The Naval Medical Research Command (NMRC) is an agency that performs basic and applied

biomedical research Medical research (or biomedical research), also known as experimental medicine, encompasses a wide array of research, extending from "basic research" (also called ''bench science'' or ''bench research''), – involving fundamental scientif ...

to meet the needs of the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

and

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

. Its areas of focus include study of

infectious diseases An infection is the invasion of tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmissible disease or communicable dise ...

biodefense Biodefense refers to measures to restore biosecurity to a group of organisms who are, or may be, subject to biological threats or infectious diseases. Biodefense is frequently discussed in the context of biowar or bioterrorism, and is generall ...

military medicine The term military medicine has a number of potential connotations. It may mean: *A medical specialty, specifically a branch of occupational medicine attending to the medical risks and needs (both preventive and interventional) of sold ...

battlefield medicine Battlefield medicine, also called field surgery and later combat casualty care, is the treatment of wounded combatants and non-combatants in or near an area of combat. Civilian medicine has been greatly advanced by procedures that were first ...

, and

bone marrow Bone marrow is a semi-solid tissue found within the spongy (also known as cancellous) portions of bones. In birds and mammals, bone marrow is the primary site of new blood cell production (or haematopoiesis). It is composed of hematopoietic ce ...

research. NMRC is under the

United States Department of the Navy The United States Department of the Navy (DoN) is one of the three military departments within the Department of Defense of the United States of America. It was established by an Act of Congress on 30 April 1798, at the urging of Secretary o ...

Bureau of Medicine and Surgery The Bureau of Medicine and Surgery (BUMED) is an agency of the United States Department of the Navy that manages health care activities for the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps. BUMED operates hospitals and other health care ...

History

NMRC was originally the Naval Medical Research Institute, founded in 1942, and was located on the campus of the

National Naval Medical Center National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

Bethesda, Maryland Bethesda () is an unincorporated, census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland. It is located just northwest of Washington, D.C. It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House (1820, rebuilt 1849), which in ...

. Besides researching health and safety issues for shipboard environments, it was involved in early

radiobiology Radiobiology (also known as radiation biology, and uncommonly as actinobiology) is a field of clinical and basic medical sciences that involves the study of the action of ionizing radiation on living things, especially health effects of radiation. ...

research after the development of

atomic weapon A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions ( thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bom ...

s, astronaut training during the 1960s

Space Race The Space Race was a 20th-century competition between two Cold War rivals, the United States and the Soviet Union, to achieve superior spaceflight capability. It had its origins in the ballistic missile-based nuclear arms race between the tw ...

, as well as the establishment of the Navy Tissue Bank and the

National Marrow Donor Program The National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1986 and based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, that operates the Be The Match Registry of volunteer hematopoietic cell donors and umbilical cord blood units in the Unite ...

. The Navy Toxicology Unit, which had been founded in 1959 in response to air quality issues within USS ''Nautilus'' as well as toxicity concerns about replacements for flammable hydraulic fluids, was incorporated into the Naval Medical Research Institute in 1975 and moved the following year from Bethesda to

Wright-Patterson Air Force Base Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (WPAFB) is a United States Air Force base and census-designated place just east of Dayton, Ohio, in Greene County, Ohio, Greene and Montgomery County, Ohio, Montgomery counties. It includes both Wright and Patte ...

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Day ...

so it could share resources with the Aerospace Medical Research Laboratory's Toxic Hazards Division. The unit later became the Environmental Health Effects Laboratory at

Naval Medical Research Unit Dayton Naval Medical Research Unit Dayton (NAMRU-D) is a biomedical research laboratory of the United States Navy in Dayton, Ohio. It is one of seven subordinate commands of the Naval Medical Research Center and incorporates two research divisions. The ...

. In 1998, the Naval Medical Research Institute was reorganized into the Naval Medical Research Center and became an umbrella organization for several other subordinate commands elsewhere in the nation and abroad. Since 1999, it has been located in the

Forest Glen Annex The Forest Glen Annex is a U.S. Army installation in the Forest Glen Park neighborhood of Silver Spring, Maryland, USA. It is situated between Brookville Road and Linden Lane. Since 1999, the Annex has been the site of the Walter Reed Army In ...

Silver Spring, Maryland Silver Spring is a census-designated place (CDP) in southeastern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, near Washington, D.C. Although officially unincorporated, in practice it is an edge city, with a population of 81,015 at the 2020 censu ...

. The Forest Glen Annex was originally an annex of the

Walter Reed Army Medical Center The Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC)known as Walter Reed General Hospital (WRGH) until 1951was the U.S. Army's flagship medical center from 1909 to 2011. Located on in the District of Columbia, it served more than 150,000 active and ret ...

, but as a result of the

Base Realignment and Closure Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) is a process by a United States federal government commission to increase United States Department of Defense efficiency by coordinating the realignment and closure of military installations following the end o ...

process the facility was transferred to the command of

Fort Detrick Fort Detrick () is a United States Army Futures Command installation located in Frederick, Maryland. Historically, Fort Detrick was the center of the U.S. biological weapons program from 1943 to 1969. Since the discontinuation of that program, i ...

in 2008. NMRC occupies the Daniel K. Inouye Building, named for the late Senator

Daniel Inouye Daniel Ken Inouye ( ; September 7, 1924 – December 17, 2012) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States senator from Hawaii from 1963 until his death in 2012. Beginning in 1959, he was the first U.S. representative f ...

, along with the

Walter Reed Army Institute of Research The Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR) is the largest biomedical research facility administered by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD). The institute is centered at the Forest Glen Annex, in the Forest Glen Park part of the uni ...

. In 2023, Naval Medical Research Center was renamed to Naval Medical Research Command, to better reflect the organization's command status.

Organization

Naval Health Research Center Point Loma 2014

Tri-Service Research Laboratory San Antonio

NMRC has 1600 employees. Its main campus in Silver Spring is divided into seven directorates: * The Administration Directorate provides direction and support to the other directorates and sets the policy required to ensure a coordinated effort in support of command requirements. * The Biological Defense Research Directorate researches ways to protect military personnel in the event of a biological attack. * The Bone Marrow Research Directorate provides military contingency support for casualties with marrow toxic injury due to radiation or chemical warfare agents. * The Infectious Diseases Directorate conducts research on infectious diseases that are considered to be significant threats to our deployed sailors, marines, soldiers, and airmen. * The Operational and Undersea Medicine Directorate conducts medical research, development, testing, and evaluation to develop new information and technologies to enhance the health, safety, performance, and deployment readiness of Navy and Marine Corps personnel. * The Research Services Directorate' acts as a bridge for the community's scientific investigators, and opens NMRC scientific endeavors to research applications and developments. * The Resource Management Directorate advises the Commanding Officer on financial functions within the command. The Naval Infectious Diseases Diagnostic Laboratory is also located in the Silver Spring facility. It provides clinical diagnostic laboratory services for active military and their families worldwide, specializing in less-common diseases not covered by the standard military treatment facilities of the

Military Health System The Military Health System (MHS) is a form of nationalized health care operated within the United States Department of Defense that provides health care to active duty, Reserve component and retired U.S. Military personnel and their dependents. ...

. NMRC also has seven subordinate commands: * Naval Health Research Center (NHRC) at

Naval Base Point Loma Naval Base Point Loma (NBPL) is located in Point Loma, a neighborhood of San Diego, California. It was established on 1 October 1998 when Navy facilities in the Point Loma area of San Diego were consolidated under Commander, Navy Region Southwest ...

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

Naval Submarine Medical Research Laboratory The Naval Submarine Medical Research Laboratory (NSMRL) is located on the Naval Submarine Base New London, New London Submarine Base in Groton, Connecticut. The laboratory's mission is to protect the health of American sailors, focused on submari ...

(NSMRL) at

Submarine Base New London Naval Submarine Base New London is the primary United States Navy East Coast submarine base, also known as the "Home of the Submarine Force." It is located in Groton, Connecticut directly across the Thames River from its namesake city of New Lon ...

Groton, Connecticut Groton is a town in New London County, Connecticut located on the Thames River. It is the home of General Dynamics Electric Boat, which is the major contractor for submarine work for the United States Navy. The Naval Submarine Base New London is ...

(NAMRU-D) at

Naval Medical Research Unit San Antonio A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It include ...

(NAMRU-SA) at

Joint Base San Antonio Joint Base San Antonio (JBSA) is a United States military facility located in San Antonio, Texas, USA. The facility is under the jurisdiction of the United States Air Force 502d Air Base Wing, Air Education and Training Command (AETC). The win ...

San Antonio, Texas ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

Naval Medical Research Unit Three Naval Medical Research Unit Three (NAMRU-3) is a biomedical research laboratory of the US Navy located in Sigonella, Italy. Previously it was located in Cairo, Egypt. NAMRU-3 is the oldest U.S. overseas military medical research facility that has ...

(NAMRU-3) at Sigonella Naval Air Station,

Sicily, Italy (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

* Naval Medical Research Unit South (NAMRU SOUTH) at Centro Medico Naval,

Lima, Peru Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of t ...

* Naval Medical Research Unit Indo Pacific (NAMRU INDO PACIFIC) at

Singapore Naval Base His Majesty's Naval Base, Singapore, also Her Majesty's Naval Base, Singapore (HMNB Singapore), alternatively known as the Singapore Naval Base, Sembawang Naval Base and HMS Sembawang, was situated in Sembawang at the North Region, Singapore, no ...

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

Naval Medical Research Units

One 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

Four 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. In mathematics Four is the smallest c ...

, and

Five 5 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 5, five or number 5 may also refer to: * AD 5, the fifth year of the AD era * 5 BC, the fifth year before the AD era Literature * ''5'' (visual novel), a 2008 visual novel by Ram * ''5'' (comics), an awa ...

were disestablished in the 1970s, prior to the other units' incorporation into NMRC in 1998. NAMRU-2 became NAMRU INDO PACIFIC, and NAMRU-6 became NAMRU SOUTH, in 2023.

Former commanding officers

Naval Medical Research Institute

*Capt William L. Mann, MC, USN (Oct 1942–Jul 1943) *Capt E.G. Hakanssen, MC, USN (Jul 1943–Apr 1948) *Capt Charles F. Behrens, MC, USN (Apr 1948–Jul 1951) *Capt Wilbur E. Kellum, MC, USN (Jun 1951–Feb 1956) *Capt Otto E. Van Der Aue, MC, USN (Feb 1956–Dec 1960) *Capt Henry G. Wagner, MC, USN (Dec 1960–Jul 1961) *Capt John R. Seal, MC, USN (Jul 1961–Aug 1965) *Capt Herschel C. Sudduth, MC, USN (Aug 1965–Jul 1970) *Capt Tor Richter, MC, USN (Jul 1970–May 1974) *Capt Kenneth W. Sell, MC, USN (May 1974–Sep 1977) *Capt Walter F. Miner, MC, USN (Sep 1977–Sep 1980) *Capt James Vorosmarti Jr, MC, USN (Sep 1980–Jan 1983) *Capt Raymond L. Sphar, MC, USN (Jan 1983–May 1986) *Capt Otis P. Daily, MSC, USN (May 1986–Aug 1986) *Capt Kurt Sorensen, MC, USN (Aug 1986–Aug 1989) *Capt Larry W. Laughlin, MC, USN (Aug 1989–Oct 1992) *Capt Robert G. Walter, DC, USN (Oct 1992–Jun 1995) *Capt Thomas J. Contreras, MSC, USN (Jun 1995–Oct 1998)

Naval Medical Research Center

*Capt Thomas J. Contreras, MSC, USN (Jun 1995–Oct 1998) *Capt Richard G. Hibbs, MC, USN (Jul 1999–Jul 2001) *Capt Richard B. Oberst, MSC, USN (Jul 2001–Oct 2004) *Capt Edward L. Antosek, MC, USN (Oct 2004–Oct 2006) *Capt J. Christopher Daniel, MC, USN (Oct 2006–Aug 2009) *Capt Richard L. Haberberger Jr, MSC, USN (Aug 2009–Aug 2012) *Capt John W. Sanders III, MC, USN (Aug 2012–Jul 2015) *Capt Jacqueline D. Rychnovsky, NC, USN (Jul 2015–Apr 2017) *Capt Adam W. Armstrong, MC, USN (May 2017-June 2021) *Capt William M. Deniston, MC, USN (June 2021- July 2023)

Naval Medical Research Command

*Capt William M. Deniston, MC, USN (June 2021-July 2023) *Capt Franca M. Jones, USN (July 2023- Present)

References

External links

Naval Medical Research Command
{{Coord, 39, 00, 07, N, 77, 05, 40, W, type:landmark_globe:earth_region:US-MD, display=title Military medical research of the United States Navy United States Navy organization 1942 establishments in the United States Medical and health organizations based in Maryland Forest Glen Annex