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The Naval Health Research Center (NHRC) optimizes the operational readiness and health of our armed forces by conducting research, development, testing, and evaluation to inform Department of Defense (DoD) policy. We have been designated the DoD Deployment Health Research Center since 1999. We conduct science that spans a wide spectrum, from operational physical readiness and joint medical planning to wounded warrior recovery and behavioral health interventions, focusing on the health, readiness, and well-being of our nation’s military members and their families. We conduct research that is operationally relevant and driven by fleet requirements. Our core research areas are Operational Readiness, Military Population Health, and Operational Infectious Diseases. We are one of eight laboratories affiliated with the Naval Medical Research Center in Silver Spring, Maryland, within the U.S. Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery. Together, we support military mission readiness with research and development that delivers high-value, high-impact solutions to the health and readiness challenges our military population faces on the battlefield, at sea, on foreign shores, and at home.
To optimize operational readiness and warfighter health by informing DoD policy through research excellence.
To be the premier deployment health research center for DoD.
NHRC’s team comprises researchers and scientists whose areas of expertise include physiology, microbiology, biomedical engineering, psychology, epidemiology, and software engineering. Our staff is a mix of active duty service members, federal civil service employees, and contractors who are dedicated to our vision of being DoD’s premier operational health research center.
We are located aboard Naval Base Point Loma in San Diego, California, with access to more than 115,000 uniformed service members, world-class universities, industry leaders, Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton, Naval Medical Center San Diego, and Navy Medicine West. Housed in 24 historic WWII-era military barracks, our San Diego location is ideal, placing us in proximity to a variety of potential research populations.
Prior to joining the U.S. Navy, Captain Kellie McMullen earned a B.S. in Biology from Virginia Tech in 1992 and a Ph.D. in Molecular and Human Genetics from Baylor College of Medicine in 1998. She was a postdoctoral fellow at Baylor College of Medicine from 1999 to 2000 and worked in the biotech industry from 2000 to 2003. Commissioned in 2003, McMullen was assigned to the National Naval Medical Center (NNMC), Bethesda, MD, where she served from 2004 to 2008 as a Department Head for the Clinical Microbiology Laboratory, Assistant Director of Graduate Professional Education, and as Flag Aide to Rear Admiral Richard R. Jeffries while he served as Commander, NNMC and the Medical Officer of the Marine Corps. In 2009, McMullen reported to Navy Environmental and Preventive Medicine Unit (NEPMU) FIVE, San Diego, CA, and served as the Department Head for Operations and Laboratory Services. Then, in 2012, she was assigned to the Naval Health Research Center (NHRC), San Diego, CA, and held leadership roles in the Operational Infectious Diseases Directorate, DoD HIV/AIDS Prevention Program, and Research Services Directorate. From 2016 to 2018, McMullen was assigned to Naval Medical Research Unit EURAFCENT in Cairo, Egypt, and served as the interim Executive Officer and Science Director. Following her assignment overseas, McMullen reported to the Naval Medical Research Command, Silver Spring, MD, and served as the Deputy Science Director, and was then selected as the Military Assistant to the Executive Director, Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, from 2019 to 2022. During this time, she was detailed to the DoD COVID-19 Task Force – Diagnostics & Testing as the Navy Service Lead and served as the Naval Medical Forces Pacific R&D Liaison Officer. In 2022, CAPT McMullen returned to NHRC as the Executive Officer. In June 2025, she assumed the role of Commanding Officer at NHRC. Her military awards include the Meritorious Service Medal (three awards), the Navy Commendation Medal (three awards), and the Navy Achievement Medal (three awards).
Commander Kenneth Fan earned a B.S. in Bioengineering from the University of California, San Diego in 2003. He subsequently received a Health Services Collegiate Program scholarship to attend the University of California, San Francisco School of Dentistry, graduating with a Doctor of Dental Surgery degree in 2010. Upon graduation, he was commissioned as a Lieutenant in the U.S. Navy. Following dental school, Fan completed an Advanced Education in General Dentistry residency in 2011 and an Orofacial Pain residency in 2014. From 2014 to 2018, he served as a Staff Orofacial Pain Specialist at Naval Dental Center Okinawa/3rd Dental Battalion in Okinawa, Japan. During this tour, he held numerous leadership roles, including Annex Head, Division Officer, Department Head, and Pharmacology and Therapeutics Committee Member at U.S. Naval Hospital Okinawa. He also served as Dental Executive Committee Chair, Chief Dental Officer, and Regional Quality Collaborative Member for Naval Medical Forces Pacific. In 2018, CDR Fan began a second residency in Biomedical Science with a focus in Immunology at the University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, culminating in the award of a Doctor of Philosophy degree in 2023. From 2023 to 2025, he served as Deputy Director of the Craniofacial Health and Restorative Medicine Directorate and as Department Head of Cellular and Immune-Based Adjuncts at Naval Medical Research Unit San Antonio. Fan currently serves as Executive Officer at the Naval Health Research Center. He is board certified in Orofacial Pain and has authored multiple peer-reviewed publications. His personal decorations include two Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medals.
Bureau of Medicine and Surgery 7700 Arlington Blvd. Ste. 5113 Falls Church, VA 22042-5113 This is an official U.S. Navy website This is a Department of Defense (DoD) Internet computer system. General Navy Medical Inquiries (to Bureau of Medicine and Surgery): usn.ncr.bumedfchva.list.bumed---pao@health.mil