Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall

About

At the University of Pittsburgh's Center for Military Medicine Research (CMMR), operating under the leadership team of Ronald K. Poropatich MD, MS (Col/Ret/United States Army) and Ann Gleeson, MS, we recognize the urgency for innovating to meet the demands of an increasingly complex security environment. We have focused our current and future efforts around trauma, emergency, and critical care; specifically on development of an autonomous system that merges sophisticated medical technology with one of the oldest and most integral tools on the battlefield: the rucksack. In doing so, the multi-disciplinary and multi-organizational-led team aims to significantly enhance the trauma care of the warfighter with direct relevance to civilian trauma care while also spurring the economic growth in the Pittsburgh region. The essential partnerships CMMR contributes will continue to set a new standard for inviting the United States Armed Forces to join a viable future for a defense innovation economy that leverages the University of Pittsburgh's medical and engineering strengths and Carnegie Mellon University's robotics and artificial intelligence expertise.

Mission
  • Support medical research interests of the Department of Defense and Veterans Affairs 
  • Organize collaboration among investigators at the University of Pittsburgh to promote forward planning of research initiatives in advance of award announcements to enhance readiness of the University to compete for federal funding
  • Develop new research themes in collaboration with DoD investigators
  • Advancing the most promising research technologies and therapeutic strategies

In practice, CMMR achieves those goals by:

  • Planning research initiatives in advance of award announcements to enhance the center’s readiness to compete
  • Developing relationships with key military medical partners to ensure that Pitt is constantly interpreting, communicating, and acting on the medical needs of the Department of Defense. 
  • Proactively managing competencies in science and medicine for “Big Problems” (traumatic brain injury, directed energy, prehospital care and trauma and emergency care etc.)
Key Focus Areas
  • Medical Research 
  • Education 
  • Community Engagement