John Bradley Holcomb was born on June 17, 1959, in Ft. Benning, Georgia. He received his B.S. in Biology cum laude with honors from Centenary College in 1981and his M.D. from the University of Arkansas Medical School in 1985.
Dr. Holcomb entered the U.S. Army in 1985, where he completed his general surgery internship in 1986 at the William Beaumont Army Medical Center. He served as Commander and General Medical Officer of the U.S. Army Health Clinic in Sinop, Turkey, followed by completion of his general surgery residency at the William Beaumont Army Medical Center in 1991. From 1991 to 1994, MAJ Holcomb served as Staff General Surgeon at the Womack Army Medical Center in Ft. Bragg, North Carolina, and started deploying with the US Special Operations Command (1991-2000). From 1994 to 1997, he was a General Surgery Attending at the William Beaumont Army Medical Center, where he established a productive surgical research program. In 1997, LTC Holcomb became the Chief of the Military Trauma Research Branch of the U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research and Surgical Faculty at the Brooke Army Medical Center, where he established a new Hemostasis research program, spearheading the development of a well funded 5-year research plan.
In 1999, LTC Holcomb joined the surgical faculty of the Baylor College of Medicine and the Ben Taub General Hospital in the Texas Medical Center, Houston, Texas, and became the Director of the Joint Trauma Training Center. In 2001, he joined the University of Texas at Houston as a Surgical Critical Care Fellow and served as the Trauma Advisor to USSOCOM. From 2002 to 2008, COL Holcomb served as both Commander of the U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research and Trauma Consultant for the Army Surgeon General, where he led the only Surgical Research Laboratory in the Department of Defense. He deployed in support of the war on terrorism 6 times. He was awarded the AAST Honorary Medal for Combat Surgical Care in 2004, the Department of the Army Research and development Achievement Award for Leadership Excellence in 2005, and is a three time recipient of the Army’s Greatest Invention award (2004, 05, and 2007). His military awards include the Combat Medical Badge, Bronze Star, Legion of Merit and the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, and many others. COL Holcomb retired from active duty on 23 July 2008. In 2008, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award in Trauma Resuscitation Science from the American Heart Association, the United States Special Operations Command Medal, and the Service award from the American College of Surgery, Committee on Trauma for outstanding scientific contributions to the surgery of trauma and dedication to the care of wounded warriors.
In 2008, Dr. Holcomb joined the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston as a Professor of Surgery and Head of the Division of Acute Care Surgery. He was named the Director of the newly established Center for Translational Injury Research, a university-wide center focused on translating preclinical research to the clinical arena. In 2009, he was named the University of Texas Chancellor’s Health Fellow for Trauma and Injury and Vice Chair of Surgery.
Dr. Holcomb is actively involved in clinical medicine and resident and student education. His research interests include trauma, hemostasis, coagulopathy, brain injury and trauma informatics. He has an established basic science laboratory in the area of vascular biology of trauma and is the PI of a NIGMS P-50 and T-32 training grant. He reviews papers for 15 journals, has published > 280 peer reviewed articles, serves on multiple committees and editorial boards, and is a member on the Committee on Tactical Combat Casualty Care.
Dr. Holcomb and his wife, Dr. Kelly Wirfel, have been married since 1998 and have 2 children, Ian age 10 and Ryan who is 8 years old.