Program Manager: Dr. Jon Mogford
 The goal of this program is create technologies that allow the warfighter to maintain peak physical and cognitive performance despite the harsh battlefield environment. The program currently has several areas of interest including tolerance to extreme climates (heat and cold), improved nutrients and supplements to support the physical stresses of combat, as well as broad basic science explorations into the biochemical etiology of muscle fatigue. In addition, the program seeks to determine whether it is possible, and then beneficial, to provide highly customized vitamins based on each individual’s unique metabolism.
Now in its last phase, the Peak Soldier Performance Program has had numerous successes. In the area of thermoregulation, investigators have developed a novel device for core body cooling/warming based on efficient heat transfer from evolutionarily conserved arterio-venous anastomoses in the palms and soles. In addition, the program has identified several candidate nutrients with important effects on mitochondrial metabolism and biogenesis. In preliminary laboratory experiments, these nutrients improve the content and efficiency of mitochondria following short-term dietary supplementation. The effects of these nutrients are now being validated in randomized, double blind, controlled clinical studies. Perhaps most importantly, the program has recently identified a key biomolecule that is altered by stress, and may be causative for muscle fatigue following rigorous exercise. Overall, this program seeks to develop safe and effective methods to maintain combat performance under the stressful conditions of combat, and to enhance the basic science foundation so that additional important breakthroughs might be catalyzed once the program is complete.
|
