Mill Creek Leads Transition for WRAIR Renovation and Addition
Mill Creek is working with Turner Construction to provide transition and inventory services for the renovation and addition to the Raymond Randall Building, a vivarium and research lab at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR). Located in Silver Spring, Maryland, the WRAIR is the premiere biomedical research lab of the Department of Defense (DOD). The addition and renovation will bring the facility up to current building codes and standards. Additionally, there will be more room for specialized equipment and animals.
At WRAIR, scientists are working on innovative projects, like the development of vaccines and preventative drugs for Zika virus, malaria, HIV/AIDS, dengue fever, wound infections, leishmaniasis, and enteric diseases. The presence of contained viruses has made this an interesting project for Mill Creek. Transition specialists had to suit up in appropriate gear to avoid infections while carefully moving the animals and equipment to a temporary location for the building renovation.
As one of the most diverse DOD research labs in the nation, the WRAIR’s work is not limited to the study of illnesses and vaccines. With a focus on Service Member health and well-being, WRAIR researchers pursue projects about psychological resilience, neurological functioning, and operational readiness among Service Members. Based on their research, WRAIR scientists have recently developed “Battlemind Training” to manage stress during combat. The facility also houses sleep suites, where researchers study how sleep deprivation impacts productivity. For example, WRAIR researchers discovered that sleep is “banked,” meaning that a week of extended nighttime sleep can reduce performance struggles in a subsequent week with less sleep.
When construction on the Raymond Randall Building concludes in December, Mill Creek will lead the transition of personnel, equipment, and animals into the new addition.