T.E. Rasmussen is professor and associate dean for research, F. Edward Hébert School of Medicine, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, Maryland.
A.L. Kellermann is professor and dean, F. Edward Hébert School of Medicine, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, Maryland.
Acad Med. 2020 Nov;95(11):1652-1657. doi: 10.1097/ACM.0000000000003186.
The Military Health System (MHS) has a medical research program aimed at a wide range of health-, disease-, and injury-related topic areas that works with civilian academic institutions and the biomedical industry to accomplish its goals. There are many opportunities for civilian academic institutions and the biomedical industry to engage with this program, but its unique features are important to understand to optimize the chances for successful partnerships. Unlike the National Institutes of Health, which uses an "investigator-initiated" approach, the Department of Defense (DoD) aligns its funding with specific needs, also referred to as requirements; thus, DoD research is often described as "requirements-driven" research. At the highest level, requirements are aligned with the National Security Strategy and National Defense Strategy, though requirements documents list specific areas in medicine with unmet needs. Military labs and the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, which can also receive DoD appropriations to conduct medical research, serve as hubs that interface with civilian academic institutions and the biomedical industry and organize and track the overall progress of DoD investments. As a mechanism to propel findings from "bench to bedside," the military budgets funds for the various phases of research and development for a given topic area. Research programs are most effective when they are integrated into the MHS learning health system, which allows MHS clinical communities to inform and track research investments and evaluate the utility of research products in real clinical practice settings. This Perspective provides introductory information and a basic framework for those interested in performing DoD-funded medical research or collaborating with researchers in military labs. It is hoped that as academic institutions and the biomedical industry look to increase efficiency in medical research, they will find ways to engage with DoD research opportunities and consider elements of the military's approach useful.
军事卫生系统（MHS）拥有一个医学研究计划，旨在涵盖广泛的健康、疾病和伤害相关主题领域，该计划与民用学术机构和生物医学产业合作，以实现其目标。民用学术机构和生物医学产业有很多机会参与该计划，但了解其独特特点对于优化成功合作的机会至关重要。与使用“研究员发起”方法的国立卫生研究院不同，国防部将其资金与特定需求（也称为要求）保持一致；因此，国防部的研究通常被描述为“需求驱动”的研究。在最高级别，需求与国家安全战略和国防战略保持一致，尽管需求文件列出了医学领域中存在未满足需求的具体领域。军事实验室和统一服务大学健康科学学院也可以接受国防部拨款进行医学研究，它们作为与民用学术机构和生物医学产业接口的中心，组织和跟踪国防部投资的整体进展。作为将发现从“实验室推进到临床”的一种机制，军队为给定主题领域的研究和开发的各个阶段预算资金。当研究计划整合到 MHS 学习健康系统中时，它们最为有效，该系统允许 MHS 临床社区为研究投资提供信息并进行跟踪，并在实际临床实践环境中评估研究产品的实用性。本观点为有兴趣进行国防部资助的医学研究或与军事实验室的研究人员合作的人提供了入门信息和基本框架。希望随着学术机构和生物医学产业寻求提高医学研究的效率，他们能够找到参与国防部研究机会的方法，并考虑采用军事方法的有用元素。
