WHO WE ARE
The Academic Department of Military Surgery and Trauma (ADMST) is the UK Defence Medical Services' dedicated research department for military surgical science. Established in 2007 as part of an expansion of research capability during the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, we are one of nine academic departments hosted by the Surgeon General's Research and Clinical Innovation (RCI) Pillar.
Our mission is to pioneer military surgical research and innovation to save lives and restore health by generating and disseminating knowledge relevant to the care of the military surgical patient. ADMST serves as the bridge between operational reality and academic rigour, translating battlefield challenges into research questions and research findings into operational capability. We work at the intersection of military medicine, civilian trauma care, engineering, data science, and clinical innovation—bringing together expertise from across Defence, the NHS, universities, and industry.
At ADMST our vision is to pioneer military surgical research in order to save lives in the conflicts of tomorrow. In an increasingly unstable world this aim is as important as ever.
Research Themes
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Protecting.
Protecting the warfighter:
- Global Health Engagement
- Reducing Thermal and Electronic Signature
- Surgically Relevant Pre-Hospital Data Collection
- Personal Armour
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Preserving.
Preserving the surgical patient:
- Combat Casualty Care
- Prolonged Field Care and Extremity Injury
- Post-traumatic Organ Dysfunction
- Combat Wounds
- Burns
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Preparing.
Preparing the surgical team:
- Health Professions Education
- High Fidelity Simulation
- Engage to Promote Prosperity and Project Influence
Leadership Team
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Colonel Professor Nigel Tai, FRCS, CBE, L/RAMS
Defence Professor of Surgery
Colonel Professor Nigel Tai is the Defence Professor for Military Surgery and Trauma. He is a Trauma and Vascular Surgeon at the Royal London Hospital and Honorary Professor of Trauma Surgery & Innovation at Queen Mary University of London.
Col Tai has led high performance teams in both the Defence Medical Services and the NHS, using this experience to inform his research interests which currently includes the management of major haemorrhage, decision-making, and the use of AI technology to support trauma clinicians.
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Lt Col Johno Breeze, PhD, FRCS, RAMS
Deputy Head of ADMST / Reader in Military Surgery and Trauma
Lt Col Johno Breeze is the Deputy Head of ADMST and Military Reader in Military Surgery and Trauma. He is a Consultant Maxillofacial Surgeon at the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine and University Hospitals Birmingham.
He is a senior lecturer at The Royal British Legion Centre for Blast Injury Studies and the Department of Bioengineering at Imperial College London. His research centres around the medical optimisation of body armour, emergency preparedness and protection of the national infrastructure against explosive threats. He was previously the editor of BMJ Military Health.
Research Pillar Leads
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Lt Col David Naumann MA, MB BChir, PhD, DMCC, FRCS, RAMS
GENERAL SURGERY
Lt Col David Naumann is a Senior Lecturer in the General Surgery pillar of ADMST. He is a Consultant General Surgeon with the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine and the University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, and is an Associate Clinical Professor with the Department of Inflammation and Ageing at the University of Birmingham. His research interests are in trauma and emergency general surgery. His PhD thesis was entitled “Early microcirculatory dysfunction following traumatic haemorrhage”.The General Surgery pillar is primarily concerned with 'preserving the surgical patient', and work relating to torso trauma, emergency general surgery and any other general or vascular research.
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Lt Col John Whitaker PhD, FRCS, RAMS
GLOBAL SURGERY
Lt Col John Whitaker is a Senior Lecturer in the Global Surgery pillar of ADMST. He is a Consultant General Surgeon with the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine and University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire.The global surgery pillar pursues academic endeavour at the intersection of injury care, global health and military medicine.
Publications from members of the Global Surgery pillar can be found at:
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Lt Col Max Marsden FRCS, PhD, RAMS
SURGICAL INFORMATICS
Lt Col Max Marsden is a Senior Lecturer in the Surgical Informatics pillar. He is a Consultant Trauma and General Surgeon at Royal London Hospital and Honorary Clinical Lecturer at Centre for Trauma Sciences, Queen Mary University of London with research interests in machine learning implementation, and non compressible haemorrhage.
The Surgical Informatics Pillar aims to develop practical, deployable data-collection and data-exploitation tools to support military surgical care. Our focus is on creating reliable digital systems that capture the information needed to improve operational care pathways, MEDEVAC, and overall operational patient care, while helping Defence meet its ambition of maximising medical deployability.
