Naval Medical Center Camp Lejeune marks 15-year milestone for research symposium

Story by NMCCL Public Affairs

Naval Medical Center Camp Lejeune

CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. – Naval Medical Center Camp Lejeune’s Annual Research Symposium is celebrating its 15th year of showcasing medical and dental research findings.

“The research symposium showcases the work of multidisciplinary teams conducting operationally relevant research to improve patient outcomes,” said NMCCL Research Program Specialist Chemely Walker, who is in her eighth year as the symposium planner. “The symposium provides opportunities for researchers and students to lay foundations for new and upcoming collaborative efforts to advance military medicine.”

The symposium held April 17, 2025, has been a staple for NMCCL’s Professional Education directorate which also oversees four Graduate Medical Education programs with approximately 65 residents or fellows. This year’s event boasted 60 entries including 11 podium presentations and 49 posters from both Department of Defense agencies and non-DOD organizations.

While NMCCL has been hosting the symposium for the past 15 years, participation has extended beyond the medical center. This year’s entries included collaboration with various educational institutions and medical systems: Womack Army Medical Center, Uniformed Services University, University of North Carolina Wilmington, Campbell University, Duke University, and Cape Fear Valley University.

“Each year we are finding new ways to enhance the [symposium] experience and encourage new participants to join,” said Walker. “Strong communication with neighboring institutions and networking with regional agencies are essential for this event.”

The Research Symposium serves to highlight the impact of medical and dental research in relation to military health care and warfighter readiness. NMCCL Director for Professional Education Capt. Elizabeth Frame served as a judge for the occasion.

“The research symposium is fundamental to ensuring that our trainees have an opportunity to participate in scholarly activity. I saw presentations and posters from all our trainees including our residents, our fellows, and our physician assistant students,” Frame said. “The symposium is vital to fulfilling the scholarly activity requirement from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, but it’s also vital for improving knowledge throughout military medicine.”

At the conclusion of the symposium, several awards were presented to the researchers. Entrants were given approximately five minutes to present their medical or dental research poster and 17-20 minutes for podium presentations. Judges evaluated each submission against a criteria set that included content, clarity, and overall delivery of findings.

Awards were presented for the following categories:
• Best Case Report Posters (Two winning posters) – Lt. Cmdr. Elizabeth Maldonado, Lt. Jacob Hathaway, HM1 Chessa Sheppard, (Naval Medical Center Camp Lejeune) and Lt. Cmdr. John Busclas, Lt. Anusri Yanumula, Lt. Joshua Radney (Naval Medical Center Camp Lejeune)
• Best Literature Review Poster – Lt. Jeniveve Howard Tellman, Cmdr. Jaren Mary (Naval Medical Center Camp Lejeune)
• Best Quality Improvement/Practice Improvement Poster – Lt. Cmdr. Xingtong Liu, Lt. Cmdr. Shantel Davis, (Naval Medical Center Camp Lejeune)
• Best Investigational or Education Research Poster – Dr. Jeffrey Russell, (Naval Medical Center Camp Lejeune)
• Best Clinical Research Podium Presentation – Cmdr. Michael Lee, Peter Schenke, Lt. Cmdr. Matthew Faller; Lt. Cmdr. Henry DeYoung; Ashley Adams (Naval Medical Center Camp Lejeune)
• Best Quality Improvement/Practice Improvement Podium Presentation – Lt. Zena Sabath; Lt. Cmdr. John Busclas; Jaqueline Buckley; Lt. Michaela Cahill; Lt. John Coomes; Lt. Jack Gomperts; Ms. Deborah Hawkinberry (Naval Medical Center Camp Lejeune)
• Best Literature Review Podium Presentation –Dr. Samuel Cripps; Laney Herndon; Hannah Easow; Zahra Fatima; Claudia Lenhart; Margeaux Marbrey (Duke University)

The 15th Annual Research Symposium was held in partnership with The Geneva Foundation and the Henry J. Foundation. Individuals interested in participating in the 2026 NMCCL Annual Research Symposium as a presenter, judge or attendee can reach out the planning committee at: dha.lejeune.camp-lejeune-nmc.mbx.nmccl-anr-symposium@health.mil.