About HPRC

The 2006 DoD Quadrennial Defense Review identified the needs of promoting warrior wellness and applying emerging technologies to warfighter performance. A series of workshops resulted in the determination that an educational clearinghouse focusing on Human Performance Optimization was needed to achieve the DoD objectives. The Human Performance Resource Center (HPRC) was established effective 1 October 2009 to collect, organize, and disseminate the most current information available on all aspects of human performance. The focus of the HPRC staff is to gather, organize, categorize, and summarize actionable information related to the maintenance, optimization, and enhancement of human performance, in training and on the battlefield. This information is subsequently made available to DoD personnel formatted in a style appropriate to the customer. Principal clients for HPRC products are military commanders (leaders), planners, healthcare providers supporting DoD operations, human performance researchers within and outside government, and warriors. The ultimate goal is to preserve and enhance U.S. combat-related capabilities on a battlefield where the likelihood of encountering potential adversaries who seek advantage through performance enhancement is growing.

Mission

The HPRC will provide timely and accurate Human Performance information across the Department of Defense and build a communication bridge across the Human Performance Community of Interest (COI).

Vision

The HPRC will create a universal Defense Department awareness of the concept of Human Performance Optimization; what it means collectively and individually for each organization, and an understanding that there is a focal point (a Resource Center) that translates and disseminates timely, accurate, scientifically-based HPO information to commanders, warfighters, medical personnel, and researchers.

Goals/Objectives

• Make actionable HPO information and research results available to warfighters, military leaders, health care providers, and researchers.
• Capture, organize, analyze, and summarize in non-technical terms HPO research outcomes and evidence-based data to include interactive query algorithms where appropriate.
• Provide a method for queries and open communication between warfighters, military leaders, health care providers, and researchers.
• Provide a systematic, responsive, and dynamic knowledge translation process for mission specific information exchange between warfighters/commanders and scientific investigators on HPO practices, products, programs, and devices of interest.
• Establish an effective and enduring Standard Operating Procedure that reflects the key objectives of the HPO Conops.
• Establish/execute a strategic communications plan to build HPRC awareness throughout the DoD.

Structure

• Translate and disseminate timely, accurate, scientifically-based HPO information to commanders, warfighters, medical personnel, and researchers.
• Facilitate communication and collaboration for all Human Performance Optimization (HPO) communities of interest.

DoD Established HPRC Focus Areas:

The HPRC online content will be mapped against the following focus areas outlined in the 10 Dec 2009 HPO Health Sciences Concept of Operations. Any information request that cannot be mapped directly against the focus areas will require approval by the HPRC director or senior scientist/educator before any resources are allocated toward it.

• Physical resilience attained through physical training, physical health and other adaptation interventions
• Preventive medicine measures, including immunizations and drug prophylaxis, dental health, occupational and environmental health
• Nutrition and dietary supplements
• Performance assessment
• Rapid recovery and return to optimal performance
• Health promotion (alcohol abuse, tobacco use, stress management, relaxation, weight control, etc.)
• Psychological resilience attained through cognitive training, behavioral health and other adaptive interventions
• Ability to function in environmental extremes including hypo/hyperbaric extremes, temperature and humidity extremes, high/low G’s
• Medications for performance enhancement
• Management of sleep, fatigue, alertness
• Biomarkers of exposure and effect
• Human Systems Integration as it relates to the health sciences

 

Key HPO Definitions:

• Human Performance Optimization: The process of applying knowledge, skills, and emerging technologies to improve and preserve the capabilities of military members, families and organizations to execute essential tasks.
• Resilience: The resources to withstand, recover, and/or grow in the face of stressors and changing demands.
• Total Fitness: A state in which the individual, family and organization can sustain optimal well-being and performance.
• Health: A state of complete physical, mental, social and spiritual well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.

Stephen S. Frost M.D.
Stephen S. Frost M.D. practiced Gastroenterology at Presbyterian-University of Pennsylvania Medical Center for 20 years. During that time he also served as the Chief of the Gastroenterology Clinic. He then moved to Maine as the Vice President for Medical Administration and then the Senior Vice President for Medical Administration. In 2001, he was asked to return to active duty at the Navy Bureau of Medicine in Washington DC where he directed the Reserve medical components. Subsequently he became the Senior Military Assistant for the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Manpower and Reserve Affairs (Transformation) where he assisted in executing the Navy Human Capital Strategy. Human Performance Optimization was an important part of that strategy. Dr. Frost is board certified in both Internal Medicine and gastroenterology and has an extensive background in academic medicine and medical administration.

Francis G. O’Connor, MD, MPH, Associate Professor at the Uniformed Services
University and Medical Director for the Consortium on Health and Military Performance and the Human Performance Resource Center, Dr. O’Connor has been a leader in sports medicine education and research for the military for over 15 years.

Dr. O’Connor has authored over 30 articles in scientific journals and numerous book chapters/technical reports/health promotion resources for the military. In addition, Dr. O’Connor is the editor of four texts on sports medicine including the Textbook of Running Medicine, and Sports Medicine for the Primary Care Physician 3rd Edition. He is on the board of several leading organizations in sports medicine including the American College of Sports Medicine, the American Medical Society of Sports Medicine, and the American Medical Athletic Association. A Colonel in the United States Army, Dr. O’Connor is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, and prior to his recent posting at Uniformed Services University in the Department of Military Medicine, served one year as a Command Surgeon with Special Operations in the Middle East.

Patricia Deuster, PhD, MPH, CNS
Dr. Patricia Deuster, PhD, MPH, CNS, is a Professor and Scientific Director for the Consortium for Health and Military Performance (CHAMP) in the Department of Military and Emergency Medicine, and the Human Performance Resource Center (HPRC) at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, in the F. Edward Hébert School of Medicine in Bethesda MD. She was the author of the first US Navy SEAL Nutrition Guide sponsored by US Special Operations Command, and because of its success, was commissioned to update the nutrition guide for the United States Special Operations Commands (USSOCOM).

Dr. Deuster, a Certified Nutrition Specialist, has conducted research in the area of sports and warrior nutrition for over 25 years and has published well over 100 peer-reviewed papers relating to stress, nutrition, physical performance in the military. She has been a tennis professional, nationally ranked marathoner, qualifier for the First Women’s Olympic Marathon Trials, triathlete, sky diver with over 100 jumps, and world wide scuba diver. In addition, she is an invited speaker throughout the country on sports nutrition and performance.

Dianna Purvis, MS, PMP
Ms. Purvis, an exercise physiologist and neuroscientist, is the Sr. Scientist/Educator for the Human Performance Resource Center (HPRC). She has over 15 years experience teaching at the university level, and conducts research related to neurovascular mechanisms associated with traumatic brain injury. She has run wellness programs for corporations, government agencies, and firefighters. She leads a team of specialists/educators for the HPRC and is active in the HPO community.

Our team draws on the experience of professionals from a variety of areas to bring together, filter and publish the best and most recent information on human optimization.

Staff

Andrea Lindsey, MS
Andrea Lindsey serves as Senior Nutritionist at the Human Performance Resource Center, USUHS. She received her Master of Science degree in Nutrition from University of Maryland, College Park. Her field of speciality is dietary supplements and is considered  a nutrition information specialist.

Andrea Joined Uniformed Services University in August 2010 after having worked for over 16 years on a cooperative project with the Food and Nutrition Information Center, National Agricultural Library and the Office of Dietary Supplements, National Institutes of Health. At the Human Performance Resource Center her work encompasses the nutrition and dietary supplement components, which involves reviewing and evaluating literature, writing, and overseeing the website content in these areas.

Christiane Minnick, BA, MAc
Christiane Minnick is a technical editor and graphic designer for the Human Performance Research Center. She received her bachelor's degree in Communications Arts and Design from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia, and has worked in the fields of graphic design, corporate identity, advertising, and marketing for over 15 years.

Christiane has a long-standing interest in how a person can influence their own health and well-being. In 2003, she enrolled at Tai Sophia Institute for the Healing Arts and graduated in 2007 with a Master's degree in acupuncture. She is a licensed acupuncturist and practices in Silver Spring, Maryland.

Elizabeth Davenport Pollock, MFT
Liz Davenport Pollock is the Family Psychology Education Specialist for the Human Performance Resource Center. She manages the Family Matters domain of the HPRC site and is constantly seeking out and participating in family-focused programs and research – particularly those related to military families. As a doctoral candidate in the Department of Family Science in the School of Public Health at the University of Maryland, and with a master's degree in Marriage and Family Therapy (and as a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist), she views family matters from both a research and practical perspective.

In addition to her family expertise, Liz is a performer and fitness enthusiast. As a Division One collegiate athlete at Rice University and a certified Personal Trainer with the American Council on Exercise, she is able to bring her lived and learned performance and physical fitness experiences to the HPRC, as well.

Ayanna Shivers, MPH
Ayanna Shivers is the Psychology Education Specialist in the Human Performance Resource Center, specializing in social fitness. In the social sciences field for a number of years, she is an experienced presenter on topics including body image, identity, obesity, and health behaviors. With a background in community-based participatory research (CBPR) design and focus group experience, she has successfully composed and implemented research projects domestically and internationally.

Ayanna received her BS in Psychology from Jackson State University, an MPH in International Health and Global Sciences with a focus on health behavior from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and is currently enrolled as a doctoral student in the Department of Psychology at Howard University. Currently, her research focus is cultural and gender identity, obesity, and health disparities. Interests include exercise, gardening, travel, media communications, and dogs.

Andrew Wahl, MS
Andrew Wahl is the Research Librarian for the Human Performance Resource Center (HPRC). His duties with the HPRC are manifold and are focused on all aspects related to the day-to-day operations of a specialized subject library collection. In addition to overseeing the maintenance of the HPRC’s electronic resource collection, Mr. Wahl’s responsibilities include providing research/reference, document delivery, and copyright permission services.

Mr. Wahl has extensive experience working in both corporate and government library settings. Prior to his current position, Mr. Wahl was the Electronic Resource Librarian for U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). In 1995, he earned a master’s degree in Library & Information Science from Clark Atlanta University School of Library & Information Science in Atlanta, Georgia.

Mr. Wahl currently maintains membership in the Special Libraries Association (SLA).

Stacey Zeno, MS
Stacey Zeno is a graduate of Hood College with a Bachelor of Arts in Management, and of American University in Washington, D.C. with a Master of Science in Health Promotion Management. She is the Program Manager of the Human Performance Resource Center (HPRC) at Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS) in the Department of Military and Emergency Medicine. As member of the Human Performance Resource Center, she is responsible for providing administrative and scientific project oversight. Specifically, Ms. Zeno performs budget and accounting duties, research and education coordination, and development and integration of results that contribute to project strategies.

Ms. Zeno also volunteers at several health fairs each year, providing anthropometric measurements and fitness consultations in Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties. She is a certified personal trainer working with recreational, club sport athletes, and the elderly.

Contributors

Preetha Anna Abraham, MA
Preetha Anna Abraham serves as Psychology Education Coordinator at the Human Performance Resource Center, USUHS. She received her Master of Arts in Applied Psychology from University of Kerala, India in July 1999. Her field of specialization was in Clinical and Neuropsychology.

Preetha joined Uniformed Services University in July 2004 and has since served in various capacities in the Department of Psychiatry and Department of Military and Emergency Medicine. Her research involvement at USUHS has been primarily in post-traumatic stress, traumatic brain injury, electrophysiological evaluation of attention processing, and the effect of stress in health disparities.

At the Human Performance Resource Center her work primarily relates to reviewing literature articles that account for various psychological factors that affect human performance and translating them into educational materials that would benefit warfighters, researchers, and medical professionals.

Selasi Attipoe, MA
Selasi Attipoe is an Exercise Physiology Education Specialist at the Human Performance Resource Center (HPRC). She has a Master’s degree in Kinesiology and has managed human performance-related projects in the Uniformed Services University’s Human Performance Laboratory (HPL).

In addition, she has a significant background in kinesiogenomic research. Her primary responsibility in HPRC includes integrating and translating information on nutrition and dietary supplements as it relates to human performance.

Christina Reese Kasuda, MS, PhD

Dr. Christina Reese Kasuda is a graduate of the University of Virginia, where she played Division I basketball. She then went on to coach the women’s basketball teams at the U.S. Naval Academy and the American University. She has over 20 years of experience in performance-based training and has a strong appreciation for the military lifestyle as her husband served as a helicopter pilot for the U.S. Marine Corps.

Christina specializes in preventive health and wellness and is a member of the Human Performance Resource Center (HPRC) team. She enjoys working on projects that help the men and women in our military and their families reach their potential through physical fitness and wellness initiatives.

Branding for HPRC can be found here. If additional information or sizes are needed, please send an email to webmaster@hprc.usuhs.mil.

Logos

2-inch HPRC logo with text [JPG] / 2-inch HPRC logo with text [PNG]

6-inch HPRC logo with text [JPG] / 6-inch HPRC logo with text [PNG]

2-inch HPRC logo [JPG] / 2-inch HPRC logo [PNG]

6-inch HPRC logo [JPG] / 6-inch HPRC logo [PNG

4-inch H-man logo [JPG] / 4-inch H-man logo [PNG]

Brochures

HPRC Brochure [PDF]

Posters

HPRC Dietary Supplements Poster[TIF] [JPG]

HPRC works to consolidate and distribute the best information about human performance optimization from military and civilian sources. We are glad to count the following groups among our partners in this effort.

Our Partners:

Consortium for Health and Military Performance

CHAMP is a Uniformed Services University (USU) and joint service effort that focuses on the health and performance of the warfighter. They are a joint medical resource for the Department of Defense for education, basic and clinical research, and clinical expertise in the area of military unique human performance optimization.

Force Health Protection and Readiness

FHPR provides information to: safeguard the health and well-being of Service members and their families, promote and sustain a healthy and fit force, prevent injuries and illness and protect the force from health hazards, and sustain world-class medical and rehabilitative care to the sick and injured anywhere in the world.

Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database

This database provides a comprehensive listing of brand name product ingredients and examines natural medicines through the lens of evidence based medicine.

Real Warriors Campaign

The Real Warriors Campaign is an initiative launched by the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury (DCoE) to promote the processes of building resilience, facilitating recovery and supporting reintegration of returning service members, veterans and their families. The Real Warriors Campaign combats the stigma associated with seeking psychological health care and treatment and encourages service members to increase their awareness and use of these resources.

Medical Warfighter Forum (WfF)

Connecting AMEDD Professionals Army-wide.
The Medical Warfighter Forum (MedWfF) provides diverse and comprehensive key resources that will transform the way AMEDD professionals collaborate, share best practices, and interface across the Army Medical Department (AMEDD) enterprise.

Privacy and Security Notice

We welcome your questions from the field regarding human performance issues, comments about the work we do, suggestions for how we can serve you, and queries for collaboration. Please contact us at hprc@usuhs.mil and your email will be forwarded to the appropriate research specialist or director.