Skip main navigation

Military Health System

Hurricane Milton & Hurricane Helene

Emergency procedures are in place in multiple states due to Hurricane Milton & Hurricane Helene. >>Learn More

Whole Genome Sequencing at Tripler Army Medical Center

Image of Dr. Keith Fong reviews data with other lab technicians. Dr. Keith Fong reviews data output with lab technicians Colby Watase and Jake Angelo at Tripler Army Medical Center’s Department of Clinical Investigation Genome Sequencing Lab. (Credit: PAO at Tripler Army Medical)

Editor's note: This is the third installment in a 6-part series that highlights the efforts of the Military Health System laboratories and the technicians who worked to identify COVID-19 variants using special sequencing technology.

Tripler Army Medical Center, a Military Health System hospital serving military communities in Hawaii, established a fully functional whole genome sequencing surveillance program for SARS-CoV-2 during the pandemic. The Honolulu-based hospital consistently reported samples with some of the fastest turn-around-times in the network.

"This is credited to their ongoing dedication to the mission and close collaboration with the on-site clinic and other military hospitals and clinics," said Kathleen Creppage, who holds a doctorate in epidemiology and is a senior epidemiologist and science advisor for Department of Defense's Global Respiratory Pathogen Surveillance.

TAMC also has access to unique samples from Pacific Navy vessels, residents in Hawaii, and other locations within the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command area of responsibility. As the only military hospital with sequencing capability in the INDOPACOM area, TAMC continues to strengthen its capability and plans to assist other similar military-owned laboratories to implement sequencing.

"TAMC had been partnering with GEIS (Global Emerging Infections Surveillance network) efforts for evaluating new technologies for respiratory disease in the Pacific region for several years before the COVID-19 pandemic," said Catherine Uyehara, who holds a doctorate and is the director of research for the Defense Medical Readiness Research Directorate of the Regional Health Command-Pacific.

The Armed Forces Health Surveillance Division GEIS Next Generation Sequencing and Bioinformatics Consortium established a critical data-sharing network and connection with scientists at TAMC with the shared passion to focus on expanding the knowledge needed to combat this unprecedented pandemic. The scientific collaboration of former GEIS director U.S. Navy Capt. Guillermo Pimental, TAMC, and experts at United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, resulted in the sharing of valuable ideas and data, as well as developing solutions.

"We were also very fortunate to have Dr. Jonathan D'Ambrozio, who had just arrived at TAMC and happened to have the necessary expertise in bioinformatics needed to spearhead the establishment of a dedicated TAMC genome sequencing lab," said Uyehara. "The initial funding that GEIS provided helped TAMC procure the molecular genome sequencing supplies and extra technical help needed to hone in on examining the evolution of SARS-CoV-2 and detection of variants in our patient population in Hawaii."

This work is important to military and local civilian populations.

"Being in the middle of the Pacific, with the constant crossing of travelers through our island state from all over the world, makes our military and local civilian population at risk of respiratory disease spread," said Uyehara. "It is usually not a matter of if, but when we get exposed to the latest evolving disease."

For this reason, GEIS began establishing a respiratory disease surveillance program at TAMC over 20 years ago.

"The near-real time consistent generation of data from our genomic surveillance program provides public health officials, clinicians, and military commanders with actionable information that best informs decision-making," said Uyehara. "The scientific talent at the military medical facilities is a hidden asset for developing real-time translational practical solutions in advancing military health care capabilities."

She continued, "The ability of AFHSD GEIS to provide resources and networks needed to establish and support surveillance efforts in key strategic locations throughout the world, such as in the INDOPACOM, helps provide timely, crucial information that allows informed strategic decision making. This approach is essential during a pandemic with a rapidly evolving virus like SARS-CoV-2 and helps to ensure quick insight into the most current circulating viral variants."

You also may be interested in...

Article Around MHS
Oct 4, 2023

Stemming the Tide: Navy Medicine and the Egyptian Cholera Epidemic of 1947

Over three months, cholera spread across 2,270 towns and villages in Egypt killing over half of its victims. According to one estimate over 20,000 Egyptians died of cholera. (Graphic by Andre Sobocinski)

On September 21, 1947, a man was admitted to the Al-Qurayn (El Korein) Hospital in Egypt vomiting profusely and suffering severe diarrhea. Within hours, he was dead. The attending physician on duty first suspected food poisoning before 11 additional patients were admitted with identical symptoms. Their diagnosis was cholera, a deadly bacterial disease ...

Article Around MHS
Sep 5, 2023

‘STEM Kid’ Roots Grow from Family Tree

Kavan Paul speaks with a visitor to the Holistic Health and Fitness exhibit booth as part of the U.S. Army Medical Materiel Development Activity’s display during the Military Health System Research Symposium, Kissimmee, Florida, Aug. 16, 2023. (Photo by T. T. Parish)

At the intersection of military medical technology development, academia, and industry sits the U.S. Army Medical Materiel Development Activity. No other venue gives so bright a spotlight on that convergence than the recent Military Health System Research Symposium, hosted by the Defense Health Agency each year in Kissimmee, Florida.

Article Around MHS
Aug 24, 2023

Walter Reed National Military Medical Center Performs First Robotic Bronchoscopy Within the Defense Health Agency

Walter Reed’s Interventional Pulmonology team gears up for first Robotic Bronchoscopy within the Defense Health Agency. Retired U.S. Navy Capt. Robert F. Browning (1st row 4th from left) and U.S. Navy Capt. Sean McKay (1st row 5th from left). (Photo: James Black)

Walter Reed performed the first robotic bronchoscopy procedure in the Defense Health Agency. Using the robotic bronchoscope to augment our current cutting edge cone beam CT Bronchoscopy program, Walter Reed now offers state of the art services in precision lung biopsy and early lung cancer diagnosis previously unavailable within the DHA.

Article Around MHS
Aug 23, 2023

MHSRS 2023 Kicks Off with Powerful Message: Medical Readiness for the Future Fight

Team members from the U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command's Medical Material Development Activity - Broad Spectrum Snakebite Antidote (BSSA) program, receive the Military Health System Research Symposium 2023 Outstanding Research Accomplishment award in team/program management in Kissimmee, Florida on August 14, 2023.  (Photo: Danae Johnson)

Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs Dr. Lester Martinez-López kicked off the 2023 Military Health System Research Symposium with a keynote speech on the morning of August 14, delivering powerful words to the more than 4,000 people attending the event. Weaving his heartfelt sentiments into an overall call for action, Martinez put the ...

Article Around MHS
Aug 23, 2023

Researchers Say 'Warfighters Must Train like They Fight,' Emphasizing Mental Resilience During MHSRS

Susannah Knust, a research psychologist at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, speaks during a 2023 Military Health System Research Symposium session on Warfighter Operational Resilience on August 17, 2023. (Photo credit: Danae Johnson, USAMRDC Public Affairs)

Nearly all military physical and field training exercises can enhance mental toughness and physical endurance, which researchers at the U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command believe can prepare Warfighters for the future, they explained during a session on the final day of the 2023 Military Health System Research Symposium on August 17, ...

Article Around MHS
Aug 23, 2023

Forward Care for the Warfighter: U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command Talks Battlefield Countermeasures at MHSRS

Soldiers with the U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command perform a battlefield care scenario during the MRDC 2023 Best Squad Competition at Fort A.P. Hill, Virginia, on April 11, 2023.  (Photo: Danae Johnson)

With time spent on the battlefield being an increasing reality, products to help deliver immediate prolonged care to the Warfighter are now more important than ever. A concept known well by Maj. Zachary Booms, an emergency medicine physician at the Combat Casualty Care Research Team at the U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command's Institute ...

Article Around MHS
Jul 13, 2023

Entomologist Augments Warfighter Research Across Indo Pacific Region

U.S. Navy Lt. Thomas McGlynn, a medical entomologist at the Navy Entomology Center of Excellence, poses for a photo with Malaysian commissioned and noncommissioned officers, Malaysian public health officials, and researchers from the University of Malaysia Sabah during their training in Johor Bahru, Malaysia on Feb. 9. (Photo: U.S. Navy Lt. Nicholas Johnston)

Naval Medical Research Unit 2 was established during World War II in Guam to conduct applied research in support of force health protection and has operated intermittently since 1955. Currently, NAMRU-2 is located in Singapore and acts as the center of a hub-and-spoke research model in multiple southeastern Asian countries such as Vietnam, Thailand, ...

Article Around MHS
Jul 7, 2023

Fate Brings Accident Victim to Brooke Amy Medical Center for Groundbreaking Procedure

Madisyn Cardenas, center, is pictured with her family after a graduation ceremony for her sister Larissa Sanchez at Texas A&M University in Kingsville, Texas, on May 12. From left, dad Stephen Cardenas, brother Stevie Cardenas, sister Larissa Sanchez, Madisyn Cardenas, mother Jennifer Cardenas, sister Natalie Villarreal. Cardenas was severely injured in a roadside accident on Oct. 5, 2022 and brought to Brooke Army Medical Center for a groundbreaking procedure. (Photo Courtesy Department of Defense)

After being struck by a car, Madisyn Cardenas had a torn aorta, broken hip, pinky finger, pelvis, and clavicle; lacerated tongue; separated abdomen; kidney lacerations; colon tear; brain hematoma; and multiple cuts, bruises, and puncture wounds. “The scariest of all was a tear in my aorta that went undetected until my arrival at Brooke Army Medical ...

Article Around MHS
Jul 3, 2023

Navy Medicine Microbiologist Joins NASA Efforts to Prepare for Mars Surface Missions

U.S. Navy Lt. Anca Selariu (far left), a microbiologist with Naval Medical Research Unit INDO-PACIFIC, poses with other members of the NASA Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog’s first mission. The CHAPEA missions, simulated expeditions to the surface of Mars, aim to collect critical data which will inform future human expeditions to space. (Courtesy photo/NASA)

U.S. Navy Lt. Anca Selariu, a microbiologist with Naval Medical Research Unit INDO-PACIFIC, along with three other volunteers, began a simulated Mars mission on June 25 at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. The mission, part of NASA’s Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog Mars surface simulation program, will last 378 days.

Skip subpage navigation
Refine your search
Last Updated: July 11, 2023
Follow us on Instagram Follow us on LinkedIn Follow us on Facebook Follow us on X Follow us on YouTube Sign up on GovDelivery