UTMB Aerospace & Exploration Medicine

We believe in the success of every human who endeavors to travel to the skies.

[UTMB Aerospace & Exploration Medicine @UTMB_Aerospace]

After 378 days in isolation, four crew members emerged Oct. 31 from NASA's 3D-printed Mars habitat in Houston. UTMB physicians helped provide medical and operational support to the crew throughout the yearlong simulated mission.
https://t.co/GRPoagOdrr
Photo: NASA/James Blair

[UTMB Aerospace & Exploration Medicine @UTMB_Aerospace]

At the Nov. 3–5 International Space Medicine Summit, UTMB aerospace medicine residents and MS in Aerospace Medicine students heard how clinicians, researchers and spaceflight teams work together to keep crews healthy in space.

[UTMB Aerospace & Exploration Medicine @UTMB_Aerospace]

Ten meters of seawater doubles the pressure on the body. The highest summit on Earth cuts it to a third. Our Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine Fellowship trains physicians across that whole range, up through spaceflight. Applications close Nov. 16. https://t.co/KaOISd7UWE

[UTMB Aerospace & Exploration Medicine @UTMB_Aerospace]

Applications for our inaugural Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine Fellowship close Nov. 16 at 11:59 p.m. CT. One position, 12 months, ACGME-accredited, starting July 2027. Each applicant needs three letters, so ask your references now. https://t.co/KaOISd8sMc

[UTMB Provost's Office @UTMBProvost]

Congratulations to Dr. Clare McNerlin, Third-year resident in Emergency Medicine/Aerospace Medicine, who was selected as the resident member of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) Review Committee for Preventive Medicine. Outstanding!

[UTMB Aerospace & Exploration Medicine @UTMB_Aerospace]

Welcome back, Dr. Matthew Makowski! The 2025 Aerospace Medicine Residency graduate joins our faculty to start an Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine Fellowship linking high-pressure undersea physiology with the low-pressure demands of spaceflight. https://t.co/NwlZ6eDMoy

[UTMB Aerospace & Exploration Medicine @UTMB_Aerospace]

The ribbon is cut. We’re building on decades of UTMB aerospace medicine experience to expand research and training for aviation, spaceflight, and other demanding environments.

Explore our department’s next chapter https://t.co/UzhmH73N6V

[UTMBPresident @UTMBPresident]

On Tuesday evening, we celebrated a defining milestone for UTMB and the future of aerospace medicine.

We began with the @UTMBProvost Lecture Series, where UTMB alumnus Dr. J.D. Polk, NASA’s Chief Health and Medical Officer, shared his vision for “The Road Ahead in Space Medicine.”

We then marked the official launch of the UTMB Department of Aerospace and Exploration Medicine (@utmb_aerospace), a bold step that reinforces our leadership in this rapidly advancing field, and proudly recognized Dr. Ronak Shah as the department’s inaugural chair.

My thanks to State Representative Dennis Paul (@DennisPaulTexas) for his keynote remarks and to Dean of @utmb_spph Kristen Peek for her leadership in bringing this vision to life.

Together with our faculty, staff, community partners, and state and federal leaders, we are advancing the mission of UTMB and helping shape the future of human health on Earth and beyond.

[UTMB Aerospace & Exploration Medicine @UTMB_Aerospace]

UTMB's new Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine Fellowship has one position, starting July 1, 2027. The 12-month, ACGME-accredited program trains at UTMB and NASA. Physicians who have finished residency or are in their final year can apply by Nov. 16. https://t.co/KaOISd7UWE

[UTMB Provost's Office @UTMBProvost]

We are celebrating the new Department of Aerospace and Exploration Medicine in the @utmb_spph! On 10/27 the Provost's Lecture series welcomes Dr. J.D. Polk, NASA Chief Health & Medical Officer. Ribbon-cutting and reception to follow his talk. Learn more: https://t.co/ucxDo90xhe

[UTMB Aerospace & Exploration Medicine @UTMB_Aerospace]

Welcome aboard, Sana Malik, MBBS, CHFP. As our new business manager, she oversees the department's finances, grants and contracts, and operations. She joins us from UTMB's Departments of Surgery, Anesthesiology, and Dermatology, where she managed research grants.

[UTMB Aerospace & Exploration Medicine @UTMB_Aerospace]

Clare McNerlin, MD, a third-year Emergency Medicine/Aerospace Medicine resident, has been selected as the resident member of the ACGME Review Committee for Preventive Medicine and will serve a two-year term as a full voting member.

Congratulations, Dr. McNerlin!

[UTMB Aerospace & Exploration Medicine @UTMB_Aerospace]

NASA's SpaceX Crew-12 splashed down Oct. 8 after 237 days in space. On the recovery ship was crew surgeon Dr. Rahul Suresh, a graduate of our combined internal medicine/aerospace medicine residency. His deputy crew surgeon was UTMB's Dr. John Trentini.

Photo: NASA/Keegan Barber

[UTMB Aerospace & Exploration Medicine @UTMB_Aerospace]

In Istanbul, Stephenson with fellow congress attendees Ganeev Singh, internal medicine chief resident at Scripps in San Diego, and two physicians from Türkiye — pediatrics resident Ilgin Şirin and family medicine physician Ayten Özdenli.

[UTMB Aerospace & Exploration Medicine @UTMB_Aerospace]

Samuel Stephenson, MD, MS, a resident in our Residency in Aerospace Medicine, presented a review of the evidence on GLP-1 receptor agonist safety in spaceflight at the 3rd International Congress of Aerospace Medicine in Istanbul, with co-authors from NASA Johnson Space Center.

[UTMB Aerospace & Exploration Medicine @UTMB_Aerospace]

Astronauts who spent more than 90 days in space had higher hip fracture rates after returning to Earth, at younger ages than expected in people who never flew. Our Amy Kreykes, MD, MPH, co-authored the NASA-led study in Mayo Clinic Proceedings. https://t.co/NuuuGHiq0X

[Houston Business Journal @HOUBizJournal]

The university aims to build on its existing relationships with NASA Johnson Space Center, where astronauts are traditionally trained and cared for. https://t.co/m3ZS7LJPkK

[Anil Menon @astro_anil]

Star trail 8 stack video. Underlying photos unchanged from originals. Built a folder with @poteto mode that stacks photos as they arrive. This series shows 8 at a time only and cycles through all the photos. Streaks result from the 15 second interval on the Nikon shutter so they are moving through the frame as it's captured. The colors are as real as they are beautiful.

[UTMB School of Public & Population Health @utmb_spph]

UTMB has established the Department of Aerospace and Exploration Medicine within the School of Public and Population Health. Ronak V. Shah, DO, MBA, MPH, is inaugural chair. Public health, from the seas to the skies. https://t.co/DaFRGiHrwF

[Kristen Peek @kristenpeek1]

Proud to welcome Ronak V. Shah, DO, MBA, MPH, as inaugural chair of UTMB's new Department of Aerospace and Exploration Medicine. From the seas to the skies, we are public health, and today that includes a department.

@UTMBPresident @UTMBProvost