The job of safeguarding the health of U.S. service members requires not just healthcare at the time of injury and sickness, but a vast suite of often unseen work to determine what illnesses service members might encounter, and to develop the countermeasures for an ever-evolving landscape of health risks that face the world.
Naval Medical Research Unit (NAMRU) INDO PACIFIC plays a key role in helping the U.S. Navy navigate this landscape. Part of the Navy Medicine Research & Development (NMR&D) enterprise and operating out of a headquarters in Singapore with projects Australia, Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, Papua New Guinea, Thailand and Vietnam the command’s official mission is to research infectious diseases of military and public health importance and develop strategies against these threats.
This mission involves a broad suite of research work, to include assessing the risk posed by emerging biothreats, developing diagnostic tools for those pathogens, conducting vaccine and therapeutic clinical trials, evaluating tools for combatting insect-borne disease and maintaining relationships with partner nations and other collaborators in medical research.
“We look at patterns of disease and countermeasures to infectious disease threats in parts of the world where there are not a lot of U.S. service members permanently assigned,” explained Capt. Jonathan Stahl, NAMRU INDO PACIFIC commanding officer from 2020 to 2024. “Our goal to is identify threats and gain a greater understanding of the pathogens so that when U.S., partner and host nation forces traverse the region, there will be a greater understanding of mitigation measures required. Many of these diseases are concerns for local populations, so our work ultimately enhances global public health as well.”
Stahl, now retiring from the U.S. Navy, led NAMRU INDO PACIFIC since 2020 (when the command was called NAMRU-2), while the COVID-19 pandemic was well underway in the U.S. and around the world. That year, the command worked with U.S. Pacific Fleet to establish a research protocol to evaluate the burden and distribution of COVID-19 infections among active-duty personnel.
These efforts continued into 2021, when the command presented findings from a study of over 1,000 Sailors and Marines previously infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. These findings improved fleet understanding of the ongoing threat posed to the health and readiness of service members.
COVID-19 research in the years that followed greatly aided the Fleet. In 2023, the command completed a study that quantified the value of active-duty forces obtaining additional COVID-19 vaccines and provided key support to public health instruction at events held throughout 2023.
Stahl joined the Navy in 1994, serving as a comprehensive and restorative dentist. Prior to joining the world of Navy Medicine Research & Development, Stahl also served as the Navy special leader for preventive dentistry (tooth decay prevention).
“The research experiences I had during my residencies piqued my interest in pursuing further and formal training in research,” Stahl recalled. “After 14 years of service in the clinical world, the Navy provided me with the opportunity to go back to school.”
After earning his PhD, Stahl spent 6 years at NAMRU SAN ANTONIO as a principal investigator. In 2018, he joined NAMRU INDO PACIFIC as their executive officer, serving in that role for two years before assuming leadership of the command as the commanding officer.
“What excites me about research is it provides the opportunity to potentially help many thousands in a way one-on-one clinical interactions cannot,” Stahl said.
Engaging with representatives and scientists from local partners is a large part of the mission for NAMRU INDO PACIFIC. NAMRU INDO PACIFIC and its leaders oversee the often-complex task of aligning the research priorities of many different nations and organizations.
“Our goal is to be a strong partner,” Stahl explained, “but the focus of host nation partners may be geared toward issues that are less impactful to our unique military-age population. Host nation militaries share a more similar demographic and military to military interactions can be a rewarding and unique way to enhance global health security.”
“It is an honor to represent the U.S. abroad,” Stahl added, “and we must always be aware that we are guests of our host nations, and work to gain a greater understanding of the cultural contexts that we conduct our research in.”
The U.S. Navy has advanced research on tropical and emerging infectious diseases in Asia since World War II, when NAMRU-INDO PACIFIC (then NAMRU-2) was established in Oca Point, Guam in 1945. The command was later based in Taipei, Taiwan (1955); Jakarta, Indonesia (1970); Manila, Philippines (1979); and Singapore (2013 - present). NAMRU-INDO PACIFIC has a current “hub and spoke” concept of operations, with its headquarters in Singapore overseeing labs and locations throughout Asia and Oceania with officers stationed in Hanoi, Vietnam; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; and Bangkok, Thailand. This model allows the scientific portfolio to shift, as needed, to align with host nation and sponsor priorities while simultaneously maintaining its health security objectives.
While the Navy’s research commands located Outside the Continental United States (OCONUS) share a mission of many surveilling tropical disease, NAMRU INDO PACIFIC undertakes a number of unique projects on behalf of the U.S. service member. In Malaysia, the command has undertaken research on P. Knowlesi, a form of malaria associated with non-human primates that can cross over to humans. This malaria, centered in Eastern Malaysia (Borneo), was thought to be rare in humans until about 20 years ago. Along with the command’s Malaysian partners NAMRU INDO PACIFIC is examining exposure rates to gain a better understanding of the disease.
Stahl’s role as commanding officer of NAMRU INDO PACIFIC came to an end on July 26, with the role turning over to Capt. Nicholas J. Martin, who comes to the command from NAMRU EURAFCENT.
In addition to providing critical research supporting the health and readiness of his fellow service members, Stahl expressed that he would miss working out of Singapore.
“Although living overseas may not appeal to everyone, I have enjoyed it,” Stahl said. “Experiencing life in a different culture is really a priceless experience. From the part of the world, I live in you can fly to so many distinct cultural locations in just a few hours and engaging with so many welcoming individuals in those cultures is an incredible experience.”
Story originally posted on DVIDS:
NAMRU INDO PACIFIC Monitors Infectious Disease for Public Health and Military Readiness