The United States Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine (USARIEM) is the U.S Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

’s main institution and facility for military environmental medicine

Environmental medicine

Environmental medicine is a multidisciplinary field involving medicine, environmental science, chemistry and others. It may be viewed as the medical branch of the broader field of environmental health. The scope of this field involves studying the interactions between environment and human health,...

 and exercise physiology

Exercise physiology

Exercise physiology is the study of the acute responses and chronic adaptations to a wide-range of physical exercise conditions. In addition, many exercise physiologists study the effect of exercise on pathology, and the mechanisms by which exercise can reduce or reverse disease progression...

 research. It is located at Natick, MA

Natick, Massachusetts

Natick is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. Natick is located near the center of the MetroWest region of Massachusetts, with a population of 33,006 at the 2010 census. Only west from Boston, Natick is considered part of the Greater Boston area...

 within the U.S. Army Soldier Systems Center

U.S. Army Soldier Systems Center

The United States Army Soldier Systems Center is a military research complex and installation in Natick, Massachusetts charged by the U.S. Department of Defense with the research and development of food, clothing, shelters, airdrop systems, and other servicemember support items for the U.S....

 (SSC) installation, but is a subordinate lab of the U. S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command

United States Army Medical Research and Materiel Command

The United States Army Medical Research and Materiel Command is the United States Army's medical materiel developer, with responsibility for medical research, development, and acquisition and medical logistics management. The USAMRMC's expertise in these critical areas helps establish and maintain...

 (USAMRMC), headquartered at Fort Detrick

Fort Detrick

Fort Detrick is a U.S. Army Medical Command installation located in Frederick, Maryland, USA. Historically, Fort Detrick was the center for the United States' biological weapons program ....

, MD, USA.

Mission

USARIEM’s Mission Statement mandates that the Institute:
Research programs focus on the servicemember (acclimation; body size; gender; race; age; health; hydration; nutrition; fitness; and sleep status), the environment (temperature; wind; humidity; and altitude), and the mission (work—intensity, duration, and type; clothing and equipment; and medications).

History

USARIEM traces its institutional lineage back to 1927 and the Harvard Fatigue Laboratory. That facility fostered two institutions that ultimately merged. The first was the Climatic Research Laboratory

Climatic Research Laboratory

The Climatic Research Laboratory was a U.S. Army military clothing and equipment test site formerly located at Lawrence, MA from 1943 to 1954....

 in Lawrence, MA

Lawrence, Massachusetts

Lawrence is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States on the Merrimack River. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a total population of 76,377. Surrounding communities include Methuen to the north, Andover to the southwest, and North Andover to the southeast. It and Salem are...

 (1943–54), which relocated to Natick in 1954 under the new name of the Environmental Protection Research Division (EPRD) of the U.S. Army’s Quartermaster Research and Engineering Command. The second was the Armored Medical Research Laboratory

Armored Medical Research Laboratory

The Armored Medical Research Laboratory was a U.S. Army medical research facility maintained at Fort Knox, KY from 1942 to 1961 to solve environmental problems encountered by soldiers in tanks.-Mission:...

 (AMRL) at Fort Knox

Fort Knox

Fort Knox is a United States Army post in Kentucky south of Louisville and north of Elizabethtown. The base covers parts of Bullitt, Hardin, and Meade counties. It currently holds the Army Human Resources Center of Excellence to include the Army Human Resources Command, United States Army Cadet...

, KY (1942–61) elements of which joined with the EPRD in 1961 to constitute the present USARIEM facility and organization.

Products and capabilities

USARIEM’s basic and applied research capabilities are focused upon biomedical evaluations, health hazard assessments, countermeasures development and a rapid response to a diverse range of environmental threats and problems. Products include individual soldier equipment and rations; guidelines pertaining to training policy and preventive medicine

Preventive medicine

Preventive medicine or preventive care refers to measures taken to prevent diseases, rather than curing them or treating their symptoms...

; and performance monitoring strategies and predictive algorithms.

Research Divisions

Research divisions within USARIEM consist of Biophysics and Biomedical Modeling (develops biomedical models to simulate effects of heat, cold, high altitude, hydration, nutritional status and clothing systems and equipment), Military Performance (researches performance enhancements (physical, cognitive, behavioral, psychomotor) in military occupational tasks), Military Nutrition (researches nutritional issues, including new rations, affecting servicemembers), and Thermal and Mountain Medicine (researches physical and cognitive work capabilities and medical problems associated with military operations at high altitude or temperature extremes).

Facilities

USARIEM maintains several unique or highly specialized facilities:

• Hypobaric Chamber Facility or HCF (altitude chambers)
  • Two Class D chambers (man-rated) rarefied air atmosphere, non-oxygen enriched
    • Large Study Chamber: internal volume of 2000 cu. ft. (floor area 200 sq. ft.)
    • Small Study Chamber: internal volume of 1100 cu. ft. (floor area 108 sq. ft.)
  • Environmentally controlled (altitude, temperature, humidity) & connected by an airlock
    • Simulates altitudes of 800-225 Torr (sea level to 9000 m)
    • Temperatures from -32 °C to 43 °C
    • Relative humidity (Rh) between 20-80% (dew point dependent)
  • 23,656 simulated altitude exposures of human volunteers over 33 years of studies
• 13 Environmental Chambers
  • Temperatures from -10 °C to 50 °C
• 5 Biophysical Evaluation Chambers
  • Temperatures from -10 °C to 50 °C
• Biomechanics Laboratory
• Water Immersion Laboratory
  • Temperatures from 5 °C to 45 °C
• Human Exercise Physiology Laboratory
• Human/Animal Physiology Laboratory
• Psychology Laboratory
• Electron Microscopy Laboratory
• Animal Housing and Care Facility
  • Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care International
    Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care International
    The Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care International, or AAALAC, is a private, nonprofit organization that promotes the humane treatment of animals in science through voluntary accreditation and assessment programs. The program started in 1965, when leading...
    
     (AAALAC) Accredited
• Doriot Climatic Chamber Complex
  Doriot Climatic Chambers
  The Doriot Climatic Chambers are a pair of very large, highly specialized wind tunnels/environmental chambers located at the U.S. Army’s Soldier Systems Center in Natick, Massachusetts...
  
  
  • Temperatures from -57 °C to 74 °C
• Laser and Flow Cytometry
• USARIEM/Womack Medical Research Facility