News

Students work in space research labs during summer internships


Application period for 2012 program opens Oct. 1

Nineteen students from across the United States successfully completed internships that allowed them to work with scientists on research projects focused on protecting astronaut health during spaceflight.

The program, sponsored by the National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI), gives selected students an opportunity to spend 10 weeks in laboratories at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland or NASA Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, Calif.

"The NSBRI Summer Internship Program allows talented students to receive first-hand knowledge about research for long-duration spaceflight," said Dr. Jeffrey P. Sutton, NSBRI director. "The experience gained during the summer will be beneficial to the interns as they become the next generation of scientists, engineers and physicians."

The NSBRI Summer Internship Program, which is managed by Baylor College of Medicine’s Center for Educational Outreach, will be accepting applications for the 2012 Summer Internship Program from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31, 2011. More information is available at http://www.nsbri.org/EDUCATION-and-TRAINING/Student-Graduate-and-Fellowship-Opportunities/Summer-Internship-Program/.

With the addition of the 2011 class, more than 150 students have participated in this highly competitive program since its inception in 1998.

The 2011 NSBRI Summer Intern class:

  • Jordan Ash, Rutgers University
     
  • Katie Bachman, Rice University
     
  • Brian Chang, Rutgers University
     
  • Richard Chen, Johns Hopkins University
     
  • David Cunningham, Texas A&M University
     
  • Sara De La Rosa, University of Michigan
     
  • Beth Doughty, University of California, Davis
     
  • Raquel Galvan, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
     
  • Shellen Goltz, Purdue University
     
  • Elise Griffin, Utah State University
     
  • Jessica Joyce, Rice University
     
  • Roshni Kothadia, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
     
  • Kelly Kwan, California State University, East Bay
     
  • Christian Mandrycky, Georgia Institute of Technology
     
  • Michael McRae, Saint Louis University
     
  • Julia Poritz, University of Houston
     
  • Kristen Saad, Case Western Reserve University
     
  • Joshua Santoli, University of Missouri–Columbia
     
  • Sarah Scholl, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
NSBRI, funded by NASA, is a consortium of institutions studying the health risks related to long-duration spaceflight. The Institute’s science, technology and education projects take place at more than 60 institutions across the United States.

NSBRI projects address space health concerns, which include bone and muscle loss, cardiovascular changes, radiation exposure, neurobehavioral and psychosocial factors, remote medical care and research, and habitability and performance issues. Research findings also impact the understanding and treatment of similar medical conditions experienced on Earth.

###

Brad Thomas
NSBRI
713-798-7595
rbthomas@bcm.edu