06
120 YEARS OF ADVANCES FOR MILITARY AND PUBLIC HEALTH
A CONVERSATION WITH COL STEVEN E. BRAVERMAN, M.D., COMMANDER, WALTER REED ARMY INSTITUTE OF RESEARCH By Craig Collins On June 25, 2013, COL Steven E. Braverman assumed command of the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR). With degrees from the University of Virginia, the National Defense University, and Vanderbilt University, COL Braverman began his medical career at Fort Gordon, Ga., in 1987, moving a year later to the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., where he eventually became chief of the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R) Service and director of the PM&R Residency Training Program. In 2000, he became the deputy commander for clinical services at Moncrief Army Community Hospital, Fort Jackson, S.C., followed by an assignment as command surgeon for the National Defense University. After attending the National War College for a year, he commanded the Fort Knox, Ky., U.S. Army Medical Department Activity and Ireland Army Community Hospital from 2005 to 2007. From 2007 to 2009, COL Braverman served as chief of the Clinical Services Division at the U.S. Army Medical Command, deputy director of Health Policy and Services at the Office of the Surgeon General, and chief consultant to the Army Surgeon General. He deployed to Iraq, from October 2008 to April 2009, as the Multi-National Corps-Iraq Deputy Surgeon for Clinical Operations. After his deployment, from 2009 to 2011, he commanded the Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center, Fort Hood, Texas. Before taking over leadership of WRAIR, COL Braverman served as the Medical Corps deputy chief and Corps Specific Branch Proponent Officer. COL Braverman has been awarded the Legion of Merit, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, and Iraq Campaign Medal. He has received the “A” designator award for professional expertise, the Order of Military Medical Merit, and the General Claire L. Chennault Award for teaching excellence. Craig Collins: Over the past 120 years, the Army’s Medical Research and Materiel Command has been reorganized and reshuffled multiple times, with laboratories and offices being terminated, recombined, or reshuffled. WRAIR has not merely survived these changes – it’s thrived. It’s as important now as ever. Why has it had such staying power? COL Steven E. Braverman: I think there are a few things that really distinguish WRAIR. One is its long history. When you have an institution – not just an institute – it earns a reputation over time. And we have a worldwide reputation as an organization that is providing both basic science and clinical research, and translating the research into
COL Steven E. Braverman, M.D., commander, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research. U.S. Army photo
biomedical products – equipment, or medications, or vaccines – valuable not only to the military but also to global health. And, in fact, several of our OCONUS labs, the labs outside the continental United States, have close ties with academic institutions, and in some cases commercial enterprises, and that has made a difference in building capacity and capability in countries on every continent except Antarctica. The agreements under which we conduct research in those labs require that the work benefits the participating populations – so when we do research in our primary labs in Kenya and Thailand, or in