The University of Maryland School of Medicine is receiving $1 million in grant funding through the Maryland Department of Commerce to establish a Center for Combat Casualty Care with the University of Maryland R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center. The Center will include a 5,000-square-foot Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF) for the research and development of new tools and treatments, and the training of military clinicians.
“This center will modernize battlefield trauma care from the point of injury through early surgical and critical care, advance the development and fielding of new medical tools and treatments to save lives on the battlefield, and translate those technologies and products to the civilian patient population as well,” said Elizabeth Powell, MD, Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine and an emergency medicine physician and surgeon at the Shock Trauma Center, who is currently leading the development of the new center.
State funding for the new center comes from the Maryland Department of Commerce’s Build Our Future Grant Program, which supports projects developing innovative infrastructure and technology in Maryland.
“We are incredibly grateful to Governor Wes Moore and the Maryland Department of Commerce for their support and recognition of the unique capabilities of Shock Trauma and the School of Medicine to advance the forefront of trauma medicine,” said Mark T. Gladwin, MD, Dean of the University of Maryland School of Medicine, Vice President for Medical Affairs, University of Maryland, Baltimore, and the John Z. and Akiko K. Bowers Distinguished Professor. “From the creation of the field of shock trauma to our long running collaboration with military medical professionals, our work in emergency medicine has saved countless lives here in Baltimore and in conflict zones around the world. The new Center for Combat Casualty Care will continue to fulfill the urgent need for lifesaving care and spur medical technology innovation to address the next generation of challenges in military and emergency medicine.”
For more than 20 years, Shock Trauma has been home to one of the nation’s most successful military-civilian partnerships. The Center for Sustainment and Readiness Skills (C-STARS) is the largest program of its kind, preparing U.S. Air Force physicians, nurses, surgery technicians and Special Operations medics for deployment. The Center, based at the University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC), also serves as a test bed for real-time innovation and advancement of emerging clinical methods and technologies. UMMC is the academic flagship hospital for the University of Maryland Medical System, where discovery is one of the organization’s key values.
“We're very proud of our long standing relationship with the military and our hosting the longest running C-STARS program in the country,” said Thomas M. Scalea, MD, the Honorable Francis X. Kelly Distinguished Professor of Trauma Surgery at UMSOM, Shock Trauma Physician in Chief, and System Chief for Critical Care Services University of Maryland Medical System. “The Center for Combat Casualty Care, along with our newly created Office of Military Medicine, is the logical next step in this relationship that has not only advanced care and therapies that save the lives of the men and women who serve in our armed forces, but has also helped advance trauma care here at home.”
The $1 million grant awarded to UMSOM will support the Center for Combat Casualty Care for two years and the first phase of the project, which will see the construction of the SCIF, rapid prototyping labs and related offices. Future phases of the project could include an expansion of the center to include advanced simulation and training, research, development and testing facilities.
“Building a stronger, more competitive Maryland economy requires strategic investment in the businesses and industries that will drive growth in the coming years,” said Maryland Governor Moore. “Once again, we’re deploying Build Our Future grants to support advances in clean energy, biotechnology, medtech, aerospace, robotics and more. This is an important part of how Maryland will win the decade.”
In a nod to changing Federal funding priorities, the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) recently committed up to $33 million in research support to protect critical biomedical research areas and ensure continuity and resilience in high-impact research. Researchers at the medical school, which is part of UMB, have received grants to fund areas around vaccinology, infectious diseases, and global health, all of which have experienced recent declines in federal spending.
The Maryland Department of Commerce also awarded 10 additional grants totaling nearly $6 million to recipients representing projects that support innovation infrastructure development in eligible technology sectors. These include advanced manufacturing, aerospace, agriculture, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, blue technology, cybersecurity, defense, energy and sustainability, life sciences, quantum, and sensors and robotics.