Walter Reed Army Institute of Research
Encyclopedia
This article is about the U.S. Army medical research institute (not the hospital). Otherwise, see Walter Reed (disambiguation)
.
The Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR) is the largest biomedical research facility administered by the U.S. Department of Defense
. The institute is centered at the Forest Glen Annex
, part of the unincorporated Silver Spring
urban area in Maryland
just north of Washington, DC, but it is a subordinate unit of the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command
(USAMRMC), headquartered at nearby Fort Detrick
, Maryland. At Forest Glen
, the WRAIR has shared a large, modern laboratory and administrative facility — the Sen Daniel K. Inouye Building, also known as Building 503 — with the Naval Medical Research Center since 1999.
and infectious disease
medicine.
Center for Military Psychiatry and Neuroscience
Center for Infectious Disease Research
Office of Science Education and Strategic Communications:
The Walter Reed Army Institute of Research supports and collaborates on all other Army Educational Research Programs including the Mobile Discovery Center, the Junior Solar Spring, eCYBERMISSION, Uninitiates Introduction to Engineering (UNITE), Research & Engineering Apprentice Program (REAP), International Science & Engineering Fair (INTEL-ISEF), Internships Science & Engineering Program (ISEP), Junior Science & Humanities Symposium (JSHS), Women in Science Project (WISP), Career Related Experience in Science & Technology (CREST), Consortium Research Fellows Program (CRFP), and Science, Mathematics and Research for Transformation Defense Scholarshop for Service Program (SMART).
Research Support:
is a multi-use facility designed and operated for production of vaccines in compliance with the current Good Manufacturing (cGMP) regulations. Compliance with cGMP ensures that products prepared in the facility will be safe, potent, and reproducible.
Since inception, the PBF has specialized in developing vaccines for Department of Defense mission-related disease threats. The PBF follows all federal regulations that apply to biological products and has expertise in the development and production of vaccines for the prevention of a variety of infectious diseases. Projects for public and private partners are accomplished through inter-agency and cooperative agreements.
Vaccines are produced that will protect Soldiers against diseases that they might encounter in areas of deployment. These include vaccines to prevent dengue fever, malaria, meningitis, cholera, shigellosis, hepatitis A, and HIV. The PBF places compliance, cleanliness, and safety as top priorities in the production process of a vaccine. Once the vaccine is tested for safety, potency, and identity, the vaccine is released for use in approved human clinical studies. Several of the PBF's experimental vaccines have progressed on to advanced clinical testing.
Although vaccine development process is complex, the expert PBF staff strives to ensure each step is completed successfully. The PBF has received awards and accolades for its role in developing vaccines for diseases such as hepatitis A and meningitis.
The WRAIR traces its institutional heritage back to the Army Medical School
, founded by U.S. Army Surgeon General
George Sternberg in 1893, by some reckonings the first school of public health
and preventive medicine
in the world. The organization name was officially changed to the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research in 1953.
Through the 20th century, medical discoveries continued to be found by Army researchers from the Army Medical School as U.S. military presence grew across the globe. Between 1900 and World War I
(WWI), they showed that the cause of dengue fever
was a filterable virus. They showed that parasites cause amebic dysentery and discovered a treatment for it. A vaccine against typhoid and a simple test for syphilis
were developed. Chlorination
as a method to disinfect drinking water was invented by Institute researchers. These and other advances in medicine, sanitation and hygiene were used by troops during WWI. By WWI, Army researchers from the Army Medical School were working in Asia and the Americas.
Into World War II
(WWII), investigations into dengue, malaria
, combat stress, wound treatment, chemical weapons, and military dentistry continued in preparation for the US military to meet new challenges and threats. One such threat was Japanese encephalitis
and the Institute was responsible for developing the first vaccine to combat it.
Since the end of WWII, WRAIR has evolved to continue serving Soldiers. The risks of nuclear weapons and chemical or biological warfare were added as new military health threats in the post-WWII era. As well, WRAIR researchers have contributed considerable gains in global medicine. For example, the Institute is responsible for the development of vaccines to prevent hepatitis A
, meningococcal meningititis, and adenovirus that caused respiratory disease. In addition, WRAIR researchers have produced two highly effective antimalarial drugs and are currently working on an effective malaria vaccine. WRAIR's medical contributions protect military and civilian populations worldwide.
This article contains information that originally came from US Government publications and websites and is in the public domain.
Walter Reed (disambiguation)
-People:*Major Walter Reed , U.S. Army physician, celebrated for work establishing that yellow fever is spread by mosquitoes*Walter Reed * Killah Priest, born Walter Reed , rapper...
.
The Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR) is the largest biomedical research facility administered by the U.S. Department of Defense
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
. The institute is centered at the Forest Glen Annex
Forest Glen Annex
The Forest Glen Annex is a U.S. Army installation in the Forest Glen neighborhood of Silver Spring, Maryland, USA. It is situated between Brookville Road and Linden Lane...
, part of the unincorporated Silver Spring
Silver Spring, Maryland
Silver Spring is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. It had a population of 71,452 at the 2010 census, making it the fourth most populous place in Maryland, after Baltimore, Columbia, and Germantown.The urbanized, oldest, and...
urban area in Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
just north of Washington, DC, but it is a subordinate unit 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 nearby 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 ....
, Maryland. At Forest Glen
Forest Glen, Maryland
Forest Glen is a census-designated place in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. The community hosts a U.S. Army installation, the Forest Glen Annex.-Geography:...
, the WRAIR has shared a large, modern laboratory and administrative facility — the Sen Daniel K. Inouye Building, also known as Building 503 — with the Naval Medical Research Center since 1999.
Institution Mandate
Basic and applied medical research supporting U.S. military operations is the focus of WRAIR leaders and scientists. The institute fosters a unique understanding of military medical needs and environments, including the exposures (diseases and physical stresses) that troops encounter and the performance requirements of a deployed military force. Despite the focus on the military, however, the institute has historically also addressed and solved a variety of non-military medical problems prevalent in the United States and the wider world. It is particularly well known for advances in the field of tropicalTropical medicine
Tropical medicine is the branch of medicine that deals with health problems that occur uniquely, are more widespread, or prove more difficult to control in tropical and subtropical regions....
and infectious disease
Infectious disease
Infectious diseases, also known as communicable diseases, contagious diseases or transmissible diseases comprise clinically evident illness resulting from the infection, presence and growth of pathogenic biological agents in an individual host organism...
medicine.
WRAIR Mission
WRAIR Vision
WRAIR Goals
Divisions at the Daniel K. Inouye Building
The Walter Reed Army Institute of Research hosts two Centers of Excellence for Military Psychiatry and Neuroscience and for Infectious Disease Research which are headquartered in Silver Spring, Maryland.Center for Military Psychiatry and Neuroscience
- Behavioral Biology
- Blast Induced Neurotrauma
- Brain Trauma Neuroprotection and Neurorestoration
- Military Psychiatry
- Research Transition Office
Center for Infectious Disease Research
- Bacterial and Rickettsial Diseases
- Entomology
- HIV
- Malaria and Leishmaniasis Drug Development
- Malaria Vaccine Development (USMMVP)
- Viral Diseases
Office of Science Education and Strategic Communications:
- Research Marketing
- Gains in Education of Mathematics & Science (GEMS)
- Students in 7th to 12th grade get an opportunity to participate in an internship for one to four weeks in an Army laboratory and learn technical skills. Advanced courses in subsequent years build upon prior experience.
- Science & Engineering Apprentice Program (SEAP)
- A cooperative education (work/study) program for high school students looking at a possible career in science and engineering. The program offers hands-on experience and mentoring in Army research and development activities in an actual Army laboratory.
- Science & Engineering Apprentice Program-College Qualified Leaders (SEAP-CQL)
- Paid internships for undergraduates seeking experience in Army research.
The Walter Reed Army Institute of Research supports and collaborates on all other Army Educational Research Programs including the Mobile Discovery Center, the Junior Solar Spring, eCYBERMISSION, Uninitiates Introduction to Engineering (UNITE), Research & Engineering Apprentice Program (REAP), International Science & Engineering Fair (INTEL-ISEF), Internships Science & Engineering Program (ISEP), Junior Science & Humanities Symposium (JSHS), Women in Science Project (WISP), Career Related Experience in Science & Technology (CREST), Consortium Research Fellows Program (CRFP), and Science, Mathematics and Research for Transformation Defense Scholarshop for Service Program (SMART).
Research Support:
- Preventive Medicine and Pathology
- Pilot Bioproduction Facility
- Clinical Trials Center
- Veterinary Medicine
- Division of Human Subjects Protection
- DMAVS, Library and Statistical Services
- Information Management
- Logistics
- Office of Quality Activities
- Operations and Security
- Personnel
- Resource Management
- Safety
WRAIR Pilot Lot Production Facility
The Pilot Bioproduction Facility (PBF) was established in 1958 as the Department of Biologics Research and is now located at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research. The PBF mission is research, development, production, and testing of vaccines for human use. The PBF at the Forest Glen AnnexForest Glen Annex
The Forest Glen Annex is a U.S. Army installation in the Forest Glen neighborhood of Silver Spring, Maryland, USA. It is situated between Brookville Road and Linden Lane...
is a multi-use facility designed and operated for production of vaccines in compliance with the current Good Manufacturing (cGMP) regulations. Compliance with cGMP ensures that products prepared in the facility will be safe, potent, and reproducible.
Since inception, the PBF has specialized in developing vaccines for Department of Defense mission-related disease threats. The PBF follows all federal regulations that apply to biological products and has expertise in the development and production of vaccines for the prevention of a variety of infectious diseases. Projects for public and private partners are accomplished through inter-agency and cooperative agreements.
Vaccines are produced that will protect Soldiers against diseases that they might encounter in areas of deployment. These include vaccines to prevent dengue fever, malaria, meningitis, cholera, shigellosis, hepatitis A, and HIV. The PBF places compliance, cleanliness, and safety as top priorities in the production process of a vaccine. Once the vaccine is tested for safety, potency, and identity, the vaccine is released for use in approved human clinical studies. Several of the PBF's experimental vaccines have progressed on to advanced clinical testing.
Although vaccine development process is complex, the expert PBF staff strives to ensure each step is completed successfully. The PBF has received awards and accolades for its role in developing vaccines for diseases such as hepatitis A and meningitis.
Global Platforms
- United States Army Medical Research Unit- Europe (USAMRU-E)
- United States Army Medical Research Unit- Kenya (USAMRU-K)United States Army Medical Research Unit-KenyaThe United States Army Medical Research Unit-Kenya is a "Special Foreign Activity" of the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya. The unit operates under a cooperative agreement with the Kenya Medical Research Institute...
- United States Army Medical Component of Armed Forces Research Institute of Medical Sciences (USAMC-AFRIMS)
History of the WRAIR
- For the pre-1953 history of WRAIR's predecessor institutions, see Army Medical SchoolArmy Medical SchoolFounded by U.S. Army Brigadier General George Miller Sternberg, MD in 1893, the Army Medical School was by some reckonings the world's first school of public health and preventive medicine...
.
The WRAIR traces its institutional heritage back to the Army Medical School
Army Medical School
Founded by U.S. Army Brigadier General George Miller Sternberg, MD in 1893, the Army Medical School was by some reckonings the world's first school of public health and preventive medicine...
, founded by U.S. Army Surgeon General
Surgeons General of the United States Army
The Surgeon General of the United States Army is the senior-most officer of the U.S. Army Medical Department . By policy, the Surgeon General serves as Commanding General, U.S. Army Medical Command as well as head of the AMEDD...
George Sternberg in 1893, by some reckonings the first school of public health
Public health
Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals" . It is concerned with threats to health based on population health...
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...
in the world. The organization name was officially changed to the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research in 1953.
Through the 20th century, medical discoveries continued to be found by Army researchers from the Army Medical School as U.S. military presence grew across the globe. Between 1900 and World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
(WWI), they showed that the cause of dengue fever
Dengue fever
Dengue fever , also known as breakbone fever, is an infectious tropical disease caused by the dengue virus. Symptoms include fever, headache, muscle and joint pains, and a characteristic skin rash that is similar to measles...
was a filterable virus. They showed that parasites cause amebic dysentery and discovered a treatment for it. A vaccine against typhoid and a simple test for syphilis
Syphilis
Syphilis is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the spirochete bacterium Treponema pallidum subspecies pallidum. The primary route of transmission is through sexual contact; however, it may also be transmitted from mother to fetus during pregnancy or at birth, resulting in congenital syphilis...
were developed. Chlorination
Chlorination
Chlorination is the process of adding the element chlorine to water as a method of water purification to make it fit for human consumption as drinking water...
as a method to disinfect drinking water was invented by Institute researchers. These and other advances in medicine, sanitation and hygiene were used by troops during WWI. By WWI, Army researchers from the Army Medical School were working in Asia and the Americas.
Into World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
(WWII), investigations into dengue, malaria
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
, combat stress, wound treatment, chemical weapons, and military dentistry continued in preparation for the US military to meet new challenges and threats. One such threat was Japanese encephalitis
Japanese Encephalitis
Japanese encephalitis —previously known as Japanese B encephalitis to distinguish it from von Economo's A encephalitis—is a disease caused by the mosquito-borne Japanese encephalitis virus. The Japanese encephalitis virus is a virus from the family Flaviviridae. Domestic pigs and wild birds are...
and the Institute was responsible for developing the first vaccine to combat it.
Since the end of WWII, WRAIR has evolved to continue serving Soldiers. The risks of nuclear weapons and chemical or biological warfare were added as new military health threats in the post-WWII era. As well, WRAIR researchers have contributed considerable gains in global medicine. For example, the Institute is responsible for the development of vaccines to prevent hepatitis A
Hepatitis A
Hepatitis A is an acute infectious disease of the liver caused by the hepatitis A virus , an RNA virus, usually spread the fecal-oral route; transmitted person-to-person by ingestion of contaminated food or water or through direct contact with an infectious person...
, meningococcal meningititis, and adenovirus that caused respiratory disease. In addition, WRAIR researchers have produced two highly effective antimalarial drugs and are currently working on an effective malaria vaccine. WRAIR's medical contributions protect military and civilian populations worldwide.
See also
- Naval Medical Research Center (NMRC), sister agency of WRAIR at Forest Glen
- Naval Medical Research Units 2 and 3, Jakarta and Cairo
- Walter Reed Army Medical CenterWalter Reed Army Medical CenterThe Walter Reed Army Medical Center was the United States Army's flagship medical center until 2011. Located on 113 acres in Washington, D.C., it served more than 150,000 active and retired personnel from all branches of the military...
(WRAMC), formerly (1953–2008) the garrison/installation command for WRAIR - U. S. Army Medical Research and Materiel CommandUnited States Army Medical Research and Materiel CommandThe 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), WRAIR's higher command headquarters
External links
This article contains information that originally came from US Government publications and websites and is in the public domain.