The Surgeon’s Office within the U.S. Joint Forces Command recently sponsored a working group meeting to bring military healthcare providers together with representatives from DOD’s partner academic institutions to discuss cutting-edge medical techniques. The working group in their study of restorative medicine is examining what DOD can learn from their partners to further develop medical technology to care for wounded warriors, according to Navy Rear Admiral (Dr.) Michael H. Mittelman, Command Surgeon for the Joint Forces Command.
The academic institutions are members of a consortium working with the Armed Forces Institute of Regenerative Medicine, a partnership set up in 2008 between the Defense Department and academic institutions to fund advanced research to rebuild human muscle and tissue.
Impetus for the working group came when Marine Corps General James N. Mattis, Commander of Joint Forces Command, visited the University of Pittsburgh’s McGowan Institute, one of the Armed Forces Institute of Regenerative Medicine partners. Admiral Mittelman said, “While Mattis was there, researchers demonstrated some important emerging care techniques.”
“There appears to be a lack of awareness in the DOD medical treatment facilities about new medical initiatives,” according to Admiral Mittelman. “We are attempting to establish relationships so that the services can educate the academic institutions on the ground rules and the academic institutions can then educate us on what they can provide to our wounded warriors and their families.”
The working group meeting enabled DOD representatives to meet with researchers from Rutgers University, University of Pittsburgh’s McGowan Institute, Wake Forest University, Mayo Clinic, Case Western Reserve University’s Cleveland Clinic, John Hopkins University, and Dartmouth College.
