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Medical School Programs

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Handbook of Bioastronautics

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Abstract

The chapter describes select medical schools in the United States (US) and Europe that conduct research and specialized training in bioastronautics science and space medicine. These programs illustrate the key role that medical schools play in producing countermeasures to the health-related problems and physical and psychological challenges men and women will face on long-duration missions. Also, medical school bioastronautics disciplines are leading the way for scientists and physicians to develop technologies that provide medical monitoring, diagnosis, and treatment in the extreme environments that space explorers will face during exploration missions. These discoveries have potential to impact medical care on Earth by transferring the solutions to patients suffering from similar conditions, including osteoporosis, muscle wasting, shift-related sleep disorders, balance disorders, and cardiovascular system problems.

Medical schools with formal bioastronautics research and training programs engage medical specialties to examine the effects of spaceflight on humans, identify risks, and prevent problems that humans face while living in the extreme environment of space. These risks include exposure to the hazardous environments of space and medical challenges – sleep and circadian disorders experience in space exploration, behavioral, mental and physical risks, among others – that have potential to affect crew health and mission success (IOM, Health standards for long duration and exploration spaceflight: ethics principles, responsibilities, and decision framework. Institute of Medicine Report, 2014). In general, these medical bioastronautics programs utilize multidisciplinary teams of physicians, space scientists, and engineers to study the physical, mental, and social health of humans in space, on their return to Earth and to spin off products for commercialization.

Many medical school bioastronautics programs collaborate with complementary graduate education research programs to broaden understanding of the systemic nature of space flight risk mitigation. These programs, which include governmental and nongovernmental space organizations and graduate/undergraduate level academic research departments, provide graduate and undergraduate level space science and engineering coursework, clinical experiences, space-related research apprenticeships, and research projects.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medical Education, Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Marlene Y. MacLeish

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  1. Marlene Y. MacLeish
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Correspondence to Marlene Y. MacLeish .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Laurence R. Young

  2. Center for Space Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA

    Jeffrey P. Sutton

Section Editor information

  1. National Space Biomedical Research Institute, Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Marlene Y. MacLeish

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MacLeish, M.Y. (2020). Medical School Programs. In: Young, L.R., Sutton, J.P. (eds) Handbook of Bioastronautics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-10152-1_100-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-10152-1_100-2

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-10152-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-10152-1

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference EngineeringReference Module Computer Science and Engineering

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Chapter history

  1. Latest

    Medical School Programs
    Published:
    08 December 2020

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-10152-1_100-2

  2. Original

    Medical School Programs
    Published:
    24 July 2018

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-10152-1_100-1

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