UTHealth partners with Ocean Corp to enhance Space Medicine Fellowship program

UTHealth partners with Ocean Corp to enhance Space Medicine Fellowship program
by Clarence Oxford
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Sep 20, 2024

UTHealth Houston has partnered with The Ocean Corporation to expand its Space Medicine Training Fellowship program. This collaboration introduces an intensive two-week training that focuses on hyperbaric technologies and analog environments similar to those encountered by astronauts during space walks, also known as extravehicular activities (EVAs).

The enhanced curriculum aims to provide fellows with practical knowledge about the medical and physiological challenges present in extreme conditions.

"Integrating commercial diving insights with advanced medical training provides these fellows with unparalleled expertise in managing extreme conditions," said Richard Johnston, an instructor at The Ocean Corporation with experience in commercial diving, emergency medicine, and an Air Force background.

The partnership is designed to prepare physicians for the unique health challenges encountered on space missions. Nicolas Heft, MD, director of the Space Medicine Fellowship program and a former fellow, has crafted a curriculum that includes hands-on training in hyperbaric environments. The training emphasizes pressure management, handling high-stress situations, and developing medical support strategies for extreme environments.

This experience is particularly relevant to the demands of long-duration space missions.

"The training will allow our fellows to experience firsthand some of the challenges that astronauts experience when performing space walks both in microgravity and on the surface of the moon," Heft said.

Curtis Lowery, MD, PhD, a second-year fellow at UTHealth Houston, commented, "The UTHealth Houston Space Medicine program builds on decades of aerospace medicine research to develop a completely novel training pathway specifically designed for the future of human space travel. This dive training prepares us for various medical scenarios that can occur on expeditionary missions in space such as EVA support and treatment of barotrauma-related injuries."

The collaboration between The Ocean Corporation and UTHealth Houston is helping to ensure that future space medicine professionals will receive cutting-edge training.

"Collaborating with UTHealth Houston is a leap forward in our commitment to innovating education that meets the challenges of future space exploration," said John Wood, president of The Ocean Corporation. "We're equipping medical professionals to enhance human health, both on Earth and in space."