Since 1969, the Universities Space Research Association (USRA), a private, nonprofit corporation, has worked closely with NASA. USRA's Division of Space Biomedicine was founded in 1983 to address the biomedical issues faced by humans in space. Harrison Schmitt, lunar module pilot of Apollo 17, was named as the first Director of the Division. In late 1990, the Division was renamed the Division of Space Life Sciences (DSLS) reflecting a broader charter: "to stimulate, encourage, and assist research in the NASA life sciences." This charter continues today and is encapsulated within three broad programs: the Science Program, the Extramural Support Program and the Education Program.

 

Scientist of the Month

 

January

Dr. James Fiedler and Dr. Rob Ploutz-Snyder, presented, FDR doesn’t tell the whole story: Joint influence of effect size and covariance structure on the distribution of the false discovery proportiona at the 2011 Joint Statistical Meeting of the American Statistics Association in Miami Beach, Florida.

 

Previously Featured Posters

 

2011

December

Dr. Shaowen Hu's poster A Biomathematical Model of Lymphopoiesis and its Application to Acute and Chronic Irradiation Assessment, was presented at the 18th IAA Humans in Space Symposium in Houston, Texas.

 

After the events of September 11, 2001, there is an increasing concern of the occurrence of radiological terrorism that may result in significant casualties in densely populated areas. This model can serve as a computational tool in management of radiation accident such as the  nuclear crisis in Japan 2011, military operations involving nuclear warfare, radiation therapy protocol design, and space radiation risk assessment.

 

November

Dr. Johnny Conkin's poster, Decompression Sickness After Air Break in Prebreath Described With a Survival Model,
was presented this year at the 82nd Annual Scientific Meeting of the Aerospace Medical Association in Anchorage Alaska. 


 

Multimedia Highlights

 

 

 

Upcoming Events

 

2012 Human Research Program Investigators’ Workshop
February 14–16, 2012
Westin Galleria in Houston, Texas

 

Aerospace Medicine Grand Rounds

 

February 28, 2012
Victor Convertino, Ph.D.
Update on research using the impedance threshold device (ITD) technology for treating a variety of clinical conditions relevant to space flight
Program Manager
Tactical Combat Casualty Care Research
US Army Institute of Surgical Research
3698 Chambers Pass
Fort Sam Houston, TX 78234-6315
Telephone: 210-539-5633
Email: victor.convertino@amedd.army.mil


 

 

 

A Message from the Director

Dr. Neal R. PellisWelcome to the Division of Space Life Sciences (DSLS) at USRA Houston. As part of a non-profit entity, DSLS has the mission to support NASA and other Federal entities by conducting and managing research that addresses the risks to humans before, during, and after space exploration. DSLS provides high profile scientists, physicians, collaborators, and science managers to the NASA Space Life Sciences Directorate and the Human Research Program (HRP). Additionally, DSLS conducts and hosts major science meetings, seminars, and workshops. The full-time scientist team is made up of 36 scientists from many disciplines within life sciences. DSLS provides an excellent working environment for collegial intellectual exchange.

 

Research Projects