[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 44 (Wednesday, March 30, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E573]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


   HONORING THE ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF COLONEL D. GRAY HEPPNER, JR., M.D.

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 30, 2011

  Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the extraordinary 
accomplishments of Colonel D. Gray Heppner, Jr., M.D., upon his 
retirement as the Deputy Director for the Walter Reed Army Institute of 
Research, WRAIR.
  For over 100 years, scientists at WRAIR have expanded the frontiers 
of military medicine, taking the road less-travelled, from jungles, 
deserts, and battlefields to the laboratory and back, intent upon 
protecting the health of America's soldiers in harm's way. Undaunted by 
danger, WRAIR scientists developed the first vaccines for hepatitis and 
Japanese encephalitis, and the means to diagnose and treat deadly 
malaria. Today, on the battlefields of Asia, WRAIR's work mitigates the 
stress of combat, the fatigue of sustained operations and the fear of 
insidious Leishmaniasis, a parasitic disease spread by the bite of a 
sandfly. WRAIR's success in infectious diseases and military psychiatry 
is due to the resolve and dedication of an exceptional cadre of men and 
women, military and civilian.
  Today, I salute a distinguished alumnus of WRAIR, Colonel D. Gray 
Heppner, Jr., a physician-scientist who dedicated his extraordinary 20-
year career at WRAIR to developing malaria vaccines and biochemical 
defense in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and the United 
States.
  After earning his B.A. and M.D. from the University of Virginia, and 
studying. Internal Medicine at the University of Minnesota, Col. 
Heppner worked in the lab of Professor John Eaton, researching 
antimalarial drugs and treating patients with tropical diseases at 
Joint Task Force Bravo in Honduras. When he was 34, he volunteered for 
active duty on the condition that he would be placed in the malaria 
vaccine research program at WRAIR.
  While serving as an Infectious Disease Officer in the Department of 
Immunology, Col. Heppner, then a Major, suffered from a case of acute 
malaria, a known side effect from working with the potential vaccine. 
This experience gave Col. Heppner a unique perspective on the disease 
and fostered in him a renewed belief in the critical need for a 
vaccine.
  From 1993-97, Col. Heppner and his family lived in Bangkok, where he 
served as the Chief of the Department of Immunology and Medicine for 
the Armed Forces Research Institute of Medicine. In this position, Col. 
Heppner was the principal investigator for Phase 1 and Phase 2 malaria 
vaccine trials on the Thai-Burmese border. In 1997, Col. Heppner 
returned to WRAIR to conduct pre-clinical, clinical, and field trials 
of malaria vaccines in Kisumu, Kenya.
  In 1999, Col. Heppner became Chief of WRAIR's Department of 
Immunology, and in 2006 was promoted to Director of WRAIR's Division of 
Malaria Vaccine Development. In these positions, he led teams of 
dedicated scientists and physicians at organizations and institutions 
around the world--including USAID, the Gates Foundation, the Kenya 
Medical Research Institute, NIH/NIAID, and the Malaria Vaccine 
Initiative at PATH, among others to conduct human trials of innovative 
malaria vaccines in the United States, Europe, and East and West 
Africa. During this time, he also served as a member of the Special 
Medical Augmentation Response Team in Doha, Kuwait, working to develop 
countermeasures to biological weapons.
  In 2008, Col. Heppner became Deputy Director of WRAIR. As an 
executive of the Defense Department's largest biomedical research 
institute, Col. Heppner was responsible for overseeing some of the most 
important vaccinal research in the world. In this position, he also 
supported WRAIR's transformation to the Department of Defense's Center 
of Excellence in Infectious Diseases and Psychiatry and Neurosciences.
  As a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, Col. Heppner has 
advocated for vaccines to improve health, economic development, and 
political stability. Through his work with the Order of St. John, Col. 
Heppner has supported the St. John Eye Hospital in East Jerusalem in 
its mission to heal the blind of all faiths. Col. Heppner's work has 
been published in more than 100 peer-reviewed scientific publications 
and book chapters.
  There is a long-standing tradition that WRAIR officers continue to 
develop vaccines in their retirement. Col. Heppner will be following in 
that tradition as he serves as Vice President for Clinical Development 
at Crucell, a global biotechnology company that specializes in vaccinal 
development for tuberculosis, Ebola, HIV, influenza, polio, rabies, and 
malaria--the very diseases that threaten soldier and world health. As 
journalist Michael Leahy observed in his 2006 Washington Post Magazine 
article, ``Breaking the Cycle,'' ``Gray Heppner . . . does not give up 
easily on a dream.''
  Mr. Speaker, it is my honor to recognize the exceptional career of 
Colonel D. Gray Heppner, Jr., M.D., and his extraordinary efforts in 
making our world a healthier and safer place.

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