Commanding Officer

Abigail Yablonsky Marter

Captain, Nurse Corps, USN

Commanding Officer

U.S. Naval Medical Research Unit SOUTH
Callao, Peru

A native of Boston, Massachusetts, CAPT Marter received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Rochester, where she pursued her studies as a Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps midshipman.  Naval Medical Center San Diego (NMCSD) was her first duty station in 1996, where she started her career as a labor and delivery nurse.  Her Navy adventure continued at Naval Hospital Okinawa, Japan, where she worked in a broad array of roles, from inpatient pediatrics and medicine, to same day surgery, to post anesthesia care. 
 
She returned to NMCSD in 2002, working as Division Officer for both the inpatient Cardiothoracic Surgery ward, and the Pulmonary Clinic.  In 2007 CAPT Marter earned a master's degree in the family nurse practitioner track from Rush University in Chicago.  She reported to Naval Medical Center Portsmouth in Virginia as a primary care provider in the Family Practice Clinic where she led the effort to integrate the Medical Homeport model for a clinic population of over 15,000 enrollees.  She was accepted for Duty under Instruction, earning a Doctor of Philosophy degree from the University of Virginia in 2015.
 
At her follow-on tour, CAPT Marter served as the Deputy Department Head for Health and Behavioral Sciences at the Naval Health Research Center, where she was the Principal Investigator on multiple operationally relevant research studies including reduction of circadian disruption on shiftwork, and enhancement of shipboard team communication.  Thereafter, as Deputy Director for Professional Education at Navy Medicine Readiness & Training Command San Diego, she oversaw training, medical education, and research, and served as an ad hoc advisor to the Defense Health Board on issues related to military family readiness.  In 2021, CAPT Marter was selected as Deputy Commander for Naval Medical Research Command, overseeing 3 overseas & 5 stateside research commands and more than 1,300 staff. 
 
CAPT Marter assumed command of U.S. Naval Medical Research Unit SOUTH, the only U.S. Navy command in South America, on 07 July 2023.
 
She is a board certified Family Nurse Practitioner, and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners.  CAPT Marter's personal awards include the Meritorious Service Medal (2), the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (3), and the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal (2).