Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine

==== History ====

In May 27, 1983, President Reagan signed a bill into law establishing the Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, a private, not-for-profit organization. Its mission - to support medical research and education at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) and throughout military medicine, and to serve as a link with the private medical sector. Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine established pursuant to section 178 of title 10, 1) United States Code.

Five months later the Foundation was named in honor of Henry “Scoop” Jackson, who originated the legislation for the Foundation. Senator Jackson had a long-standing commitment to military medicine and public health. 2)

The Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine (HMJFAMM) was created by Congress in 1983.The Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine (Foundation) is a private, not-for-profit organization chartered by Congress in 1983 to support medical research and education at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) and throughout the military medical community. The Foundation was named in honor of Henry “Scoop” Jackson, the late Senator from Washington State, and embodies his long-standing commitment to military medicine and public health. 3)

Overview

Since 1983, the Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine (Foundation) has worked as a partner with the military medical community to enhance medical research and education. The Foundation plays an integral role in a variety of projects ranging from basic research in the laboratory setting to managing clinical trials at military medical centers.

The Foundation advances the goals of military medicine by:

  • Conducting important medical research programs in conjunction with military medical researchers
  • Promoting private-public partnerships to enhance medical research, education, and health care
  • Enhancing military medical education through the support of unique training programs
  • Delivering quality services to the military medical community

The Foundation supports research and education at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU), its four teaching hospitals, and more than 60 military research institutes and military treatment facilities across the country. 4)

Current Activity

Currently, there are more than 500 research projects, and the HMJFAMM ranks in the top 10% of institutions receiving grants from the National Institutes of Health. More than 500 education funds support more than 200 education programs annually. Each year, hundreds of military physicians and research scientists are assisted in attending outside professional meetings. The Marion B. Sulzberger Chair, a stimulus that gave rise to the foundation, is among almost 50 endowments that now exist under foundation management. This not-for-profit institution currently employs more than 1,100 individuals. 5)

Major Research Programs

DESIGNING MASS CASUALTY TRAINING

In a mass casualty situation, military medical personnel must be prepared to assess multiple casualties, triage them appropriately, provide stabilizing care, and rapidly evacuate those who need further care. The medical care received during that first “golden hour,” the critical hour after a trauma or battlefield injury, has a significant impact on patient morbidity and mortality.

The Foundation's Center for Medical Education Technologies is developing a computer based program that will improve readiness training for mass casualty situations. This networked, interactive program, called the Medical Readiness Learning Initiative (MERLIN), focuses on improving triage skills and emphasizes the importance of resource allocation and evacuation management. The goal of this program is to improve medical readiness by elevating the capabilities of medical care providers, and by improving their ability to work as individuals, in teams, and within complex systems.

This powerful learning tool utilizes a mix of computer media, and communication technologies in the form of interactive multimedia computer based training. It generates an integrated display of text, numbers, images, and sounds, creating a realistic “virtual” environment for learning. It enables the student to experience a life-like triage situation before being asked to make life and death decisions in the field.

MERLIN can operate as a stand-alone medical readiness training system or across a network distribution system forwarding training to interactive network servers around the globe. It provides a human-computer interface which will allow real-time access to the expanding telemedicine networks. By making interactive training technology more realistic and widely available, it becomes a powerful medical force multiplier.

BOLSTERING OUR BIOMEDICAL DEFENSE

Historically, disease has been one of the most important factors in the undermining of United States military missions and effectiveness. While naturally occurring infectious agents remain a primary concern, the danger of biological threat agents has emerged as another major concern.

In order to contain the infectious agents and treat those who become infected, the military must be able to quickly identify a specific biological warfare or infectious agent. Current detection methods, however, are relatively slow and depend on sophisticated, non-portable equipment which require a stable source of power. Fortunately, during Operation Desert Storm good laboratory facilities and adequate lead time permitted the use of current detection and characterization methods. However, because U.S. troops routinely operate in diverse and often remote geographic regions, and because deployment may occur with little advance notice, the military must develop faster and more portable diagnostic technologies.

Researchers in the Biological Defense Research Program at the Naval Medical Research Institute are exploring ways to increase the rapid detection, identification, and characterization of biological and infectious threat agents. They are developing reagents for simple, hand-held rapid diagnostic assays as well as more sophisticated, confirmatory assays to detect biological threat agents in clinical and environmental samples.

This program, supported by the Foundation, protects the health and welfare of the military population and ensures the success of military operations. In addition, the program advances the general knowledge of these agents and the diseases they cause, thereby improving measures for enhancing public health.

DISCOVERING INNOVATIVE BLOOD TECHNOLOGIES

During Operation Desert Storm, vast amounts of unused blood units were discarded because they became outdated before they could be transfused. This situation illustrates the importance of developing technologies to increase the current shelf-life of blood products in order to improve blood supply logistics and use in modern combat situations.

Researchers in the Transfusion and Cryopreservation Research Program at the Naval Medical Research Institute, with the help of the Foundation, are investigating new ways to extend the storage life of transfusable blood products for use in combat casualty care. Specifically, researchers are developing additives for blood products so they can be kept viable for longer periods at refrigerated temperatures, thereby making them easier to transport and maintain in deployed areas. Studies also aim toward immediate availability of frozen transfusion products that may be used upon thawing without further processing.

Program researchers have developed an additive solution that can extend the refrigerated shelf-life of red blood cells to at least ten weeks, almost double that currently possible. This solution is now undergoing final testing prior to an application for approval from the Food and Drug Administration.

Investigators are also looking at ways to increase the safety and efficacy of blood products. This includes reducing the risk of transmission of viral or bacterial infections. Studies of the immunological consequences of transfusion are revealing the mechanisms by which immunization and immunosuppression may develop. In addition, researchers are designing an apparatus to separate blood components. This new technology will reduce the necessary skill level of the operator and provide products of uniform quality.

Another important aspect of this vast research program involves cryopreservation of organized tissues for use in surgical reconstruction. This research has applications for both wound repair as well as organ transplantations. In another area of research, basic studies on the effects of cold on the stability of proteins are revealing a host of previously unrecognized structural and functional changes that occur during low temperature storage.

LEADING THE BATTLE AGAINST HIV

Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) disease is a global epidemic that clearly poses a threat to national security. First, military personnel are at high risk for exposure to a wide range of HIV strains during foreign deployments. Secondly, the disease is having a devastating effect on many foreign militaries in Africa and Asia, where infection rates exceeding 20% are common. There is a growing threat of economic, political, and military destabilization due to the HIV epidemic in many of these severely affected countries.

The Military HIV Research Program is a Tri-Service effort that focuses on aspects of the epidemic that pose a direct threat to U.S. military readiness. The Walter Reed Army Institute of Research and the Foundation have worked together for more than eight years to reduce the threat of HIV to the military and to all populations.

The ultimate control of the HIV epidemic will most likely depend on safe and effective vaccines. Given that the U.S. Military is one of the leading vaccine developers in the world, it is logical that this research program has focused on vaccine development efforts and has, in fact, become an international leader in this area.

The U.S. military's strong global relationships provide an ideal mechanism for conducting international research studies including cooperative vaccine testing and surveillance of the epidemic. The Program has produced the majority of information available today on strains of HIV that originated outside of the U.S. This information on worldwide genetic variability is thought to be fundamental to the design of a preventive vaccine.

As part of its global approach to this epidemic, Program scientists have begun to evaluate the efficacy of a candidate vaccine in Thailand. While the HIV epidemic has only recently begun in Thailand, AIDS and HIV infection frequencies are already at critical levels and new cases are alarmingly high throughout the population. The Royal Thai government is working in close collaboration with Program scientists in Thailand and Chiron/Biocine to develop and evaluate candidate vaccines to slow the spread of this deadly disease.

KEEPING FORCES HEALTHY

Today, as new weapons, clothing, and training devices are developed for the soldier, the military must ensure that these powerful and sophisticated technologies will not injure soldiers or cause long-term health problems. In fact, adverse health effects can often limit technologies for new and improved materiel systems. It is imperative, then, to identify these health hazards as early as possible in the materiel development process.

The U.S. Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine (CHPPM) established the Health Hazard Assessment Program to direct these types of studies to preserve and protect the health of the soldier while enhancing the military mission.

Typical health hazard assessments address nine issues: acoustical energy, biological substances, chemical substances, oxygen deficiency, radiation energy, shock, temperature extremes and humidity, trauma, and vibration. In order to address all potential health effects, program researchers utilize many resources ranging from laboratory investigations and mathematical modeling to field evaluations and epidemiological surveys.

As an example, the Fast Attack Vehicle (FAV) is a lightweight, all-terrain vehicle capable of high-speed, cross-country travel with high maneuverability and agility. A review of the system's performance specifications and development testing identified excessive levels of whole body vibration. Researchers at CHPPM recommended improving the shock absorbency of the FAV's seats and suspension system. They also recommended entering soldiers who operate the FAV into a medical surveillance program for whole body vibration. In another case, researchers found that a new Tactical Assault Personnel Parachute under development caused musculoskeletal trauma, resulting from excessive opening forces and impact velocity. Initial recommendations included the mandatory use of new paratrooper helmets which are currently under development.

The Health Hazard Assessment Program is just one of many programs that the Foundation and the Uniformed Services University support for the CHPPM. Other programs include the areas of health assessment, health promotion, occupational health, and environmental health. All of these programs aim to promote and protect the health of the soldier and enhance our military readiness.

INNOVATING APPROACHES TO REDUCE SMOKING

The image of a soldier puffing on a cigarette may be a frequent sight in old war movies, but it may become a rare sight on today's Army posts, thanks to the Army Smoking Cessation Demonstration Project. This collaborative program brings together scientists from the Army's Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine, the Foundation, and the Uniformed Services University to tackle the problem of cigarette smoking in the military.

Cigarettes have an adverse impact on Army readiness by decreasing soldiers' aerobic performance, visual acuity, steadiness and cold tolerance, by increasing injury rates, and by prolonging injury healing times. At present, almost half of all junior enlisted soldiers smoke. That smoking rate is about twice that of civilians in the same age group.

To develop an effective and targeted program, researchers conducted extensive surveys to determine how soldiers' smoking and other high risk behaviors evolve over time. They found common attitudes and beliefs that motivate smoking soldiers to think about quitting smoking, attempt to quit smoking, and to eventually succeed and stay away from cigarettes.

Program researchers are developing customized educational materials that take into account the unique needs and expectations of military enlisted populations. A computerized system that produces personalized cessation packages to each soldier is also under development. These packages tailor smoking cessation techniques to the particular expectations and viewpoints of the individual soldiers.

These personalized cessation packages, which are periodically mailed to the soldiers, come in the form of comic books that are enjoyable to read and are tailored to each recipient. Over the course of a year, each soldier in the program completes several surveys and receives subsequent personalized mailings. The cessation packages will be tested for their effectiveness and compared to standard approaches. If proven successful, they will be available Army-wide to help decrease the overall rate of smoking. 6)

Gates Foundation Grants

2016 to support training military medical officers in malaria and tropical medicine 7)

Back to top