Health
Responding to growing national health challenges
Johns Hopkins APL is transforming health care by bringing significant new data analytics and systems engineering capability to the field of medicine that will enhance the nation’s ability to predict, prevent, and detect illness and injury.
Featured Work
Augmented Reality for Battlefield Medics
Leveraging the power of augmented reality, predictive anatomy visualization, artificial intelligence, and real-time ultrasound in austere environments
Eliminating Forever Chemicals
Multiple studies have linked PFAS exposure to harmful health effects in humans and animals, and without a natural way to break them down, the chemicals persist in soil and contaminate the environment — including water. APL scientists are developing several technologies to capture and destroy these “forever chemicals.”
Army Environmental Health Research
APL and the U.S. Army Center for Environmental Health Research are developing capabilities to detect, assess, and prevent effects from exposure to toxic materials—focusing especially on ways to prevent acute and chronic health effects through new biological technologies.
Health Surveillance
APL’s leadership in electronic disease surveillance is making a difference for both warfighter health protection and readiness and civilian populations.
Mapping the Brain
APL led testing and evaluation efforts for IARPA’s MICrONs project, launched to create state-of-the-art machine learning capabilities by discovering how brain circuits process information.
The Systems Approach to Saving Lives
APL’s thought leaders are stirring discussions on the importance of taking a systems approach to health care.
Durable and Portable Therapeutics Production
APL experts have made significant strides in developing methods for portable production of vaccines and other therapeutics, enabling production on demand in remote locations and during emergency outbreaks.
Revolutionizing Prosthetics
Revolutionizing Prosthetics was an ambitious multiyear program—funded by DARPA—to create a neurally controlled artificial limb that would restore near-natural motor and sensory capability to individuals with upper-extremity limb loss and spinal cord injury.
Related News
News
Aug 13, 2026
SURPASS Projects Tackle the ‘Beyond Possible’
Whether addressing the shortage of organs for transplant, harvesting hydrogen in revolutionary ways, or enabling flight in very low Earth orbit, the latest three winning SURPASS projects unite experts from the Johns Hopkins University Whiting School of Engineering and Johns Hopkins APL to solve world-changing problems.
Press Release
Aug 6, 2026
Three Johns Hopkins APL Innovations Earn 2026 R&D 100 Honors
Three technologies developed by APL researchers have been named as winners of 2026 R&D 100 Awards. APL’s winning innovations span health care, space communications, and advanced manufacturing, reflecting the Laboratory’s breadth of expertise and capability.
News
Jul 8, 2026
Johns Hopkins APL Makes Sure Fans Get Soccer, Not Sicker
At the single biggest sporting event in U.S. history, drawing 5 million international visitors to 11 U.S. cities for 78 matches over the course of 39 days, APL is playing a central role in ensuring that illnesses will not spread and become major incidents.
Press Release
Jun 16, 2026
Johns Hopkins APL Battlefield Care Innovation Named a Fast Company ‘World Changing Idea’
An augmented-reality-enabled medical guidance system developed at APL has been recognized by Fast Company as a “World Changing Idea” for its potential to improve trauma care where advanced medical expertise and imaging tools are not readily available.
News
May 7, 2026
A Pint of Hope: Developing a Shelf-Stable Blood Substitute
Johns Hopkins APL researchers are investigating the viability and scalability of shelf-stable, freeze-dried red blood cells. With far-reaching implications for trauma care in remote or austere environments — a critical need for the nation’s warfighters — this effort opens the door to safe and effective blood transfusions anywhere, anytime, and with minimal supplies.