Projects per year
Personal profile
Biography
Dr. Elster assumed the role of Dean on 3 May 2021. The unique program has ranked among the top in the nation, and is the country’s only federal medical school. In this role, he leads the undergraduate medical education of more than 680 uniformed medical students and more than 340 civilian and military graduate students each year.
CAPT Elster was the Chair and Norman M. Rich Professor of Surgery for the USU Department of Surgery and the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and served from 2008 to 2021. He also served as the Director of the Surgical Critical Care Initiative, a joint military and civilian program developing clinical decision support tools for critically ill patients. He is a member of several key organizations including the American College of Surgeons (ACS), Society of University Surgeons, American Society of Transplant Surgeons, the Southern Surgical Association, the Halsted Society, the Fellowship of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons, the Association of Master Education and the American Surgical Association. He was the co-chair of the strategic partnership between the Military and the ACS, the Military Health System Strategic Partnership American College of Surgeons, focused on advancing a shared ethos, as well as the Inaugural President of the Excelsior Society. He has published over 200 scientific manuscripts in leading journals such as JAMA, Annals of Surgery, American Journal of Transplantation, and Science Translational Medicine, and has received numerous research grants across all aspects of surgery.
Dr. Elster received his undergraduate and medical school degrees from the University of South Florida as a recipient of the Navy’s Health Professionals Scholarship Program. Upon graduation as a GMO–SI Marine expeditionary unit, he completed a general surgery residency at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, MD. During Operation Iraqi Freedom, Dr. Elster served as ship’s surgeon aboard the USS Kitty Hawk while stationed in the Persian Gulf. Upon returning, he completed a solid organ transplantation fellowship at the National Institutes of Health. He was last deployed as a surgeon and director of Surgical Services at the NATO Role 3 Military Medical Unit in Kandahar, Afghanistan.
Education/Academic qualification
Organ Transplant Fellow, National Institutes of Health
2003 → 2005
Chief Resident, General Surgery, National Naval Medical Center
2001 → 2002
Residency, General Surgery, National Naval Medical Center
1997 → 2001
Internship, General Surgery, National Naval Medical Center
1995 → 1996
Doctor of Medicine, University of South Florida College of Medicine
1991 → 1995
BA Interdisciplinary Studies, Bachelor, University of South Florida, Tampa
1987 → 1991
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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
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Spectroscopic Biomarkers for Monitoring Wound Healing and Infection in Combat Wounds
Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs
30/09/10 → 29/10/13
Project: Research
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Development of the Joint Expeditionary Medical Officer
Henderson, J., Pock, A. & Elster, E., 1 May 2025, In: Military Medicine. 190, 5-6, p. 145-149 5 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review
Open Access -
Exploratory cluster analysis of IL2Ra and associated biomarkers and complications after blunt chest trauma
Haines, K. L., Li, R., Grey, S., Kim, H. E., Gann, E., Almond, C., Rouse, M., Joshi, M. B., Schobel-McHugh, S., Agarwal, S., Kirk, A., Elster, E. & Fernandez-Moure, J. S., Jun 2025, In: Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery. 98, 6, p. 899-906 8 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Key Issues in Surgical Residency Education: Recommendations of the Blue Ribbon II Committee Residency Education Subcommittee
Mellinger, J. D., Brasel, K., Elster, E., Fried, G., Hashimoto, D. A., Jarman, B., Joshi, A. R. T., Kelz, R. R., Lindeman, B., Pugh, C. & Reznick, R., 1 Jan 2025, In: Annals of surgery. 281, 1, p. 16-20 5 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Partnerships to Overcome the Peacetime Effect: Excelsior Surgical Society Panel Session
Cannon, J. W., Holt, D. B., Potter, B. K., Gurney, J. M., Tadlock, M. D., Wisbach, G., Nealeigh, M., Yelon, J. A., Bailey, P. V., Woodson, J., Margaret Knudson, M. & Elster, E. A., 1 May 2025, In: Journal of the American College of Surgeons. 240, 5, p. 728-737 10 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
1 Scopus citations -
Predicting Vasospasm and Early Mortality in Severe Traumatic Brain Injury: A Model Using Serum Cytokines, Neuronal Proteins, and Clinical Data
Rindler, R. S., Robertson, H., De Yampert, L. S., Khatri, V., Texakalidis, P., Eshraghi, S., Grey, S., Schobel, S., Elster, E. A., Boulis, N. & Grossberg, J. A., 1 May 2025, In: Neurosurgery. 96, 5, p. 1133-1145 13 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Press/Media
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MISSION READY: USU CELEBRATES ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE, SHAPES FUTURE MILITARY MEDICAL LEADERS
15/05/25
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media
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MILITARY HEALTH SYSTEM CONFERENCE CHARTS COURSE FOR READINESS, INNOVATION AND FUTURE CARE
James Mancuso, Craig Shriver, Eric Elster, Lynette Hamlin, Jill Brown, Vincent Capaldi & Carol Romano
13/05/25
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media
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WOUNDX™: REVOLUTIONIZING WOUND CARE TO IMPROVE WARFIGHTER READINESS AND REDUCE COSTS
Henry Robertson, Felipe Lisboa, Michael Rouse, Eric Elster, Scott Grey & Seth Schobel-McHugh
23/04/25
2 items of Media coverage
Press/Media
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A Match Made in Medicine: USU Students Celebrate Residency Milestones
31/12/24
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media