BETHESDA, Md. –
Three healthcare providers from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC) earned awards at the 41st Annual Navy-wide Academic Research Competition recently held at Naval Medical Center Portsmouth, Virginia.
Joshua Bernstein, Ph.D., of the Audiology and Speech Pathology Center at Walter Reed, U.S. Army Maj. (Dr.) Lauren Heyda, and U.S. Navy Lt. (Dr.) Janse Schermerhom received recognition for research focused on enhancing access to care, treatment, and prediction of discharge following care that could enhance force readiness.
Bernstein, chief of the Scientific and Clinical Studies Section in the Audiology and Speech Pathology Center, placed first in the staff category of the “Approved Clinical Research conducted under the jurisdiction of the Clinical Investigations Department (CID)” competition. His research concerned cochlear implant telemedicine to increase access to care. He explained that cochlear implant telemedicine can be used to overcome geographic barriers and increase access to care to beneficiaries across the Military Health System (MHS), thereby enhancing readiness by not taking servicemembers away from their units for extended periods of time for care. He added that the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated remote-testing needs for cochlear-implant (CI) recipients, and recent research by his team using telehealth technology has proved beneficial in CI patient care.
Heyda, a resident in Walter Reed’s Department of General Surgery, earned first place in “Approved Basic Science conducted under the jurisdiction of CID” category for her team's work researching treatment of a penetrating arterial injury with a novel silicon-based polymer in a swine model. This could improve care of service members wounded on the battlefield, which could also improve force readiness.
“Gunshot wounds, stabs and impalements can lead to severe hemorrhage, aneurysms, or restricted blood flow. Traumatic hemorrhage is the leading cause of preventable battlefield death and hemostatic agents can improve survival,” Heyda stated. “A novel hemostatic agent of silica-based polymer was found to be effective in treating arterial injury in a swine model under coagulopathic conditions and demonstrated vessel patency.”
Schermerhom, a resident in Walter Reed’s Department of Orthopedic Surgery, placed third in the “Approved Clinical Research conducted under the jurisdiction of the CID” category for a work he co-authored involving prediction of postoperative discharge disposition using smartphone-derived mobility data.” His team found that while more research is needed, predicting postoperative discharge disposition using smartphone-derived mobility data can be effective with wearable metrics to gauge daily steps, gait and walking speed, among other measures based on the patient.
The annual Navy-wide Academic Research Competition, which rotates annually between Walter Reed, Portsmouth and Naval Medical Center San Diego, brings together military medicine’s top clinicians, scientists and researchers from across the Department of War (DOW) to showcase their projects focused on advancing healthcare, readiness and medical science.
“The efforts and innovations of the military medical research community have advanced treatments, logistics, procedures, and medications,” stated MHS officials. “From emergency response to groundbreaking medications to sterile conditions at medical facilities on and off the battlefield, the marvel of modern medicine is rooted in the tireless work of these devoted military scientists, clinicians, leaders, product developers, and so many more.”
Military medical research has accelerated innovations in trauma care, prosthetics, infectious disease control, and evacuation procedures. Some advancements stemming from military research, such as modern tourniquets, advanced hemostatic agents, and rapid aeromedical transport, have become standard civilian healthcare, they added.