SEATTLE – Staff from the Naval Medical Research & Development enterprise took part in the 2022 American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH) Annual Meeting earlier this month, from Oct. 30 to Nov. 3.

Enterprise attendees, comprised of military and civilian research, medical and support staff, participated in breakout sessions, presented research posters and engaged with stakeholders in tropical disease research.

“This is a great forum for our research staff to coordinate with our international colleagues and external labs,” said Dr. Jill Phan, Naval Medical Research Center (NMRC) science director. “This meeting is also an opportunity, especially for our junior scientists, to hear the perspective of our non-military colleagues who live in areas where those tropical diseases are present.”

Enterprise attendance at ASTMH included representatives from overseas commands: Naval Medical Research Unit (NAMRU)-2 [Singapore], NAMRU-3 [Sigonella, Italy], and NAMRU-6 [Lima, Peru]. The presence of researchers and leadership from these commands fosters awareness of current and potential future contributions of military medicine to the field of tropical disease research.

“The U.S. military is still trying to find solutions to neglected tropical diseases that benefit not only our deployed service members, but populations who deal with these illnesses all the time,” said Phan. “NMRC and our three overseas commands had both commanding officers and researchers attending this meeting, which shows the high importance we put on tackling these often under-funded issues.”

The ASTMH, founded in 1903, is an international scientific organization focused on reducing the worldwide burden of tropical infectious diseases and improving global health. The ASTMH Annual Meeting brings tropical medicine and global health professionals together to a forum for the exchange of scientific advances in tropical medicine and hygiene.

The enterprise, led by NMRC, is engaged in a broad spectrum of activity from basic science in the laboratory to field studies in austere and remote areas of the world to investigations in operational environments. In support of the Navy, Marine Corps, and joint U.S. warfighters, researchers study infectious diseases, biological warfare detection and defense, combat casualty care, environmental health concerns, aerospace and undersea medicine, medical modeling, simulation, operational mission support, epidemiology, and behavioral sciences.