The Walter Reed Army Institute of Research Europe-Middle East (formerly known as U.S. Army Medical Research Directorate-Georgia) is an overseas research and infectious disease surveillance platform within the
Walter Reed Army Institute of Research command and laboratory network. WRAIR is the U.S. Department of Defense’s largest biomedical research command with a mission of identifying and overcoming infectious diseases of military relevance. WRAIR E-ME is co-located with the
Georgian National Center for Disease Control and Prevention in the Richard M. Lugar Center for Public Health in the outskirts of Tbilisi, Georgia.
WRAIR E-ME works closely with a range of partners in the country of Georgia, including the U.S. Department of State and other U.S. interagency partners, the Georgian Ministries of Defense and Health (particularly with NCDC) as well as other Georgian academic and research institutions. WRAIR E-ME is building research collaborations and infectious disease surveillance partnerships within the Balkans, the Baltics, Jordan and across the European and Middle Eastern area of responsibility to support U.S. Department of Defense priorities in infectious disease and vector surveillance. WRAIR E-ME directly supports U.S. chief of mission priorities according to the Ambassador’s Integrated Country Team Strategy.
Supporting our Military Partners (USEUCOM, USAREUR-AF, USCENTCOM, Defense Forces of Georgia)
Infectious disease and non-battle injuries historically represent a significant threat to Service Members. WRAIR, founded in 1893, has led the development of new vaccines, drugs, diagnostics and public health strategies, including products against malaria, HIV, diarrheal disease and more, producing a significant, positive impact on global health. As part of this mission, it maintains a network of laboratories on four continents to identify, study and overcome diseases where they are found.
Established in 2014, WRAIR E-ME works closely with Georgian and other European and Middle Eastern partners to surveil infectious disease threats like sexually transmitted infections, acute febrile illness, acute respiratory infection, antimicrobial resistance and traveler’s diarrhea. WRAIR E-ME is also partnering with Georgian researchers and academics to advance new medical products like bacteriophage therapeutics that may represent a promising solution to multiple drug-resistant organisms. Data from these efforts inform force health protection and global health decisions by medical authorities in Georgia, Europe, the Middle East and the
U.S. European Command and U.S. Central Command, as well as research and development within the WRAIR enterprise to prevent infectious disease in Service Members.
Supporting U.S. Embassy Chief of Mission’s Integrated Country Team Strategy for Georgia
Under the
U.S. Embassy - Tbilisi Chief of Mission’s authority, WRAIR E-ME’s presence in Georgia directly supports medical diplomacy and capability development across a broad spectrum of country team priorities including: improvement of host nation health outcomes, promotion of bilateral security relationships and capability development to advance expertise in the biomedical sciences. WRAIR E-ME partners extensively with Georgian scientists, researchers and medical practitioners and hosts an annual laboratory science summer internship with competitively selected undergraduate students from the San Diego State University-Tbilisi State University program.