Army Medicine at Work

The Army Medicine at Work podcast brings you a closer look at some of the groundbreaking research the U.S. Army Medical Department is doing to transform care around the world. We’ll talk to Army Medicine officers involved in a first-of-its-kind approach to combat malaria, sleep research with numerous applications, a unique program to fight microscopic enemies and exciting efforts driving advances in virtual medicine. We’ll also learn more about the rewarding career paths Army Medicine has to offer.

The growing field of virtual medicine can help provide access to specialty care for people in remote locations around the world. The U.S. Army health care team is applying its skills and global infrastructure to advance the practice of virtual medicine. We talked with Lt. Col. Sean Hipp, director of Army's Virtual Medical Center, and Lt. Col. Jennifer Stowe, the deputy director for administration, about the work their team is doing now to improve access to care and the future of virtual medicine.

In this episode, we speak with Ltc. Hinkle and Ltc. Tyner from the U.S. Army Multidrug Resistant Organism Repository and Surveillance Network (MRSN) about their research on drug-resistant organisms, a serious public health risk. Hear researchers at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR) are expanding the Army’s capabilities to produce breakthrough therapies with worldwide potential.

Sleep is an area of research often overlooked, yet it impacts everyone from Soldiers to civilians in every walk of life. Ltc. Capaldi discusses the work the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR) is doing to better understand our sleep patterns and apply this research to improve training and care for Soldiers. He also talks about insights this research holds for our everyday lives, and shares interesting and even surprising findings from his studies.

Careers in Army Medicine offer unparalleled opportunities to engage in exciting research with the potential to improve human health. As an infectious disease physician and researcher at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR), Col. Paige Waterman has been involved in a variety of clinical programs focused on improving and pioneering the practice of medicine. She discusses her interests in clinical medicine, what intrigued her about a career in the Army, and her experiences as an AMEDD officer.

Malaria is one of the biggest public health challenges in the world. We sat down with Ltc. James Moon, Director of Malaria Clinical Development at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR), to learn more about the Army’s cutting-edge research through a robust clinical trial program that aims to identify vaccine candidates against malaria. He discusses the Army’s approach to tackling this global threat and takes listeners on a virtual audio tour of the clinical process behind this critical research.

In the U.S. Army, uniformed members of the health care team have many opportunities to grow professionally. In this segment, Col. Todd Villines, MD, FACC talks about his role as a clinician, treating and preventing cardiac disease with state-of-the-art imaging technologies, as well as his opportunities to contribute as an educator, leader and medical researcher.

Putting the right person in the right job doesn’t just mean having the right skills. It also means having the right fitness level. U.S. Army physical therapist Maj. Richard Westrick, DPT, DSc discusses how he is helping Soldiers with physically demanding jobs perform their duties more safely.

In this interview, U.S. Army Lt. Col. Asma Bukhari, RD, describes her passion for nutrition and educating Soldiers. Her research project, Healthy Families, Healthy Forces, is a randomized study with Tufts University to explore long-term weight management strategies for Army families.

When Col. Eugene Soh, MD, FACC, introduced the Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR) at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, it was a first within the Department of Defense, and provided an important alternative to open-heart surgery. In this episode, Dr. Soh discusses how TAVR has impacted his patients’ outcomes, and its role in his career as an Army cardiologist.

U.S. Army Col. Nelson Michael, Ret., MD, PhD, Director, U.S. Military HIV Research Program (MHRP) at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR), talks about the Army’s critical work on the RV144 trial in 2009, which showed that a preventive HIV vaccine was possible. Since this episode was recorded, the HVTN702 trial began in South Africa and is the first efficacy trial for an HIV vaccine in seven years.

U.S. Army Col. Stephen Thomas, MD, an infectious disease physician and vaccinologist, explains how the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR) identifies emerging threats like Zika and Ebola, and rapidly develops vaccines to combat these threats.