When the Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine was looking to hold its annual awards event outside its usual Washington, D.C., San Antonio was a logical choice.
“San Antonio is not only a major center for military medicine, it is also the proud home to incredible biomedical research organizations within both academia and industry,” said Dr. Joseph Caravalho, president and CEO of the foundation established by Congress in 1983.
“The ways in which San Antonio military and civilian medical clinicians and researchers routinely collaborate with each other to lead is a model that should be emulated by other cities across the country.”
The San Antonio life science sector as a whole contributes $42 billion annually to the regional economy and attracts $530 million in federal research grants, according to 2019 figures from the industry advocacy group BioMedSA.
Caravalho already knew about the strong relationship between the city and the military, having served as commanding general at Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC) from 2009 to 2011. The foundation wants others to know about it, too.
“What I would like to see is more multisite, multiyear studies conducted within San Antonio,” he said. “I want military medicine to understand the partnership capabilities and possibilities within San Antonio.”
Caravalho added that he hopes industry, academia and corporate America will take advantage of San Antonio’s military medicine resources to benefit the “warfighter” and ultimately the civilian population.
A report published in 2018 by the San Antonio Economic Development Corporation outlined the military medical presence in San Antonio, stating that the Department of Defense life science industry represented one of the most significant potential impacts for growth of the city’s life science ecosystem.
“The long-term goal is to create the environment with the appropriate tools and processes to promote military life science innovation and bring these innovations to market quickly,” stated authors of the Military Life Science Commercialization Action Plan.
“I want people outside of the area to think about San Antonio as … not just a local research hub,” Caravalho said. “It is of national prominence and a big reason for that is the strong military-civilian partnership.”
With that in mind, the foundation last week recognized professionals from both the civilian and military medical sectors in San Antonio as heroes of military medicine.
They included two retired military officers — Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Juan Ayala, director of the City’s Office of Military and Veteran Affairs who received the ambassador award, and Army Col. Ian Thompson, a physician and president and chief development officer at the Children’s Hospital of San Antonio Foundation and Christus Santa Rosa Friends Foundation, who received the civilian provider award.
Also recognized was real estate developer and civic leader Marty Wender, who was treated for severe burns in local military and civilian hospitals, and honored with the civilian patient award.
The foundation presented Air Force Col. Heather Yun, the deputy commander for medical services and an infectious disease specialist at BAMC, with a hero of military medicine award.
As a military physician, Yun has helped run an intensive care unit taking care of U.S. troops in Afghanistan and directed the training for two dozen infectious disease doctors while mentoring many others.
In 2020, she led the military’s response to the coronavirus pandemic in San Antonio, conducting research, coordinating with local authorities and establishing protocols for recruits in basic military training at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland.
“I stepped into this job really right before the pandemic started, and so it was kind of a matter of just timing to have an infectious disease physician in the command suite when the pandemic started,” said Yun, who was chairwoman of the department of medicine prior to being promoted to deputy commander.
Though she previously had dealt with infectious disease outbreaks such as Ebola and novel influenza virus, managing COVID-19 preparedness issues for the military meant “every single thing” needed guidance at the start of 2020.
Working in San Antonio for 21 years, Yun said her career has been spent seeking out ways to do what no one else is already doing and using her skills to fill a need.
The military has a patient population with unique needs and she appreciates that the city partners with her in that effort.
“I really never expected to be in San Antonio this long,” Yun said. “I tell people there’s really no place that I’d rather be. The city’s been so incredibly supportive of us and our mission.”
