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Deputy Commander
LTC Samandra T. Demons
Deputy Commander, USAISR
Lieutenant Colonel Samandra T. Demons currently serves as the Deputy Commanding Officer at the U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research in San Antonio, TX. LTC Demons is a native of College Park, Georgia, and commissioned in the Army Medical Service Corps in 2008.
Throughout her distinguished career, LTC Demons has held key leadership positions at several prominent Army medical facilities and laboratories. Her assignments include: Chief of Research Operations at Madigan Army Medical Center (MAMC), Fort Lewis, WA (2008-2011); Chief of Bacteriology at MAMC (2011-2013); Chief, In vitro and Mouse Therapeutics at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, Fort Detrick, MD (2013-2016); Chief of Wound Infections at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Silver Springs, MD (2016-2019); Chief of Research Operations of the Bacterial and Parasitic Diseases Branch at the Armed Forces Research Institute of Medical Sciences, Bangkok, Thailand (2019-2022); and Deputy Director for Research at the US Army Institute of Surgical Research, San Antonio, TX (2022-2025).
LTC Demons' military education includes the Army Medical Department Officer Basic and Captains Career course, Combat Casualty Care course, Command and General Staff Officer course, Science Technology and Managers course, and the Joint Bio Agent Identification course. She holds additional skill identifiers in Medical Research Development Test and Evaluation (8Z), Medical Acquisition (8X), Clinical Investigation and Research Regulatory Oversight (8H), and Medical Proficiency (9A).
LTC Demons earned her Bachelor of Science in Biology from Columbus State University, followed by a Master's and Ph.D. in Applied and Environmental Microbiology from Georgia State University. LTC Demons is Board Certified in Clinical Microbiology through the American Society for Clinical Pathology.
Her military awards and decorations include the Meritorious Service Medal (3OLC), Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal, and Global War on Terrorism Service Medal.