
About
Supporting Clinicians, Researchers, and Other Innovators
Background
Musculoskeletal injuries (MSI) affect approximately 800,000 service members annually and result in 25 million days of limited duty. These conditions are the primary reasons for medical discharge and downgrade, and result in 34% of medical evacuations from theatre. Most concerning though is that the disability discharge rate for MSI has increased 13x between 1981 and 2005 (70 vs. 950 per 100,000 persons), which negatively impacts cost, care and utilization within the military health system (MHS).
Given the strict requirements for physical fitness in the military, and impact of MSI on combat readiness, the Defense Health Agency supported the creation of Musculoskeletal Injury Rehabilitation Research for Operational Readiness (MIRROR), which provides critical infrastructure, operational and research support to advance the treatment and preventive care for service members with non-combat related MSI. Headquartered at the Uniformed Services University (USU), MIRROR coordinates inter-service partnerships with the primary military treatment facilities (MTFs), as well as other sites that experience a high volume of MSI but lack a robust infrastructure to conduct rigorous clinical studies.
MIRROR additionally provides risk assessment and preventative action in order to decrease the incidence and burden of MSI among service members to include special recognition of the MSI demands unique to the female wounded warrior. This occurs through a coordinated process which includes: (1) determining the existence and magnitude of the problem, (2) identifying causes of the problem, (3) determining what prevents the problem, (4) implementing prevention strategies and programs, and (5) continuing surveillance and monitoring/evaluating the effectiveness of prevention efforts. In order to determine the most effective and efficient methods of treatment and prevention of MSI in the military, MIRROR researchers closely align with DoD leadership and have advisory members who serve as MTF administrators, senior investigators, Joint Program Committee (JPC) chairs, etc. You can find more information about our collaborators and staff below.
Steering Committee
John F. Campbell, GEN, USA (Ret) brings extensive leadership experience from his distinguished, 37-year career as a U.S. Army Commander. General Campbell's last position in the Army was as the Commander of all U.S. and Coalition Forces in Afghanistan. Prior to this assignment, he served as the 34th Vice Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army; the second highest position in the 1.1 million Army; he was also the Commander of the legendary 101st Airborne Division and deployed with them to Afghanistan.
General Campbell began his career as an infantry officer. After completing assignments with U.S. Army Europe in Germany, he attended the Infantry Officer Advanced Course and Special Forces Qualification Course and was assigned to Fort Bragg, NC. While at Fort Bragg, he commanded Special Forces Operational Detachment Alpha in the 5th Special Forces group. He has served in Germany, Haiti, Iraq, Afghanistan, and the United States.
General Campbell holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, NY; a Master of Public Administration degree from Golden Gate University; and a Masters in Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College. General Campbell’s awards and decorations include the Defense Distinguished Service medal, three Distinguished Service medals, the Defense Superior Service Medals, two Legions of Merit, three Bronze Star Medals, two Defense Meritorious Service metals, six Meritorious Service Metals, two Humanitarian Service medals, Combat Infantry Badge, as well as the Ranger and Special Forces Tabs.
Dr. Paul F. Pasquina, COL, USA (Ret) is the Professor and Inaugural Chair of the Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation (PM&R) at the Uniformed Services University Sciences (USU) and the Chief of the Department of Rehabilitation at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC). His board certifications include PM&R, Electrodiagnostic Medicine, and Pain Medicine. He is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and USU. He completed a fellowship in primary care sports medicine from USU and Georgetown University. His current research efforts are focused on exploring new technologies to enhance the recovery, rehabilitation, and reintegration of combat casualties, particularly those with extremity trauma and traumatic brain injury. These efforts are primarily concentrated through his positions as the Director of the Center for Rehabilitation Sciences Research (www.CRSR.org) and Co-Principal Investigator within the Center for Neuroscience and Regenerative Medicine (www.usuhs.mil/cnrm/).
Prior to his retirement from active military service, he served as the Chief of the Department of Orthopedics and Rehabilitation at WRNNMC, which also included the Amputee and Traumatic Brain Injury Services. He has served as the PM&R specialty consultant to the Army Surgeon General; Senior Medical Officer of the Ortiz Level II Military Treatment Facility, International Zone, Baghdad, Iraq; and a Secretarial appointee for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ Advisory Committee on Prosthetics and Special Disabilities Programs. He continues to serve as a consultant to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, U.S. Army’s Medical Research and Material Command, Food & Drug Agency, and as a member of the Board of Visitors for the Volgenau School of Engineering, Department of Bioengineering, George Mason University and University of Pittsburgh School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences.
Dr. Pasquina has received multiple military awards, as well as awards for teaching and mentorship, including the U.S. Army’s “A” Proficiency Designation for academic excellence, the Order of Military Medical Merit, the Legion of Merit with two oak leaf clusters, da Vinci Lifetime Achievement Award, Partners in Progress Heroes of Military Medicine Award, Lewis Aspey Mologne Award, Alfred Mann Foundation Scientist of Year Award, Distinguished Clinician Award from the American Academy of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Chapel of the Four Chaplains Legion of Honor Bronze Medallion Bronze, and Honorary Fellow of the Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America.
Dr. Elizabeth Russell Esposito’s background is in Biomechanics and Motor Control with a focus on rehabilitation of lower limb musculoskeletal injuries. Throughout most of her professional career she was a researcher with the Extremity Trauma and Amputation Center of Excellence (EACE), working at the Center for the Intrepid at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, TX and the Center for Limb Loss and Mobility at VA Puget Sound in Seattle, WA. She currently manages the Musculoskeletal Injury Prevention and Musculoskeletal Injury Treatment and Rehabilitation program areas for the DoD’s Military Operational Medicine Research Program.
Dr. Esposito received her Bachelor of Science in Biomechanics from the University of Delaware and her PhD in Biomechanics from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
BG Deydre Teyhen was born in Canton, Ohio and received her Bachelor of Arts in Sports Science at Ohio Wesleyan University in 1993. She earned her Master’s Degree in Physical Therapy from the U.S. Army-Baylor University in 1995, completed her Ph.D. in Biomechanics from the University of Texas in 2004, and her Doctoral Degree in Physical Therapy from the Baylor University in 2008. BG Teyhen graduated with honors as a distinguished graduate from the U.S. Army War College with a Master’s Degree in Strategic Studies in 2014.
Prior to assuming the Directorship of the National Capital Region Market, she was the Commanding General of Brooke Army Medical Center and the Deputy Director of the San Antonio Market. BG Teyhen previously served as the Deputy Chief of Staff (Support, G-1/4/6) at the Office of the Surgeon General in Falls Church, VA. During the pandemic, she served as the Department of Defense Lead of Therapeutics for Operation Warp Speed at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and as the Commander for Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, the Department of Defense’s largest biomedical research facility. Previously, she Commanded the U.S. Army Health Clinic-Schofield Barracks and Public Health Command Region-South. Previous assignments included Assistant Chief of Staff - Public Health at the Army’s Office of the Surgeon General; Deputy Director, Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center at Ft Detrick, MD; Associate Professor and Director of the Center for Physical Therapy Research for the U.S. Army-Baylor University Doctoral Program in Physical Therapy at Fort Sam Houston, TX; Officer-in-Charge of Task Force 10 Delta Med in Al Kut, Iraq; Chief of Musculoskeletal Care Center and Chief of Physical Therapy at Kimbrough Ambulatory Care Center, Ft Meade, MD; Chief of Outpatient Physical Therapy at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, D.C.; Chief of Physical Therapy, 21st Combat Support Hospital in Tuzla, Bosnia; and Physical Therapist at Darnall Army Community Hospital at Ft Hood, TX.
BG Teyhen also serves as the 20th Chief, U.S. Army Medical Specialist Corps. BG Teyhen has spent her career focused on improving the delivery of healthcare, holistic health, and readiness (public health, musculoskeletal medicine, behavioral health, resiliency, imaging, and technology). Her research accomplishments include over 225 peer-reviewed publications, editorials, book chapters, and published abstracts; 120 presentations at conferences; and 150 invited lectures.
BG Teyhen’s key military awards include the Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit (5OLC), the Army Medical Department’s Order of Military Medical Merit, the Surgeon General’s “A” Proficiency Designator, and the U.S. Army War College Commandant’s Award for Distinction in Research. Key civilian awards include Catherine Worthingham Fellow of the American Physical Therapy Association, Dissertation Award from the University of Texas, the American Physical Therapy Association, Margaret L. Moore Award for Outstanding New Academic Faculty Member, and inducted into the Kinesiology and Health Education Distinguished Alumna Hall of Honor, University of Texas. She also received the Distinguished Achievement Citation from the Ohio Wesleyan University.
BG Teyhen is married to COL (Ret) John V. Teyhen III who served as the Deputy Command Surgeon of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command before retiring in October 2018 after 34 years of service. He is currently the Deputy Director of Staff at the Defense Health Agency. They have accomplished their goal to be the first military couple to run a marathon in all 50 states.
Principal Investigators
Dr. Kenneth L. Cameron is the Director of Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Research with the John A. Feagin Jr. Sports Medicine Fellowship at Keller Army Community Hospital at the U.S. Military Academy, West Point, NY. He is also the Assistant Professor at U.S. Army-Baylor University Sports Medicine-Physical Therapy Doctoral Program, West Point, NY and a Board Member of the National Athletic Trainers Association Research and Education Foundation. Dr. Cameron has extensive experience with musculoskeletal injury research within military populations and has received funding support as a principal investigator for his work through several Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs.
Dr. Min Ho Chang, LTC is a Principal Investigator with extensive experience in rehabilitative medicine and pain medicine. He is board certified in Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Pain Medicine and Brain Injury Medicine. He is currently the chief of Interdisciplinary Pain Management Center at Womack Army Medical Center and is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Uniformed Services University. His current research interest is in the use of image-guided interventions and the use of regenerative medicine techniques to treat musculoskeletal injuries.
LTC Mike Crowell is currently the Program Director and Associate Professor in the Baylor University – Keller Army Community Hospital Division 1 Sports Physical Therapy Fellowship at the United States Military Academy, West Point, New York. He has previously assigned as the Performance Triad Staff Officer at the Office of the Army Surgeon General, Chief of Physical Therapy at Keller Army Community Hospital, and Chief of Physical Therapy at Tuttle Army Health Clinic. Mike also deployed to Baghdad, Iraq as a Brigade Physical Therapist with 2nd Brigade, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault). LTC Crowell holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry and Life Sciences from the United States Military Academy, a Doctorate in Physical Therapy from Baylor University, and a Doctor of Science in Orthopedic Physical Therapy from Baylor University. He is a Board Certified Clinical Specialist in Orthopedic Physical Therapy and Sports Physical Therapy, a Fellow of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Manual Physical Therapists, and serves on the International Editorial Review Board of the Journal of Orthopaedic and Sports Physical Therapy.
Dr. Jonathan F. Dickens, LTC is a fellowship trained sports medicine orthopaedic surgeon, Vice Chair (Research) Department of Surgery, Uniformed Services University (USU); Director of Orthopaedic Research, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC), Associate Professor of Surgery, USU, and Adjunct Faculty at the John A. Feagin Jr. Sports Medicine Fellowship at the United States Military Academy at West Point, NY. Dr. Dickens serves as the Director of Military Orthopaedics Tracking Injuries and Outcomes Networks (MOTION) a DoD-wide research and quality improvement initiative to collect and improve outcomes following musculoskeletal injuries in the military population. Dr. Dickens’ research interests include shoulder and knee instability in the military and sports populations. His research has been awarded the Aircast Award from the American Orthopaedic Society of Sports Medicine. Dr. Dickens received his medical degree from Indiana University School of Medicine and completed his residency in the National Capital Consortium and fellowship at Keller Army Community Hospital.
Dr. Jay M. Dintaman, LTC is a board certified Neonatal-Perinatal specialist currently serving as the Chief of the Integrated Neonatology Service at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and Clinical Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Uniformed Services University. Previous positions have included serving as staff neonatologist and subsequently Chief of Neonatology at the Madigan Army Medical Center in Tacoma, WA. LTC Dintaman has additional operational experience with assignments as Flight Surgeon for the 2-2 Aviation Battalion in Seoul, Korea and as the Command Surgeon for the Warrior Transition Brigade-National Capital Region in Bethesda, MD. His clinical research interests include measuring quality care in newborn medicine within the military medical community and studying the Warrior Care and Transition Program to further define its population and document program outcomes.
Dr. Robert S. Gailey is a Professor at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Department of Physical Therapy and the Director of the Neil Spielholz Functional Outcomes Research and Evaluation Center. He has also been a Special Advisor to the U.S. Department of Defense for amputee rehabilitation, a Veterans Affairs Research Health Scientist, and Secretarial appointee on the Department of Veterans Affairs Advisory Committee for Prosthetics and Special-Disabilities Programs. He has authored over 70 peer reviewed publications and book chapters. He has been involved in developing fourteen outcome measures, including the Comprehensive High-Activity Mobility Predictor funded by the DoD as a measure of return activity ability for wounded warriors. He is currently involved in the development of wearable sensor technology and mobile applications designed for the assessment and rehabilitation of multiple populations including veterans and service members.
Dr. Don Goss, COL (Ret) is an Associate Professor in the Department of Physical Therapy at High Point University. He previously served as the Director and Associate Professor, Baylor University-Keller Army Community Hospital Sports Physical Therapy Fellowship, Assistant Professor at the U.S. Army Baylor University DPT program at Ft. Sam Houston, TX, the Physical Therapist for the U.S. Army Special Operations Command at Fort Bragg, NC, and Chief of the Physical Therapy/Sports Medicine at Stuttgart Army Health Clinic. Dr. Goss has authored numerous peer-reviewed publications, including those on biomechanics and foot strike patterns in injury and rehabilitation in runners.
Dr. Brad M. Isaacson serves as Chief of Research and Operations for Musculoskeletal Injury Rehabilitation Research for Operational Readiness (MIRROR). Additionally, he serves as a Principal Investigator with The Geneva Foundation and the Director of Science for the Center for Rehabilitation Sciences Research (CRSR). Dr. Isaacson has published 30 peer-reviewed publications on military medicine, is funded by the Department of Defense, and served as inaugural Program Manager for CRSR. He is an Associate Professor in Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Uniformed Services University; and an Adjunct Associate Professor in Orthopaedics, University of Utah. Dr. Isaacson’s research in heterotopic ossification has been featured on the Army’s website and presented to the Surgeon General of the Army in the most recent annual blast report. He and his team have the only large combat-relevant translational model for ectopic bone formation. Dr. Isaacson was the recipient of a Predoctoral Associated Health Rehabilitation Research Fellowship from the Department of Veterans Affairs which is only awarded to ten persons annually in the U.S. He formally worked with Boston Scientific and developed a device to remove cancerous masses in the upper gastrointestinal tract (and the Captivator™ EMR is commercialized and sold world-wide) and he holds eight U.S. patents.
Dr. Jeffrey Leggit, COL, USA (Ret) is an Associate Professor in the Department of Family Medicine at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Science (USUHS), Bethesda MD. He retired from 25 years of military service in the Army Medical Corps as a Colonel. He is a Board Certified Family Physician with a certificate of added qualification in Primary Care Sports Medicine as well as a medical acupuncturist. He is the clinical module director for the Musculoskeletal Curriculum for the School of Medicine. He is also the Director of Healthcare Operations for the University Family Health Center. In addition, he is one of the key faculty for the National Capital Consortium’s Primary Care Sports Medicine Fellowship. Prior to arriving at the USUHS, Dr. Leggit was the Director of the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP) at Fort Detrick, MD. There he was responsible for all aspects of planning, execution, and management of the CDMRP mission, which included research in 17 programs including Breast cancer, Prostate cancer, Ovarian cancer, Neurofibromatosis, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, Autism and other peer-reviewed research programs with an annual budget of $500 million. Prior to the CDMRP, he served as Deputy Commander for Clinical Services for General Leonard Wood Army Community Hospital, Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri and Commander of Barquist Army Health Clinic at Fort Detrick, MD. In 2003, Dr. Leggit deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom as a Battalion Surgeon with 1-67 Armor, 2nd Brigade, 4th Infantry Division earning a Bronze Star.
Dr. Gerard A. Malanga was the Founder of New Jersey Sports Medicine, LLC and New Jersey Regenerative Institute. He was Board certified in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Sports Medicine and Pain Medicine. He completed a sports medicine fellowship at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. and served as Senior Associate Consultant at Mayo Clinic from 1993-1996. He is also an Associate Professor at the Department Of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation , Rutgers, New Jersey Medical School. Dr. Malanga had expertise in the nonoperative treatment of a variety of orthopedic disorders including neck and back pain as well as shoulder, knee, and other sport medicine and musculoskeletal problems. His expertise included EMG testing; spinal and joint injections, musculoskeletal ultrasound and Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) and bone marrow and adipose-derived stem cell treatments. Dr. Malanga had published four textbooks including “Regenerative Treatments in Sports and Orthopedic Medicine” in 2017 and “Atlas of Musculoskeletal Ultrasound-guided Injection Procedures” in 2015. He had published over 70 articles and 25 book chapters regarding various musculoskeletal issues from the treatment of neck and back pain to Ultrasound and PRP and stem cell therapies. He had lectured throughout the country and abroad on a variety of sports medicine, spine, orthopedic, and regenerative medicine topics. He will be very missed among the medical community.
Dr. Daniel (Dan) Rhon is a retired Army Medical Officer, serving as an active researcher within the United States Military Health System. He is the Director of the Primary Care Musculoskeletal Research Center and is affiliated with the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine at Brooke Army Medical Center in Texas. Dr. Rohn is also an Assistant Professor in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the Uniformed Services University. He has a strong interest in health services research across the unique, complicated, and diverse Military Health System, with a particular focus on musculoskeletal disorders and associated sequelae. He is funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and various programs under U.S. Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program (CDMRP).
Dr. Jennifer L. Smith, LCDR is a fellowship-trained sports medicine Orthopaedic Surgeon and Assistant Program Director of the Orthopaedic Surgery Residency Program at Naval Medical Center San Diego. Her research interests include shoulder instability and arthritis in the military and sports populations. She received the 2019 Emerging Leader in Orthopaedics Award from the Society of Military Orthopaedic Surgeons, and her narcotic reduction process improvement project/research received the 2019 Louise House Award at the Society of Military Orthopaedic Surgeons (SOMOS) Annual Meeting. She received her undergraduate degree from the George Washington University, medical degree from the Uniformed Services University, residency at Naval Medical Center San Diego, and completed a Sport Medicine and Shoulder fellowship at the Harvard/Massachusetts General Hospital.
Dr. Sean Suttles, MAJ, USA (Ret) is currently an Adjunct Professor of the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor Doctoral Program in Physical Therapy. He holds an undergraduate degree from Campbell University, and a Doctor of Physical Therapy degree from Baylor University. He is board certified in Orthopaedic Physical Therapy. He is fellowship trained in Sports Medicine with emphasis on sports concussion management through the National Football League, and is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist with the NSCA. He formerly served as Assistant Chief and Clinical Internship Site Director, Army-Baylor, Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center, Fort Hood, TX.
Dr. Xiaoning (Jenny) Yuan is Assistant Professor and Vice Chair for Research in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R) at the Uniformed Services University (USU) in Bethesda, MD. She received her undergraduate degree in Biomedical Engineering at Duke University, and her medical degree and doctorate in Biomedical Engineering at Columbia University. Dr. Yuan completed her PM&R residency and sports medicine fellowship at NewYork-Presbyterian, the University Hospital of Columbia and Cornell, prior to joining USU. Her clinical and research interests include precision medicine approaches to delivery of regenerative therapies for musculoskeletal disorders.
Core Staff
Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences
Walter Reed National Military Medical Center
Chair of the Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation (PM&R)
Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences
Walter Reed National Military Medical Center
Vice Chair for Research