2025 MHSRS Distinguished Service and Team Awards

Distinguished Service Award

Robert J. Ursano M.D., Col (RET), USAF Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences Bethesda, MD

Distinguished Service Award

Karl E. Friedl, Ph.D. U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine Natick, MA

Outstanding Research Accomplishment/Individual/Academia

Justin C. Baker Ph.D., ABPP The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center Columbus, OH

Outstanding Research Accomplishment/Individual/Academia

Mary Jo Pugh, Ph.D., RN Spencer Fox Eccles School of Medicine, University of Utah Salt Lake City, UT

Outstanding Research Accomplishment/Individual/Military

CPT Maya Alexandri, MC, USA Department of Emergency Medicine Carl R. Darnell Army Medical Center Fort Cavazos, TX

Outstanding Research Accomplishment Team Academia

The Linking Investigations in Trauma & Emergency Services Team University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA
Jason L. Sperry, M.D. Francis X. Guyette, M.D. Stephen R. Wisniewski, Ph.D. Team Leads

Outstanding Research Accomplishment Team/Military

The Naval Psychological Readiness Human & Performance Team Naval Submarine Medical Research Laboratory, Groton, CT
Justin D. Handy, Ph.D. Dominica Hernandez, Ph.D. Team Leads

Outstanding Research Accomplishment Team/Military

The APPRAISE Team Fort Detrick, MD
Jaques Reifman, Ph.D. Team Lead

Outstanding Research Accomplishment Program Management

The Freeze-Dried Plasma Team Operational Medical Systems, DHA, Fort Detrick, MD
Kendra L. Lawrence, Ph.D. Andrew J. Atkinson Team Leads

Outstanding Research Accomplishment/Program Management

Office of Regulated Activities U.S. Army Medical Research & Development Command Fort Detrick, MD
Chandar S. Thakur, Ph.D. Team Lead

Warfighter Medical Research Public Communication

Naval Health Research Center San Diego, CA
Douglas M. Jones, Ph.D. Timothy L. Dunn, Ph.D. John B. Marciano

2025 MHSRS Young Investigator Competition Awards

First Place – Oral Competition

Mr. Charles Elder University of Louisville, Louisville, KY
Leveraging Artificial Intelligence to Mitigate Membrane Damage in Freeze-Dried Red Blood Cells

Second Place – Oral Competition

Dr. Julian Dilley Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN
Inhibition of Ca2+/ Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinase Kinase2(CAMKK2) with STO-609 Reduces Osteoarthritis in a Rabbit Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury Model

Third Place – Oral Competition

Dr. Elliott Dirr Naval Medical Research Unit Dayton, OH

Partial Pressure of Oxygen and Nitrogen Impacts the Development of Noise-Induced Hearing Loss

YI Poster Award

Dr. Mylea Echazarreta Cristner 59th Medical Wing, San Antonio, TX
Comparison of Self-Retaining Retractor System for Use in Forward Deployed Surgical Teams

2025 MHSRS Poster Awards

Best in Show

Exercise-Associated Hyponatremia in Military Training During a Heat Wave
CPT Ziv Talmi Yaakov
Israel Defense Forces Medical Corps, Tel Hashomer, Ramat Gan, Israel

Poster Session 1

First Place
Survival Analysis of a Dental Self-Healing Composite
Dr. Sabrina Snyder
Naval Medical Research Unit San Antonio, TX
Second Place
Antigenic Characterization of Currently Circulating Seasonal Influenza Strains Using Antigenic Cartography
Dr. Kayla Septer
Naval Medical Research Command, Silver Spring, MD
Third Place
Defining the Window of Opportunity for HIV Peri-exposure Immunoprophylaxis with Bispecific Monoclonal Antibody 10E8.4/iMab against High-dose Intravenous SHIV Challenge in Rhesus Macaques
Dr. Diane Bolton
The Henry Jackson Foundation for Advancement of Military Medicine, Bethesda, MD and U.S. Military HIV Research Program, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Silver Spring, MD
Honorable Mention
Treat As You Fight Effects of an Interdisciplinary Antibiotic Stewardship Team in a Tertiary Military Hospital
MAJ David Zeidler
German Federal Armed Forces Central Hospital, Koblenz
Honorable Mention
Antimicrobial Resistance in Ukraine Combat Wound Infections Originating Near Zaporizhahia
Maj Thomas Musich
Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Silver Spring, MD

Poster Session 2

First Place Portable Viscoelastic Coagulation Monitor for Pre-hospital and Point-of-Care Application in Combat Polytrauma managed with ECLS and Systemic Anticoagulation
ENS Danielle Berninzoni
Autonomous Reanimation and Evacuation Research Institute, The Geneva Foundation, San Antonio, TX
Second Place Potential Benefits of Long-Term Storage Capability of Manufactured Human Red Blood Cells on Military and Civilian Blood Supply
Mr. Kyle Meetze
Safi Biotherapeutics, Inc., Cambridge, MA and Loughborough, UK
Third Place Multi-Omics Analysis of Plasma and CSF Distinguishes TBI Across the Spectrum of Severity and Time
Dr. Ava Puccio
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA
Honorable Mention Anomaly Seasonality Decomposition and Artificial Neural Network (ANN) Modeling Predict Pre- and Post-Pandemic Febrile Respiratory Illness Rates among U.S. Military Recruit Populations
LCDR Daniel Crouch
Naval Health Research Center, San Diego, CA
Honorable Mention Injury Survivability and Death Preventability during Recent Conflicts in French Combat Fatalities: A Retrospective Study
MAJ Johan Schmitt
Toulon, France

Poster Session 3

First Place The Battle for the Brain: How Sleep Loss and Circadian Rhythms Shape Neurocognitive Readiness
COL William Killgore
University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
Second Place Mitochondrial Protein Analysis in Neural Derived Exosomes from Veterans and Active-Duty Soldiers with and Without PTSD
Dr. Synthia Mellon
University of California, San Francisco
Third Place Integrated Metallized Microneedle Patch for Continuous Cortisol Sensing in Interstitial Fluid
Dr. Victoria Coyle
Air Force Research Laboratory Wright Patterson AFB, OH
Honorable Mention Impact of Cold Air and Cold-Water Immersion on Neural Activation Over the Prefrontal Cortex During Marksmanship Assessments
Dr. Cory Smith
Baylor University, Waco, TX
Honorable Mention A Framework for Population-Specific Blunt Skull Injury Risk Predictions Incorporating Biological Variability
Mr. Alexander Iwaskiw
Johns Hopkins Research Lab, Baltimore, MD