From Cold Call to Critical Care: Episode 92

From Cold Call to Critical Care: Episode 92

From Voices from DARPA by DARPA

April 21, 2026 · 31 min

About this episode

Lt. Col. Adam Willis shares his journey and innovations in military medicine.

BTO Program Manager Lt. Col. Adam Willis, M.D., U.S. Air Force, joins Voices from DARPA to share his remarkable journey from a ROTC physics major to a leading innovator in military medicine. Dr. Willis discusses how a desire to apply science to help people led him down the dual paths of a Ph.D. in theoretical and appliled mechanics and a medical degree with a focus on neurology. He recounts the moment a demonstration of the DARPA-funded Revolutionizing Prosthetics program sparked his interest, leading him to cold-email a military doctor and future mentor, Col. Geoffrey Ling, who gave him a simple, life-changing piece of advice. In this episode, Dr. Willis explains his work on groundbreaking programs like Golden Hour Evacuation (GOLDEVAC) and Making Anatomical Sense of Hemorrhage (MASH) , which aim to revolutionize battlefield medicine by bringing critical care capabilities directly to the point of injury. He details his vision for an "ICU in a box" and autonomous surgical tools that could save countless lives when evacuation to a surgeon isn't possible. He also shares his unique perspective as a "Rosetta Stone," translating complex medical challenges into the language of physics…

People in this episode

Hosts: DARPA, Col. Geoffrey Ling

Guest: Lt. Col. Adam Willis, M.D.

Topics covered

  • military medicine
  • innovation
  • prosthetics
  • critical care
  • battlefield medicine
  • neurology

Keywords

  • military medicine
  • DARPA
  • prosthetics
  • critical care
  • neurology
  • GOLDEVAC
  • MASH

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: DARPA, U.S. Air Force

Books & works: Revolutionizing Prosthetics, Golden Hour Evacuation (GOLDEVAC), Making Anatomical Sense of Hemorrhage (MASH)

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