The Military Health Institute, established at UT Health San Antonio in 2014 and led by Byron Hepburn, M.D., Major General USAF (Ret), has launched a new website to communicate its mission to internal and external audiences.
The purpose of the site is to provide an overview of the institute’s mission to improve the health of our nation’s active and retired military and their families. The institute encourages alliances among academia, the military and the VA for purposes of conducting research on military issues that have dual impact on civilian populations.
One example of this is a project initiated by PI, Brian Eastridge, called RemTORN, which stands for Remote Trauma Outcomes Research Network. The goal of the study is to develop and implement a research platform to study the impact of pre-hospital time, diagnostics and therapeutics on outcomes subsequent to injury in remote settings. Studies indicate that many lives are lost in transit before full medical care can be administered, whether that be from Uvalde to San Antonio (120 miles) or on a battle field between Baghram and Jalalabad, the same distance. Addressing the issue from a military perspective has civilian applications.
In 2016, Department of Defense grants to UT Health San Antonio totaled $12.3 million, a net increase of almost $4 million from 2015. In the Long School of Medicine, the basic science departments received $2.4 million in FY 2016 compared to $174,000 in FY 2015.
The institute currently maintains partnerships with the Department of Defense, Veterans Administration, UT System and industry partners and foundations. Additionally, the Military Health Institute hosts a distinguished lecture series, a post-doc fellowship, pilot research projects and sponsors a military health student group. To reach out with any questions or inquiries, send an email to mhi@uthscsa.edu.
Check out the new site today by clicking here.