Photo By Burrell Parmer | SAN ANTONIO - (May 2, 2023) – Scientists and researchers assigned to Naval Medical...... read more read more
SAN ANTONIO - (May 2, 2023) - VelocityTX, a subsidiary of Texas Research & Technology Foundation (TRTF), the City of San Antonio, and Bexar County hosted the 4th Military Medical Industry Day (MMID) at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center.
This year’s MMID featured numerous military and civilian research and development (R&D) organizations, to include but not limited to, Defense Health Agency (DHA), U.S. Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery (BUMED), Naval Medical Research Unit (NAMRU) San Antonio, U.S. Air Force 59th Medical Wing (MDW), and U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research (ISR).
Attendees heard welcoming remarks from TRTF President J. Randolph Harig, VelocityTX CEO David Fonseca, Mayor Ron Nirenberg, and a keynote presentation from Dr. Sean Biggerstaff, acting deputy assistant director, Research and Engineering, Defense Health Agency (DHA).
According to the Harig, San Antonio is known as Military City USA and can additionally be called Military Medical City USA.
“The military medical resources in San Antonio are second to none. We understand that comes with an awesome responsibility to support the missions and make them fully integrated into the community,” said Harig. “We have an opportunity today to hear from the top leaders in military medical as well as civilian researchers about their acute interests in collaborative, innovated medical research and development.”
In addition to welcoming local R&D organizations, Nirenberg thanked national partners in attendance from U.S. Army Research and Development Command, Congressionally Dedicated Medical Research Program, Medical Technology Enterprise Consortium, DHA, and others.
“San Antonio is standing at the intersection of academic, industry, and military assets that together create a prime environment for the growth of our bioscience ecosystem,” said Nirenberg. “…there is already a local gravitas with a local economic impact now of $44.1 billion and employs 180,000 people in our community. If you are counting, that is one out of every five employees in San Antonio work in the healthcare and bioscience industry.”
Biggerstaff was appreciative to have been provided with the opportunity to share information regarding DHA and how changes impact the services, industry, and academia.
According to Biggerstaff, the two research laboratories located on Joint Base San Antonio – Fort Sam Houston (U.S. Army ISR and NAMRU San Antonio) produce world-class combat casualty care research.
“The San Antonio area is well placed to support our efforts to be medically competitive in the future to support the department,” said Biggerstaff. “Great research combined with the Burn Center and other activities to include the level-one trauma center at Brooke Army Medical Center is one of the premiere systems within the Military Health System (MHS).”
Informational/instructional presentations were featured during the morning session while the afternoon session provided opportunities for attendees to meet semi-privately with panels of subject matter experts from all three services to ask questions and receive immediate feedback about proposal submissions and requirements, pitch ideas, and clarifications on preferred research approaches.
One of the panels held was on “San Antonio Military Medical R&D Capabilities” which included NAMRU San Antonio’s Chief Science Director Dr. Sylvain Cardin, Director of Research and Chief Scientific Officer Col. Andre Cap of the U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research, and Chief Scientist Dr. Debra Niemeyer of the U.S. Air Force 59th MDW.
Capt. Matthew Weiner, director, Medical Information, R&D, U.S. Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery (BUMED) joined by BUMED Deputy Director R&D Strategy Cmdr. Chris Steele along with Col. James Joseph Jones, director, U.S. Army Medical Capability Development Integration Directorate; Dr. Tanisha Hammill, chief, Capability Development, U.S. Air Force; and Dr. Emma Gregory, portfolio manager, Defense Health Program Traumatic Brain Injury, participated on the “What the Military Wants” panel.
Conceived as part of the City of San Antonio's Military Life Science Commercialization Action Plan, the MMID events bring together military researcher organizations, industry, academia, non-profit organizations, and other organizations to exchange ideas and enable collaborative medical R&D, discuss military needs, obtain information on funding opportunities, and enable community commercialization opportunities to address needs and create lifesaving technologies.
NAMRU San Antonio’s mission is to conduct gap driven combat casualty care, craniofacial, and directed energy research to improve survival, operational readiness, and safety of Department of Defense (DoD) personnel engaged in routine and expeditionary operations.
It is one of the leading research and development laboratories for the U.S. Navy under the DoD and is one of eight subordinate research commands in the global network of laboratories operating under Naval Medical Research Command (NMRC) in Silver Spring, Md.
| Date Taken: | 05.02.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 05.08.2023 13:10 |
| Story ID: | 444275 |
| Location: | SAN ANTONIO, TX, US |
| Web Views: | 190 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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