Scientific Director

David Fothergill is the Scientific Director and former Submarine Medicine and Survival Systems Department Head at NSMRL. He is a qualified U.S. Navy trained diver and has, for the past 28 years, conducted research to support undersea warfighter health, readiness, and performance at the Naval Medical Research Institute and NSMRL. Dr. Fothergill served asSenior Research Scientist at the Center for Research and Education in Special Environments, State University of New York at Buffalo. His research interests and scientific publications cover a wide range of topics including: inert gas narcosis, CO2 toxicity, pulmonary O2 toxicity, nitric oxide physiology in extreme environments, underwater breathing apparatus design and evaluation, bioeffects of underwater sound, submarine escape and rescue, biomechanics of human strength, human thermal physiology, and environmental exposure monitoring.