MEDSCHOOL, MED, Research, Translational Medicine Unit (TMU) - About Us

HISTORY

Established in the late 1980s by Louis Cantilena, MD, PhD, as the Clinical Pharmacology Unit (CPU), we have a long-standing history of pioneering medical research and patient safety. Early work by the CPU helped define and investigate cardiac repolarization injury, producing landmark publications and rigorous advocacy that led to critical drug relabeling and the withdrawal of high-risk pharmaceuticals worldwide.

Renamed the Clinical Research Unit (CRU) in 2010, the center expanded its footprint from dedicated outpatient pharmacology research to providing comprehensive clinical trial support across the Uniformed Services University (USU). In response to the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, the unit mobilized rapid clinical trial support for critical studies led by the USU Infectious Disease Clinical Research Program.

In 2021, the facility evolved into the Translational Medicine Unit (TMU)—an integrated clinical research enterprise built to rapidly bridge bench discoveries with bedside applications. Today, in partnership with investigators across USU and Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC), the TMU advances high-impact clinical research tailored to military personnel, veterans, critical care, and subspecialty medicine, while serving as a premier training ground for the next generation of military physicians and researchers.