Pioneering medical researchers honored with 2026 Military Health System Research Symposium Awards

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Pioneering medical researchers honored with 2026 Military Health System Research Symposium Awards

UNITED STATES

08.03.2026

Story by Robert Hammer 

Office of the Assistant Secretary of War for Health Affairs/Military Health System

Innovators in military medical research received esteemed awards at the 2026 Military Health System Research Symposium for their commitment to improving warfighter health and mission readiness. Winning individuals and teams received the awards Aug. 3 in Kissimmee, Florida

“The work we’re honoring is a powerful reminder that dedication in the lab translates to lifesaving results in the field,” said Assistant Secretary of War for Health Affairs Keith Bass. “This is research that becomes better care for our service members and innovation that reaches a warfighter in the moments that matter most.”

Their research spanned a diverse range of topics, including use of blood products in extreme environments, warfighter vision readiness, respiratory illnesses, effects of cold weather, and bone stress injuries

Individual Distinguished Service Award Winner

Retired Army Col. John Hess was recognized for a lifetime of outstanding service to the Department of War and the Defense Health Agency as a clinician, scientist, and inventor

· Hess is a professor of laboratory medicine and pathology at the University of Washington, and a medical director of transfusion service at Harborview Medical Center, Seattle, Washington

In his career, he authored more than 300 publications, invented multiple hemorrhage-control systems and methods for extending red blood cell storage and holds seven U.S. patents. He is an associate editor of Transfusion and has previously served on the World Health Organization Blood Transfusion Medicine Expert Panel. His current research involves blood product development, hemorrhage control, and use of clinical blood

He served in the U.S. Army for 24 years, with his last assignment as the director of blood research for the U.S. Army Blood Program. His work led to numerous discoveries in the area of blood research, resulting in improved blood storage solutions, increased availability, and enhanced patient outcomes

Awards for Outstanding Research Accomplishment (Individual – Military)

Individual awards were given to researchers for exceptional research contributions that support the warfighter and demonstrate significant, high-impact accomplishments

· Dr. Logan Williams, who has a doctorate in electro-optical engineering and is a senior research engineer at the U.S. Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, was recognized for his transformative leadership in medical research central to human performance, delivering high-impact capabilities that enhance warfighter survivability. He conceptualized, executed, and transitioned the $5 million HPMx3 casualty modeling capability and pioneered telemedical cybersecurity research.

Williams’ research and technical leadership during the development of the TOpHAT alignment tool leveraged medical expertise to mitigate a top three safety risk for F-35 pilots, while his groundbreaking work in vocal biomarkers and psychological lethality metrics has the potential to revolutionize early risk detection and force resilience. A primary pillar of Williams’s impact since February 2025, is redefining the security landscape for operational medicine through the Telemedical Network Threat program. Williams also successfully executed a strategic mandate to unify research efforts between the Air Force Research Laboratory, U.S. Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine, and Air Force Medical Command.

Awards for Outstanding Research Accomplishment (Individual – Academia)

Individual awards were given to researchers for groundbreaking research contributions enhancing warfighter readiness with vital achievements in military medicine

· Dr. Daniel Palanker is a professor of https://www.bionic-vision.org/background?tab=glossary#ophthalmology at Stanford University and is the director of the Hansen Experimental Physics Laboratory. His achievements include the design of a retinal implant activated by augmented-reality glasses

The breakthrough device successfully restores vision to personnel suffering from blindness inflicted by lasers or macular disease, effectively mitigating mission degradation and preventing long-term warfighter disability. His research represents a paradigm shift in ocular trauma recovery, and his leadership ensures operational lethality to sustain the force’s visual readiness

· Shawn Flanagan holds a doctorate in kinesiology and neuroscience from Rosalind Franklin University, Illinois, and is an associate professor of podiatric medicine and neuroscience at the university

He was recognized for his high-impact, warfighter-relevant translational research that demonstrated the application of urinary proteomic biomarkers to quantify skeletal adaptation and predict the risk of bone stress injury in military recruits during U.S. Army basic combat training. This work directly addresses an extremely important cause of lost training time, medical attrition, and reduced readiness in military populations through bone stress injuries by introducing a noninvasive, field-deployable method for early detection.

Outstanding Research Accomplishment (Team – Military)

These teams were awarded for their exemplary research contributions supporting warfighter readiness with significant, impactful accomplishments

· The U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases biosurveillance team at Fort Detrick, Maryland, led by Keersten Ricks and Army Lt. Col. Jeffrey Kugelman, was honored for outstanding research achievements

The team was recognized for rapidly developing and deploying novel biosurveillance platforms. Their global surveillance efforts identified viral threats, including tick-borne encephalitis virus in Poland and Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever in Mongolia, and uncovered malaria diagnostic challenges. Through extensive international training and support, they have significantly enhanced global biosurveillance capabilities and force health protection. The team’s applied research advancements from February 2025 directly enhance warfighter health protection and readiness across multiple geographic combatant commands.

· The Translational and Clinical Research department team at the U.S. Naval Medical Research Command in Silver Spring, Maryland, led by Dr. Chad Porter, department head, Dr. Sandra Isidean, deputy department head, and Navy Cmdr. Catherine Berjohn, clinical trials center chief, were honored with a team award for outstanding research accomplishments

The team was recognized for advancing joint force readiness through high-impact clinical research. Key milestones include completing a phase 1 trial for the world’s only Staphylococcus aureus vaccine and conducting a pivotal trial for a novel immune modulator to curb respiratory infections in congregate military settings. The team also led international collaborations that advanced countermeasures through a pioneering controlled human infection model and advanced epidemiological studies

Outstanding Research Accomplishment (Team – Academia)

These teams were awarded for their significant warfighter-relevant research contributions with substantial accomplishments

· The Laboratory for Innovation in Microengineering and Biomanufacturing and the Tamayol, Kalajzic & Kumbar Labs team, led by Brya Matthews, an assistant professor at UConn Health in Farmington, Connecticut, was honored with a team award for outstanding research accomplishments

The team was recognized for pioneering an integrated preclinical model and multifunctional biomaterial platform to treat complex multicompartmental combat injuries. Their rapidly deployable, tissue-specific foams enable immediate hemorrhage control while promoting bone and muscle regeneration, directly addressing critical gaps in trauma care. By incorporating localized, nonopioid pain-management strategies within the regenerative process, this work advances survival and recovery. Supported by DOW funding, this platform represents a significant step toward adaptable, field-ready solutions for improving warfighter outcomes.

· The Cape Colorado Combat Research team, Aurora, Colorado, led by Dr. Nee-Kofi Mould-Millman, associate professor of emergency medicine, was honored with a team award for outstanding research accomplishment

The team has made significant contributions to military medicine through their investigations into the effects of prolonged prehospital times on outcomes following major trauma. The C3 team conducted research in the Western Cape region of South Africa, which has one of the highest rates of violence globally, a median prehospital time of 11 hours, and world-class trauma care. The team worked closely with DOW leadership to address critical questions pertaining to prolonged field care. The C3 team has published 15 peer-reviewed manuscripts and presented 13 abstracts in the past year.

· The Integrated Cold Environment Medical Effects and Devices team at the University of Cincinnati, Ohio, led by Jim Lehman, was honored with a team award for outstanding research accomplishments

The ICE-MED team, a sustained collaboration between the University of Cincinnati and AFRL’s 711th Human Performance Wing En Route Care, closed a critical readiness gap by examining the entire thermal chain of care in Arctic and cold-region operations. The work demonstrated that operational performance depends not on assumptions or labels, but on what is reliably delivered to the patient. By replacing uncertainty with measurable thresholds across medications, blood, warming systems, airway strategies, and equipment readiness, ICE-MED advanced cold regions expeditionary medicine and strengthened casualty care in some of the most challenging operational environments faced by the joint force.

Team Awards in Outstanding Program Management

Three teams were honored for excellent medical product program management. The award focused on the accomplishments of a team charged with further maturing medical research and development or a commercial effort

· The Next Generation Diagnostics 2 – Man Portable Diagnostic System Program Management team at Fort Detrick, Maryland, led by Christopher Joyal, collaborated with the Rapid Human Diagnostics team within the DHA, Operational Medicine, to deliver a landmark achievement by obtaining Food and Drug Administration 510(k) clearance in February 2026, for a portable, battlefield-ready diagnostic system and hemorrhagic fever test. This joint, multiorganizational team expertly managed cost, schedule, and performance to fill a critical warfighter capability gap for far-forward diagnostics of infectious diseases. Their efforts have directly enabled the imminent fielding of this lifesaving technology across the force.

· The Canine Freeze Dried Plasma Development team at Fort Detrick, Maryland, led by Army Lt. Col. Sheila Johnson, product manager, U.S. Army Medical Material Development Activity, and Kendra Lawrence, portfolio manager, DHA, was recognized for developing the use of developing freeze-dried plasma for military working dogs

Together with Mantel Technologies, the team successfully pioneered the development, regulatory approval, and manufacturing scale-up to secure the first-ever FDA clearance for a cFDP product in December 2025. Through exceptional program agility, the team navigated manufacturing challenges and regulatory hurdles to launch commercial pre-sales in February 2026

Warfighter Medical Research Public Communication

·Jenn Green, communications program manager for the CU Anschutz Combat Medicine Research Center and the Marcus Institute for Brain Health, was recognized for outstanding leadership in communicating DOW-funded medical research in support of the warfighter

She translated complex research across combat casualty care, traumatic brain injury, and psychological health into clear, compelling messages. Her strategic leadership has elevated high-profile events, expanded global media reach, doubled digital engagement, and ensured military medical research reaches leaders, policymakers, and the public — advancing care on the battlefield and at home. Her dedication ensured that warfighter medical research achieves the visibility, understanding, and impact it deserves. She worked across a diverse portfolio of focus areas: point-of-injury and prolonged casualty care, critical injury and illness, and psychological health and readiness.

“This year’s award recipients are at the forefront of military medicine, turning complex challenges into real-world solutions that protect and empower our warfighters,” Bass stated. “Their commitment is what drives progress and ensures we are always ready to serve those who serve our nation.”

To recognize the future generation of military medicine research, the Young Investigator Competition will be held during the symposium. More than 1,400 scientific posters will be presented during MHSRS, and the top poster presenters will be recognized by their peers

Visit the 2026 MHSRS spotlight page for more news and highlights from this symposium and engage with us on social media using the #MHSRS hashtag

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