Naval Medical Research Unit (NAMRU) Dayton hosted the annual Navy Medicine Research and Development (NMR&D) enterprise Science Directors meeting from May 21-23 at the Wright Brothers Institute in downtown Dayton.

The event brought together scientific and technical directors from across the NMR&D enterprise to discuss and advance research initiatives crucial to the medical research missions of the eight NMR&D commands.
Capt. Walter Dalitsch III, commanding officer, NAMRU Dayton, provided opening remarks, setting the stage for a series of collaborative discussions and presentations.

“Dayton is a hidden gem with incredible history that includes the fact that at the time the Wright Brothers were developing their first functional aircraft, there were more patents per capita in Dayton than anywhere else” said Dalitsch. “If it’s something in the water here that inspires such ingenuity and inventiveness, I have every confidence these science directors will be inspired to continue that legacy with the great work they already do for Navy Research and Development, and for the benefit of the operational forces. He went on to add, “the meeting fostered a deeper integration of research efforts and facilitated the sharing of innovative findings among the Navy’s top medical research leaders.”

Dr. Jill Phan, NMR&D science director from Naval Medical Research Command (NMRC), also attended the meeting. Other attendees included laboratory directors and representatives from Naval Health Research Center, Naval Submarine Medical Research Laboratory, NAMRUs EURAFCENT, INDO PACIFIC, San Antonio, and SOUTH.

“NMR&D has a deep and broad set of capabilities and expertise that allow us to address medical research, development, and surveillance needs of the Navy, Marine Corps, and the Joint Force,” Phan said. “Having an in-person science director meeting allows dynamic discussions on topics like the current state of science and the needs of our stakeholders. It facilitates opportunities to collaborate on cross-cutting projects and conduct an annual review of the enterprise scientific strategy. Having an in person-dialog on these critical topics is the most effective method to develop strategic recommendations to leadership in these critical areas that account for the perspectives of all eight enterprise commands.

NAMRU Dayton's two laboratories, the Naval Aerospace Medical Research Laboratory (NAMRL) and the Environmental Health Effects Laboratory (EHEL), were represented by their Directors, Dr. Rick Arnold, and Dr. Karen Mumy, respectively. Both directors also served as hosts for the 2024 meeting.

By hosting this meeting, NAMRU-Dayton demonstrated its commitment to pioneering research that supports the mission readiness and health of military personnel. The insights and outcomes from this event are expected to contribute significantly to the ongoing efforts in enhancing the effectiveness of Navy medicine.

“We are working on enterprise strategic issues such as portfolio alignment, (funding) initiatives, reviewing and updating the NMR&D strategic plan,” Arnold said. We are hosting because it felt like our turn. NMRC, NAMRU-SA, and NHRC have hosted, so we offered to host this one.

The Naval Medical Research and Development enterprise is comprised of eight commands that support the Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, and joint U.S. warfighters through the study of health concerns that affect the readiness of these forces and the development of methods to treat those concerns. Enterprise areas of research include infectious diseases, biological warfare detection and defense, combat casualty care, environmental health concerns, aerospace medicine, undersea medicine, medical modeling, simulation, operational mission support, epidemiology, and behavioral sciences.

Tommy Lamkin, Naval Medical Research Command Public Affairs, contributed to this story

Story originally posted on DVIDS: NAMRU Dayton hosts scientific meeting with directors across naval medical research