McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine affiliated faculty member Ron Poropatich, MD, has been named the Director of the Center for Military Medicine Research (CMMR), Health Sciences, at the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Poropatich (Professor of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine; Senior Advisor for Telemedicine, UPMC; and retired US Army Colonel) has made significant inroads with senior leaders of the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) medical research community and University of Pittsburgh faculty since his arrival at Pitt in 2012, when the Center was established.
The mission of the CMMR is to develop new research themes and to promote collaboration among investigators in the Health Sciences and related disciplines, which will lead to significant scientific and clinical advances that support the medical needs of the DOD and Veterans Affairs. Examples of novel medical research themes developed at Pitt and funded by the DOD include whole eye transplant, traumatic brain injury treatments, a trauma care research consortium in support of battlefield casualties, closed loop robotic controlled cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and human performance optimization. Dr. Poropatich’s active outreach across the Health Sciences has been exemplary and resulted in more than $100M in DOD funding over the last five years to 16 Pitt investigators. The Center’s efforts in other disciplines, such as regenerative medicine, reconstructive surgery, tissue engineering, and acute lung injury, have also been productive.
The Center has established an important network of successful partnerships and collaborations among scientists, clinicians, industry, the DOD, and the Veterans Administration. These relationships have led to strategic partnerships, promising research technologies, and emerging therapeutic strategies. With Dr. Poropatich’s determined leadership, the Center will continue to serve Pitt and facilitate research on health sciences and rehabilitation outcomes with the constant aim of accelerating the transition of innovative therapies to the military medical community. The Center has also provided an ideal multidisciplinary training environment that encourages students, trainees, and investigators to address the conceptual, methodological, and analytical issues implicit in advancing research for wounded members of the armed services.
Further, the Center has two additional McGowan Institute affiliated faculty members on the CMMR team:
- Michael R. Pinsky, MD (Professor of Critical Care Medicine) serving as Clinical Initiatives Advisor, and
- Bradley Nindl, PhD (Director of the Neuromuscular Research Laboratory/Wounded Warrior Human Performance Center and Professor of Sports Medicine and Nutrition in the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences as well as an Army Reservist Colonel commanding the Southwest Medical Area Readiness Support Group) serving as Senior Military and Scientific Advisor.
McGowan Institute faculty member Rocky Tuan, PhD, was founding Director of the CMMR and is now head of the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
Congratulations, Dr. Poropatich!