[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 102 (Wednesday, July 21, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1447]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    PAYING TRIBUTE TO MARLENE DeMAIO

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                           HON. SCOTT McINNIS

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 21, 2004

  Mr. McINNIS. Mr. Speaker, it is my privilege to pay tribute to Dr. 
Marlene DeMaio of Edgewater, Maryland and congratulate her on receiving 
the Frank Brown Berry Prize in Federal Health Care for her exceptional 
contributions to medicine. Dr. DeMaio, who is the first female to be 
recognized with this high honor, has shown an outstanding commitment to 
our nation's armed forces while serving in the United States Navy as a 
surgeon and medical researcher in body armor technology. It is with 
great satisfaction that I recognize Dr. DeMaio for her well-deserved 
award and acknowledge her many accomplishments before this body of 
Congress and this nation today. Her service to the Navy and to the 
nation has been exemplary.
  While researching at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Dr. 
DeMaio worked tirelessly to improve body armor for our soldiers. She 
realized there was an important need for improving body armor when she 
learned from some of her Navy SEALS patients that they would remove 
their body armor because they found it burdensome and noisy. Her 
breakthroughs in body armor technology came through using more 
realistic models that more accurately measured the impact of various 
weaponry on body armor. This method of testing is responsible for the 
improvements in the Interceptor Body Armor in use today, which has 
saved countless lives and resulted in fewer chest and abdominal 
injuries to our nation's troops serving in Afghanistan and Iraq.
  A captain in the United States Navy, Dr. DeMaio is currently serving 
at the U.S. Naval Academy Clinic in Annapolis, Maryland. She has 
received an appointment to the Bethesda National Naval Medical Center 
and serves as Chair of Orthopedic Surgery, Sports Medicine and Podiatry 
at the United States Naval Academy. In the past, she has worked as an 
assistant professor of surgery in the Uniformed Services University of 
the Health Sciences. In addition, she has served on various medical 
boards and has authored significant academic papers.
  Mr. Speaker, Dr. Marlene DeMaio has shown a tremendous dedication to 
our military and diligence in the field of research medicine. Her 
contributions have done much for the safety and well-being of our 
troops, and are worthy of recognition before this body of Congress and 
this nation today. It is my privilege to extend to Dr. DeMaio my 
sincere congratulations on receiving the 2004 Frank Brown Berry Prize 
in Federal Healthcare, and to wish her all the best in her future 
endeavors.

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