As Dr. Mark Dertzbaugh Retires, MRDC Honors His Thirty-Plus Years of Service
FORT DETRICK, Md. – For Dr. Mark Dertzbaugh, who retired Tuesday as the Principal Assistant for Research and Technology at the Medical Research and Development Command, one of the most crucial, if also unsung, parts of his job was to serve as a bridge between the various stakeholders that make up the medical R&D acquisition and user communities to ensure that everyone's needs were met and that capabilities were delivered into the hands of the people who needed them most.
"The speed of technology innovation has really increased and there are so many other players out there now than there used to be," said Dertzbaugh, who served 33 years with MRDC, first with the Research Institute of Infectious Diseases and then with the PART. "So, it's critical for this organization to make sure that we can identify those technologies and collaborate together with others to get them evaluated and shaped up to be relevant for use by the Warfighter. My advice is that you can never communicate enough."
In recognition of his efforts to bring those disparate communities together to achieve great results for the Army and DOD during the course of his long career, over 100 colleagues, friends and family members gathered in person at the Fort Detrick auditorium or watched the livestream of Dertzbaugh's retirement ceremony online. Maj. Gen. Paula C. Lodi, commanding general of MRDC, officiated at the event.
"They say that what can be counted doesn't always count, and what counts can't always be counted," said Lodi during her remarks. "Your passion for DOD military medical science and technology research and development has supported military readiness and saved countless lives."
In her remarks, Lodi recapped Dertzbaugh's contributions as both a pioneering research scientist and a visionary strategic leader. Dertzbaugh, who earned his doctoral degree in microbiology and immunology from Virginia Commonwealth University, joined USAMRIID as a principal investigator in 1991. His research included the use of cholera toxin as a mucosal vaccine adjuvant and mapping of protective fragments of botulinum neurotoxin. He also developed cellular and humoral assays for anthrax vaccine studies. In 1996, he joined the Joint Vaccine Acquisition Program as a product manager, where he provided technical and managerial oversight of DOD contracts for the development, testing and evaluation of FDA-licensed vaccines against biological threat agents. He was responsible for the oversight of the manufacture of Anthrax Vaccine Adsorbed and a vaccine for Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus.
From 1998 through 2017, Dertzbaugh served in a series of increasingly senior leadership positions at USAMRIID, first as chief of the Respiratory Immunology Branch, then as chief of research programs and finally as chief of business plans and programs. In the latter role, Dertzbaugh implemented an enterprise-wide information technology system for managing research and operations throughout the organization, including the establishment of an electronic archive of research data. He also helped implement a workforce development strategy for scientific staff.
Dertzbaugh joined the PART in 2017 as civilian deputy, but within a year was promoted to principal assistant following the retirement of Dr. George Ludwig, his friend and mentor. Lodi noted that Dertzbaugh is credited with developing the strategic plans that aligned research funding to Army and DOD military medical requirements. The processes he developed served as the basis for the Defense Health Agency's strategic research plans, which DHA Research and Engineering is developing to drive its future science and technology investments. During the coronavirus pandemic, Dertzbaugh managed MRDC's programs to develop vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics in support of Operation Warp Speed.
During the ceremony, Lodi conferred on Dertzbaugh the DHA Distinguished Civilian Service Award and the DHA Civilian Career Service Award in recognition of his exceptional leadership, technical expertise and strategic vision.
"Mark's career success is rivaled only by his nature as a coworker and friend," said Lodi. "He's compassionate and truly cares about his teammates. His kindness, generosity and willingness to help others will truly be missed."
In his remarks, Dertzbaugh thanked his colleagues past and present who were in attendance, and encouraged his successors to continue looking ahead as the command reaches full operational capability within DHA at the end of the year.
"The end state is in sight, and I think everybody sees the path forward," said Dertzbaugh. "There's more work to be done for sure, but I think everybody's rowing in the right direction – and that was my goal."