Restoring Lives and Functions for the Wounded Warriors
Saturday, December 13th
08:00 – 12:30
The Renaissance Hotel, Washington, DC
Workshop Chairs:
Eva Lai, PhD at the Johns Hopkins University
LTC Luis Alvarez, PhD at the United States Military Academy
Opening Remarks 08:00 – 08:03 (Eva Lai, PhD and Luis Alvarez, PhD)
Session 1: The Clinical Challenges and Functional Rehabilitation Needs (Moderator: Paul Pasquina, MD)
An overview on combat polytrauma injuries that includes highlights on the DoD medical research
addressing the wounded warriors’ injuries and the long term functional rehabilitation challenges, where
tissue engineering, regenerative medicine and regenerative rehabilitation approaches are potential
solutions for improving wounded warriors’ health and functional outcomes.
08:03 – 08:05 Comments from the Chair/Moderator Paul Pasquina, MD
08:05 – 08:25 Presentation 1 (20 min): Rear Admiral Bruce Doll, DDS, PhD, Director of the Research,
Development, and Acquisition at the Defense Health Agency and Deputy Commander at US Army
Medical Research and Materiel Command – presentation on an overview of DoD medical research
addressing challenges in treating combat injuries such as burns, extremity traumas, and compartment
syndromes.
08:30 – 08:50 Presentation 2 (20 min): Colonel (Ret.) Paul Pasquina, MD, Director of the Center for
Rehabilitation Science Research at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences and Chief
of the Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation at the Walter Reed National Military Medical
Center – presentation on the rehabilitation challenges and emerging solutions such as neural controlled
prostheses for wounded warriors
08:55 – 09:15 Presentation 3 (20 min): Ryan Kules, National Alumni Director, Wounded Warrior Project
– will present a personal perspective on the challenges of wounded warrior and also speak about the
Wounded Warrior Project mission and programs
Session 2: Emerging Capabilities and Partnerships (Moderator: Robert Christy, PhD)
Leaders from the federal, public and private sectors present the challenges and solutions to bring
emerging research and capabilities forward from the bench to clinical research and product
development.
09:23 – 09:25 Comments from the Chair/Moderator Robert Christy, PhD
09:25 – 09:40 Presentation 4 (15 min): Robbie Barbero, PhD, PPS Fellow, White House Office of
Science and Technology Policy – the role of public-private partnerships in addressing Grand
Challenges
09:45 – 10:00 Presentation 5 (15 min): Major General (Ret.) James Gilman, MD, Executive Director,
Johns Hopkins Military & Veterans Health Institute – will highlight the importance of academiccommercial-public partnerships and the key role of connectors like the Johns Hopkins Military & Veterans
Health Institute in advancing solutions for wounded warriors and veterans
Break 10:05– 10:20 (15 min)
10:20 – 10:35 Presentation 6 (15 min): Susan L. Solomon, JD, CEO and Co-Founder, New York Stem Cell
Foundation Research Institute – will discuss challenges and partnerships in advancing regenerative
medicine research, including bone engineering for wounded warriors and stem cell research for
neurodegenerative disease
10:40 – 10:55 Presentation 7 (15 min): Luke Burnett, PhD, CSO, KeraNetics, LLC – to present lessons
learned and strategies in translating bench science to commercialization
11:00 – 11:15 Presentation 8 (15 min): Claudia Zylberberg, PhD, CEO, Akron Biotechnology, LLC –
Discussion about the overall clinical trial manufacturing processes and opportunities for improvement of
production models under compliance from a global regulatory perspective
11:20 – 11:35 Presentation 9 (15 min): Narayan Iyer, PhD, Chief (Acting) MCM for Burn Injuries,
Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority – Discussion on emerging capabilities to
address burn care preparedness in mass casualty and approaches to synergize with DoD efforts in
development of trauma care
Panel Discussion and Concluding Remarks (Moderators: Luis Alvarez, PhD and Eva Lai, PhD)
Speakers from sessions 1 and 2 will engage with members of the research community in the audience
through an interactive panel discussion, followed by a few concluding remarks by the Co-Chairs.
11:40 – 12:30 Panel Discussion and Concluding Remarks