SILVER SPRING, Md. – Navy Medicine Research & Development (NMR&D) attended the American Society of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene (ASTMH) Annual Meeting from November 13th to 17th, held in New Orleans. This year’s theme was Advancing Science, Building Community Together.

NMR&D participants included officer and civilian scientists from Naval Medical Research Command (NMRC) and Naval Medical Research Units (NAMRU) EURAFCENT, INDO PACIFIC and SOUTH.

“The American Society for Tropical Medicine and Hygiene Annual Meeting is the premier conference for researchers investigating infectious diseases and global health with attendees that travel to this meeting from around the world,” said Cmdr. Mark Simons, NMR&D deputy science director.

Throughout the five-day meeting, military and civilian staff with the NMR&D presented on surveillance and research work to fellow stakeholders in tropical disease medicine during breakout and poster sessions.


“This is the one time each year where leaders and scientists from across the global network of Navy research laboratories can meet with their counterparts from other regions of the world to share knowledge, trends, best practices, ideas, and foster collaborations,” Simons added. “It also provides an opportunity for Navy researchers to meet with partners from other services, Interagency and other government partners, non-government organizations, and academic researchers to share goals and develop strategies to mitigate the threat of infectious diseases on human populations. Leveraging this meeting and the combined expertise of its attendees benefits the Navy with improved knowledge and awareness of infectious disease threats and by expediting the development of medical countermeasures to enhance the readiness and operational effectiveness of Sailors and Marines.”

Work presented by NMR&D researchers at the annual meeting include research into vaccine development, disease detection and surveillance of diseases like dengue and malaria. The information shared allows the enterprise and fellow medical research stakeholders to better develop health solutions worldwide.

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.

NMR&D 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, enterprise 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.