Doctor Serves To Repay America
(December 29, 2009) |
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| WASHINGTON, Dec. 23, 2009 – In June 1989, Jason Huang – now
an Army Reserve major – was among the 5,000 protestors who
crammed into China's Tiananmen Square, pressing the
government for democracy and freedom of speech.
Instead, the Chinese government blacklisted him and threw
him out of China's prestigious University of Science and
Technology, where he was a freshman studying mechanical
engineering.
Flash forward 20 years, and Huang is a highly respected U.S.
neurosurgeon who's never lost sight of the opportunities his
adopted country gave him, and is intent on repaying the
favor. |
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| Maj. (Dr.) Jason Huang,
right, an Army Reserve neurosurgeon who's become
a national leader in traumatic brain injury
research, discusses his work with Army Lt. Gen.
Jack C. Stultz, chief of the Army Reserve,
center, and Dr. Webster Pilcher, a fellow
neurosurgeon at Strong Memorial Hospital in
Rochester, NY. U.S. Army photo |
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He joined the Army Reserve after the 9/11 attacks, applied
his medical expertise during a 2008 deployment, and is
committed to helping his comrades in arms suffering from
traumatic brain injuries, post-traumatic stress and other
battle-related disorders. His goal is to develop diagnostic
tools so easy to use that commanders in the field can
quickly identify brain injuries among their troops and get
them the treatment they need.
Looking back at the Tiananmen Square crackdown, Huang
recognizes he was “lucky to get out alive.”
Banned from China's universities and most employment
opportunities, he went to a library to explore other
options, with the United States topping his list. As he
looked at an alphabetical list of U.S. universities and
colleges, Huang discovered the key to his future before he'd
even left the “A's”.
Amherst University offered him a full scholarship and a
chance at a new life. Huang became a U.S. resident. From
there, he continued to build his academic resume, with a
year of research at Harvard University, then medical school
at Johns Hopkins University and neurosurgery training at the
University of Pennsylvania.
Huang said he's never lost sight of the generosity he's
received through scholarships, student loans and other
support that enabled him to become a neurosurgeon. So when
terrorists attacked the United States in 2001, he joined the
Army Reserve.
“I came here from China with nothing, and had so many
opportunities offered to me,” he said. “And I always
believed that if there was some way I could pay back to this
country all that it's given me, I would do it.”
During his deployment to Iraq, Huang got to explore an area
he's deeply interested in: neurotrauma. He and Dr. Jeffrey
Bazarian, a colleague at Strong Memorial Hospital in
Rochester, N.Y., had been researching traumatic brain
injury, post-traumatic stress and related disorders that
affect combat troops. Huang said his on-the-ground exposure
gave him a better understanding of the blast injuries many
combat troops were receiving – more devastating than brain
injuries from car crashes and other accidents he was
accustomed to treating in Rochester.
Huang and Bazarian are trying to identify for “markers” –
specific proteins in the blood – that signal these brain
injuries. Once they identify these markers, he explained,
doctors at combat support hospitals will be able to give a
simple blood test to determine if a servicemember suffering
from headaches or other symptoms has a traumatic brain
injury. That, in turn, will lead to faster treatment and,
when necessary, medical evacuation from the battlefield.
Experience on the ground gave Huang insight into why many
troops downplay their injuries. “Some soldiers just want to
tough it out and continue to fight,” he said, not realizing
the consequences of not getting, or delaying, care for blast
injuries.
As they work toward identifying a marker, Huang and Bazarian
have volunteered their time to provide free care for combat
veterans suffering from traumatic brain injury,
post-traumatic stress and related afflictions. They're
forming a volunteer network at Strong Memorial Hospital, an
affiliate of the University of Rochester Medical Center, to
screen and treat more troops, and hope ultimately to open a
blast injury center serving the region.
“We have a very good support system here that, when we put
it together, will be able to provide some very important
care,” Huang said. “We are on our way to doing something
very, very positive.” | |
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
Copyright 2009
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