Laboratory Coordinator:
Christine Sintz
2624 Q Street, Bldg. 851, Area B
Wright Patterson AFB, OH 45433
christine.sintz.ctr@us.af.mil
Mission Statement: To enhance the health, readiness, and performance of Warfighters through environmental health effects, toxicology, and aerospace medical research and development.
Vision Statement: To deliver world-class research and development products to enhance Warfighter health, readiness, and performance in operational environments.
Naval Medical Research Unit Dayton is home to two laboratories, the Environmental Health Effects Laboratory (EHEL) and the Naval Aerospace Medical Research Laboratory (NAMRL).
The Environmental Health Effects Laboratory Directorate (EHEL) serves as the Navy’s premier operational toxicology lab, with over 65 years of supporting the Navy and DoD by assessing the potential health effects and risk to Warfighters from exposures to chemical and environmental stressors found in military occupational and operational settings. EHEL is recognized across the Joint Force for its unique facilities and capabilities, including inhalation toxicology and exposure, coupled by its ability to assess outcomes across a wide variety of health effects from performance decrements and hearing-related injury to pulmonary effects and chronic disease. Additionally, EHEL’s expertise in deciphering underlying mechanisms of action provides invaluable information towards countermeasures and mitigation efforts to minimize or prevent impacts to Warfighter readiness, health, and performance. The ultimate objective is to support the readiness of the Navy and the Joint Force through investigating health effects of exposure to environmental hazards and stressors.
- Occupational and Environmental Health Department (Environmental Toxicology) uses in vitro (cell/tissue-based) and animal models to investigate environmental health effects relevant to the Navy and the Department of Defense. The research teams look at topics such as toxicity of jet fuels, pesticides, noise-induced hearing-related injury and altitude-related effects. The department’s in vitro capabilities allow for cost effective and rapid screening of compounds while supporting reduction in the use of whole animal testing.
- Inhalation Toxicology Department examines inhalation of environmental toxicants and their effects to address questions related to the health and safety of military personnel. Scientists identify the toxicities of chemicals and materials at the molecular, cellular, organ, and whole-body levels by using various biological and chemical model systems of materials via various routes of exposure, with a unique expertise and facility for inhalation exposures/toxicology. Our inhalation capabilities are extensive, allowing for exposures to gases and vapors, aerosols, particulates, and nanoparticles, using both whole-body and nose only inhalation systems. Efforts have concentrated on desert sand and burn pit emissions, nanomaterials, jet fuels, and fire extinguishing materials.
- Behavioral, Cognitive and Neurophysiology Department aims to understand neurotoxic effects, minimize operational performance degradation and reduce health risks posed by hazardous materials. By using various tests (i.e. behavioral, cognitive and neuro-electrophysiological assessments) and equipment, scientists evaluate neurological effects of exposure to chemicals and environmental hazards/stressors associated with military operations. Following exposure to chemicals and environmental hazards/stressors, we can determine the effects on a cellular level, to include mechanism(s) of action, understand or counteract performance-based decrements, and identify and understand biomarkers of exposure and/or effects.
- Technical Research Support Department provides research support across directorate activities related to inhalation and environmental toxicology, addressing questions related to operator health, performance and safety.
The Naval Aerospace Medical Research Laboratory (NAMRL) conducts basic and applied research and development in the biomedical and allied sciences to better understand and mitigate challenges and threats aerospace operational environments pose to service member health, safety, readiness, and performance. Key areas of investigation include pilot spatial disorientation (SD), situational awareness, motion sickness, vestibular function, acceleration effects, altitude effects, aerospace physiology, sustained operations and fatigue, personnel selection, back and neck pain and injury in aircrew, en-route patient care, applied neuroscience, mixed reality environments, and visual and auditory sciences. NAMRL features a unique collection of human- rated acceleration research devices used by NAMRU-D researchers and our joint, federal, and private research partners to maintain a technology base critical to Naval Aviation, the joint warfighter, and other federal and non-federal aerospace customers.
- Acceleration and Sensory Sciences Department utilizes NAMRL’s collection of human-rated acceleration devices to conduct research on aerospace-relevant acceleration effects and to maintain a technology base critical to Naval Aviation and other federal and non-federal aerospace customers. The department addresses a number of aircrew issues including cognitive aspects of spatial disorientation prevention and mitigation, vestibular sciences, and vision sciences, where a broad spectrum of basic and applied research are used. Vestibular sciences focus on understanding how the brain combines and processes sensory information, with a primary interest in how the brain processes information from the vestibular, visual, and other sensory systems in combination. The vision science lab addresses problems associated with human visual performance, including laser veiling glare and laser eye protection as well as the impact of low-level neurotoxins on aircrew. Additionally, the department supports a variety of additional work in motion and cyber sickness mitigation and aircrew member communication.
- Brain and Cognitive Science Department, founded in August 2023, investigates aerospace environmental exposures and occupational stressors that impact neurocognitive function and threaten operational performance. The department utilizes novel non-invasive neuroimaging approaches, such as electroencephalography (EEG), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), to detect deficits in sensory, cognitive, and motor functioning and decision-making associated with extreme environmental exposures.
- Environmental Physiology Department investigates environmental effects of the flight environment on aircrew with current emphasis on causes and mitigations related to combating physiological episodes for tactical jet aircrew. Scientists conduct studies on the impact of the various flight environments which include thermal stress, hypoxic stress, G-stress, on the performance, physiology, and health of aircrew. The altitude effects team looks at respiratory and physiology, alternobaric affects, muscle fatigue, aircrew status monitoring, and mitigation strategies to advance warfighter performance.
- Expeditionary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences Department supports the warfighter through cutting edge research and application of technology directly addressing human factors and human performance needs. The department’s core capabilities focus on the human centered factors and the human environment interface of aerospace mishaps, incidents, near misses along with routine and chronic stressors. Underlying each of these capabilities is expertise in not only musculoskeletal, fatigue, and hypoxia, but also the full spectrum of cognitive functioning. New this year is an expansion to focus research on expeditionary medicine and en route care effects on air crew, treatment teams, and patient exposures throughout the spectrum of environments, ultimately to improve capabilities of crews/teams and to optimize patient outcomes.
- Operations, Logistics and Technical Services provides critical support of research in the directorate, across the command, and in joint efforts in the maintenance of our core science devices and research requirements. The section maintains and operates numerous human-rated motion platforms to include the Disorientation Research Device (DRD) also known as the KrakenTM, which is a one-of-a-kind research platform capable of multi-axis motion for up to two subjects in yaw, pitch, roll, and heave while undergoing planetary and linear accelerations. A unique team of mechanical and electrical engineers, statisticians, software engineers and fabrication specialists support the operation of all the research devices and laboratory infrastructure. The department also houses a fabrication shop equipped for technicians to construct in-house research devices, reconfigure existing devices, and perform a wide range of other fabrication and maintenance services.