News Archives

Team TATRC keeps the holiday spirit going strong! Last December marked the 24th year for our Annual Holiday Party! More than 60+ staff, alumni, and family all gathered to enjoy this festive annual event which featured some fun, holiday-spirited games and team-building exercises, as well as the ever so popular and infamous Year in Review slideshow that always captures the true spirit of the TATRC family and highlights the fun and accomplishments from the past year!

On 17 December, TATRC was fortunate enough to host a visit and spend the morning with Dr. James “Ben” Petro, Director of Human Systems, within the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, where he oversees, coordinates, integrates and synchronizes a $3.2 B / yr research portfolio targeted to optimize Warfighter effectiveness and lethality. His management of the Human Systems portfolio includes the technology areas of biology (to include medical, warfighter performance, and nonmedical research), human-machine teaming, training, environmental sciences, and DoD compliance with statutes, regulations, and policies for protection of human and animal research subjects, so visiting TATRC was a logical fit.

Last December, Team TATRC had the opportunity to assemble in what is soon to become TATRC’s *NEW* Technology Comparative Effectiveness Lab for the latest Quarterly Director’s Town Hall meeting! A lot of hard work has been done and progress is being made for the future of our organization, and with progress comes change! The Town Hall provided an excellent opportunity for TATRC’s Director, COL Jeremy Pamplin, to bring the team up to speed on the latest organizational happenings and to highlight the recent achievements.

As an organization, we do not get the opportunity for the entirety of our team to gather in-person nearly enough! Luckily, we were able to do just that last November when the team came together for our inaugural all-hands strategic planning meeting to discuss the state of our current affairs, our organizational mission, strategic messaging, restructuring and reorganizing, as well as important aspects regarding the future of TATRC.

In late October, TATRC’s Senior Leadership and Command team conducted a site visit to TATRC’s mHIC office, located in Fort Gordon, Georgia. This was the first occasion for TATRC’s new Deputy Director, LTC (P) Justin Stewart to meet mHIC’s team members first hand and see the unique work being done on site at Fort Gordon. The 2 day series of meetings allowed team members, individually and as small functional teams, to have quality time with our leadership to further introduce themselves, their work, and to familiarize our leaders with the unique capabilities our mHIC team contributes to TATRC as a whole.

This fiscal year is the second year that the newly established Virtual Health (VH) Research Task Area is able to support research proposals with Army S&T funding. The focus of this research is to support the medical needs of the far-forward Multi-Domain Battlefield. Considerations for virtual health to support in prolonged field care scenarios and limited and/or non-existent communications due to electronic warfare, are key aspects of this research funding.

Thomas J. Watson, an American Businessman, and for whom the IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center is named after, once said, “To be successful, you have to have your heart in your business, and your business in your heart.”

On 26 September, TATRC Director, COL Jeremy Pamplin and Ms. Jeanette Little, Lab Lead for TATRC’s Mobile Health Innovation Center, had an opportunity to visit the Thomas J. Watson Research Center. The Thomas J. Watson Research Center is the headquarters for IBM Research and the center is comprised of two sites, with its main laboratory in Yorktown Heights, New York, and the second with offices in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

TATRC had the opportunity to welcome our newest Commanding General of USAMRDC, Brigadier General Michael Talley to two back-to-back visits last Fall for a site visit, portfolio review, and a deep-dive discussion on the potential timeline for enabling the Army’s transition to Autonomous Combat Casualty Care (ACCC). BG Talley is making his way around the command and learning about all of the different units and components that fall under MRDC.

The ability to 3D print a variety of healthcare-related products in deployed locations would greatly benefit the nation’s warfighters.

A recent pilot program conducted by the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) in collaboration with the U.S. Military Academy at West Point has shown that a 3D printer capable of biofabrication could expedite repair or perhaps replace damaged tissues for troops injured on the battlefield.

TATRC Welcomes New Deputy Director, LTC Justin Stewart

Team TATRC is proud to announce the arrival of our newest addition to our leadership team, Deputy Director LTC Justin J. Stewart! Coming to us from the great state of Washington, specifically, from Joint Base Lewis McChord (JBLM), LTC Stewart is eager to join the team and roll up his sleeves and get started! No stranger to the field, some of his previous foreign assignments include OIC of the Level II clinic at Camp Red Cloud in the Republic of Korea, Battalion Surgeon of the 1-75 CAV 2BCT 101 ABN in Iraq (OIF), and Staff Internist with the 14th CSH in Afghanistan (OEF).

TATRC Research Shines at 2019 MHSRS

Team TATRC made their way to the sunshine state in Kissimmee, Florida from 19 – 23 August for the MHS Research Symposium (MHSRS). The Annual MHSRS, held at the Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center, is the Department of Defense’s premier scientific meeting that focuses on Combat Casualty Care (CCC).

TATRC Arrives at DHITS 2019 with a Bold Vision

“One Team, One Mission – Enabling MHS Transformation” was the powerful theme of this year’s 2019 Defense Health Information Technology Symposium (DHITS) Conference which took place from 29 July – 1 August. COL Jeremy Pamplin, TATRC’s Director, Mr. Ron Yeaw, mHIC’s Lab Deputy, and Mr. Edward Kensinger, mHIC Project Manager participated in this exciting event which took place in Orlando, FL.

USAMRDC Passes the Flag During Symbolic Change of Command Ceremony

On a hot, sunny July morning, another very symbolic milestone for the USAMRDC took place. MG Barbara Holcomb officially handed over the organizational reins to BG Michael J. Talley at 0900, during the MRDC Change of Command.

New Director, With a New Vision to Forge the Future

“The tools and techniques that we create here over the next few years could change the way we do medicine; making it safer, more effective, and more available, especially in resource-limited environments.”

MP7: TATRC Participates in Highly Immersive Prolonged-Field Care Training Event

From 16 - 19 July, COL Jeremy Pamplin, TATRC’s Director led Mr. Ron Yeaw, Mobile Health Innovation Center Deputy Lab Manager, and Mr. Jimmy Gaudaen, Project Officer to the North Carolina mountains where they participated in the 7th Mountain Path (MP7) Prolonged Field Care (PFC) Training event with the 4th Battalion/3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne) at Ragged Edge Solutions (RES) Training Center in Tarboro, NC.

Imagine unmanned vehicles bringing medical supplies or blood products to support a field medic’s care of wounded soldiers, or even transporting a wounded warfighter to safety. Researchers at the Army’s Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center, or TATRC, are collaborating with the services, academia, and private industry to make such scenarios a reality.

Congratulations to our Senior TATRC Leaders for their invaluable contributions and dedication to advancing military medicine.

In FY19, a new research area, known as Virtual Health (VH) awarded its first funding. Ms. Jeanette Little from TATRC serves as a capability area manager (CAM) for this new research portfolio. This is significant since the Army research portfolios are realigning efforts to address the priority areas for our future Warfighters.

On 20 June, COL Jeremy C. Pamplin took the reins from COL Gina Adam as the tenth Director to serve at the Telemedicine & Advanced Technology Research Center.

Good friends, good food, and a good time was had by all as Team TATRC came together for the 24th Annual Summer Picnic & Org Day! Just over 60 people were in attendance for a fun day of food, fellowship, and relaxation as we looked back on the past year’s successes and achievements.

There was big news in the world of Virtual Health earlier this summer, as TATRC’s “Optometrist to the Stars,” Dr. Fran McVeigh officially moved up (or down) the road to the Office of the Surgeon General as the Army’s Director of Virtual Health!

When COL Gina Adam arrived at TATRC to assume her Directorship in late July of 2018, she hosted a meet and greet with TATRC staff where she stated, “The time is right for TATRC to find its voice in the new research landscape, and I’m glad to be here to lead in that direction.” Now, as we thank COL Adam for her dutiful and dedicated leadership and say farewell as she assumes command of the United States Army Medical Materiel Development Activity (USAMMDA), we can proudly and graciously say that TATRC has indeed found that voice.

Time to update your TATRC rolodexes, as TATRC’s overarching command was both moved and renamed in an announcement during a Fort Detrick town hall meeting that took place on 31 May. Senior Army leaders redesignated the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command (USAMRMC) to the U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command (USAMRDC), as well as realigned MRDC from the Army Materiel Command (AMC) to be under the newly inaugurated Army Futures Command (AFC).

It was a picturesque day; the sun was shining and a light breeze had Old Glory waving proudly in front of the scenic backdrop of Nallin Pond for our esteemed Director, Jeremy Pamplin’s promotion to Colonel!

On 21 May, TATRC had the pleasure of hosting a talented team of individuals from Madigan Army Medical Center’s Telemedical Research for Operational Support (TR4OS), who, along with TATRC Director COL Jeremy Pamplin, carried out a demonstration of telementoring capabilities for prolonged field care (PFC). The 2-day event took place in TATRC’s outdoor simulated field environment.

Team TATRC had the honor and pleasure of being a part of the third biennial Department of Defense Lab Day 2019 held at the Pentagon Courtyard hosted by the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (USD(R&E)) which took place on 25 April.

Senior members from Team TATRC traveled the globe to participate in this year’s SHORESH Meeting, which was hosted by the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) in Tel Aviv and took place 8 – 12 April. COL Gina Adam, TATRC’s Director at the time, attended with both Dr. Jaques Reifman and Dr. Gary Gilbert, who were invited to give specific presentations on their individual areas of expertise.

Short on rest but no time to nap? The U.S. Army has your quick fix caffeine map.

A team of Army researchers, including Jaques Reifman, a senior research scientist at the Army Medical Research and Development Command, has built a “caffeine optimization app,” known as 2B-Alert, that notifies its users when they should drink a cup-o-joe.

Army leaders redesignated the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command as the U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command during a town hall at Fort Detrick, Maryland, on May 31.

YAKIMA, Wash. - Members of the Regional Health Command-Pacific team recently executed virtual health capabilities testing with partner agencies during the U.S. Army's largest annual joint-multinational live exercise.

U.S. Army medical researchers want to equip combat medics with a head-up display so they can connect with surgeons in the rear for help with critically wounded troops on the battlefield.

FALLS CHURCH, Va. (AFNS) --
Eye injuries in a deployed setting can be a significant setback for any Airman, but new telemedicine capabilities are helping to keep them in the fight.

With funding from the 59th Medical Wing, Joint Base San Antonio, Texas, Air Force and Army medical researchers are developing a HIPAA-compliant smart phone application to connect providers downrange with on-call ophthalmologists either in-theater or at a clinic.

As the 39th Chief of Staff of the Army, Gen. Mark A. Milley has spearheaded the Army's transformation to build readiness. Earning his commission from Princeton University in 1980, Milley has gained a reputation for being a Soldier's Soldier and battle-tested commander throughout his 39-year career.

A Regional Health Command -- Central health systems specialist, who has impacted virtual health for beneficiaries from all services of the Armed Forces -- both stateside and deployed - retires this month.

FORT BRAGG, N.C. -- The U.S. Army is one step closer to increasing the ability of non-surgical medical personnel in remote locations to potentially save the lives of severely injured Soldiers thanks to continuing efforts by the U.S. Army Special Operations Command (USASOC), Womack Army Medical Center and the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command -- Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center (TATRC).

It's only been since the early 1990s that CPR training has been available to the general public, and this simple training has saved countless lives. MRMC's 'Stop the Bleed' campaign aims to save even more lives with training to treat traumatic hemorrhage.

Every year, the Defense Department recognizes March as Brain Injury Awareness month to increase awareness of traumatic brain injury. Throughout the month, the Military Health System will provide tools and resources to educate the military community, and those who support them, about TBI.

FORT GORDON, Ga., Feb. 21, 2019 -- In August 2016, the 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne), Blanchfield Army Community Hospital Telehealth, Europe Regional Medical Command Telehealth and Eisenhower Army Medical Center Telehealth partnered in a pilot program to support forward-deployed special forces medics with video, email and telephonic consultative services using EAMC's on-call specialty care providers. The provider specialties included orthopedic surgery, general surgery and critical care.