the Air Force and Army now have an opportunity to prepare for future careers as uniformed physicians thanks to a new program headquartered at the F. Edward Hébert School of Medicine, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Md .

• share
• favorite_border

Navy Lt. Cmdr. (Dr.) Michael Melia, a 2003 graduate of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) F. Edward Hébert School of Medicine, and an emergency physician assigned to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, was at the Washington Navy Yard last September just as a gunman started making his way through the base’s Building 197, shooting at Navy Yard employees. Today, Melia was presented the Navy-Marine Corps Medal by Navy Secretary Ray Mabus for heroic actions during the shooting on Sept. 16, 2013.

• share
• favorite_border

Exposure to traumatic events can result in sleep disorders, depression, hyper-vigilance, increased irritability, anger and other changes in those who have experienced the trauma. Now, researchers at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences Center for Neuroscience and Regenerative Medicine (CNRM) are conducting a study using smart phone applications to help address these issues and build resilience in military service members and their families.

• share
• favorite_border

Bacteria found in the nose may be a key indicator for future development of skin and soft-tissue infections in remote areas of the body.

• share
• favorite_border

Service members are surviving catastrophic combat injuries because of advances in body armor, the far-forward deployment of advanced medical resources, and the integration of a learning health care system that can rapidly effect change, but because there is limited precedence for caring for such complex and life-threatening injuries, the costs for critical care of these types of injuries can skyrocket. A new DoD-led and -funded initiative has been launched aimed at improving clinical outcomes and reducing the cost of care for critically ill patients for the benefit of both military and civilian healthcare systems.

• share
• favorite_border

Nearly 280 graduates of the Nation’s only federal health sciences university, the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU), will receive their diplomas during the commencement ceremony at the Daughters of the American Revolution Constitution Hall in Washington, DC, on Saturday, May 17. The Honorable Jessica L. Wright, Acting Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, will deliver this year’s commencement address.

• share
• favorite_border

Post-traumatic stress, traumatic brain injury, obesity, cancer, infectious disease, and combat casualty care are among the hundreds of research results being presented during the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences’ annual Research Days, May 14-15, 2014. This year’s theme, ‘Celebrating Excellence in Research’ reflects the complementary roles nursing, public health, behavioral science, basic science, and medicine play in health promotion.

• share
• favorite_border

The discovery of a crucial mechanism that controls the activation of T cells, a blood cell whose primary job is to fight infection in the body, may enable the development of new drugs to treat autoimmune disease, transplant rejection, and similar disorders in which T cells play a major role. The finding, "T Cell Receptor Signals to NF-kB Are Transmitted by a Cytosolic p62-Bcl10-Malt1-IKK Signalosome," was published in the May 13 issue of Science Signaling.

• share
• favorite_border

As part of the national effort to address the shortage of nursing faculty and the number of advanced practice nurses providing direct patient care, the Jonas Center for Nursing and Veterans Healthcare has awarded a $70,000 grant to the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences to advance the scholarly work of five individual research doctoral students and two scholar teams of ten Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) students at the university’s Daniel K. Inouye Graduate School of Nursing.

• share
• favorite_border

Brent C. James, M.D., M.Stat., will present the 2014 David Packard Lecture at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU), Wednesday, Mar. 5, 2014.

• share
• favorite_border

Most mental health disorders and suicidal ideation among U.S. Army soldiers start before enlistment, according to findings published in the March 3, 2014, online version of JAMA Psychiatry.

• share
• favorite_border

Capt. (Dr.) Eric Elster, a Navy transplant surgeon and chair of the Norman M. Rich Department of Surgery at the F. Edward Hébert School of Medicine, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences here, is among 18 experts named as members of a new committee to develop standards and policies for face and hand transplantation.

• share
• favorite_border

A 50-year-old mystery surrounding the existence of a cell wall in the bacterial pathogen Chlamydia trachomatis, or chlamydia, has been solved by researchers at the F. Edward Hébert School of Medicine, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU). Chlamydia is the leading cause of sexually transmitted infections worldwide, infecting nearly 1.5 million Americans each year. It can cause sterility in men and women, Pelvic Inflammatory Disease, and ectopic pregnancy and is also the leading cause of preventable blindness. Other types of chlamydia cause a variety of diseases in humans and animals, including two strains of the bacterium that are threatening survival of the koala population in Australia.

• share
• favorite_border

One of America’s largest healthcare simulation centers, incorporating more than 30,000 sq. ft. of virtual reality, surgical simulation, task trainers, standardized patients, and high fidelity mannequins, will officially be dedicated as the “Val G. Hemming Simulation Center” on Monday, Nov. 18.

• share
• favorite_border

Former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle is a featured speaker for the National Center for Disaster Medicine and Public Health workshop, “Learning in Disaster Health: A Continuing Education Workshop,” in Washington, DC. The workshop will take place Sept. 17-18 at the Georgetown University Hotel and Conference Center.

• share
• favorite_border

The Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences has just published a new book, "Disaster, Disease and Distress: Resources to Promote Psychological Health and Resilience in Military and Civilian Communities." The book is a compilation of fact sheets and educational resources developed by the Center over a ten-year period that address important health and mental health issues of service members and their families impacted by deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. The resources are geared towards communities around the globe affected by natural and human-made disasters such as hurricanes, earthquakes and incidents of community violence.

• share
• favorite_border

Arthur L. Kellermann, MD, MPH, Paul O’Neill-Alcoa Chair in Policy Analysis at the RAND Corporation in Washington, DC, has been named as the new Dean of the F. Edward Hébert School of Medicine at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU), following a year-long search.

• share
• favorite_border

NASA officials announced their newest class of astronaut candidates and Army Maj. (Dr.) Andrew Morgan, 37, a Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) graduate is among the select group of trainees.

• share
• favorite_border

The Department of Defense has established the world's first brain tissue repository at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences to help researchers understand the underlying mechanisms of traumatic brain injury (TBI) in service members.