The Military Infectious Diseases Research Program (MIDRP) is a DOD joint multi-service effort to develop and evaluate devices, technologies, and treatments to prevent and treat wound infections in combat casualty injuries.
While work in these areas is already ongoing, MIDRP will officially begin in FY 2010. Potential areas of investigation will include bacterial pathogenesis and colonization of wounds, and investigation of topical antimicrobial agents and antimicrobial synergy.
The program was created in response to new types of wound infections found in injured combat troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, Many of these infections are very difficult to treat and are resistant to current antibiotics and other traditional treatments.
Commander Kyle Petersen, a Navy undersea medical officer assigned to the NMRC Combat Casualty Care Directorate was just selected as the research coordinator for the program. Along with Commander Petersen’s selection, eleven MIDRP research coordinators were selected to lead the joint efforts of approximately 300 Army, Navy, Air Force, DOD civilian and contract scientists located in eight infectious diseases research laboratories.
The eight MIDRP major infectious diseases research laboratories are located at NMRC, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, and the Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases. In addition, there are laboratories in Peru, Egypt, Kenya, Thailand, and Indonesia with smaller detachments in Nepal, Uganda, Tanzania, Nigeria, Cameroon, and Ghana.
Commander Petersen explained that Navy Military Treatment Facilities will be involved in some of the clinical research and will benefit from the basic science research as it transitions to the clinical setting. Other Navy involvement will come from NMRC laboratories involved in the basic science research effort.
