UC Irvine Pioneers Space Medicine Education

Introduction by Vice Chancellor Steve Goldstein

In this edition of our Healthcare Workforce Pathways newsletter, we explore how UC Irvine is preparing students for the extraordinary challenges and opportunities that lie ahead in the emerging field of space medicine. Space is one of medicine’s most unusual frontiers, requiring a new generation of clinicians who can think beyond traditional boundaries and embrace innovative approaches to patient care.

As the first medical school in the United States to establish a mission-based space medicine program, UC Irvine’s Space MED (Medicine, Engineering & Design) experiential program exemplifies our commitment to prepare a new generation of clinicians educated to be forward-thinking. As commercial spaceflight allows broader populations to leave earth — including individuals with various medical conditions and risk factors — we need healthcare workers from all specialties and disciplines who understand how their expertise applies in these uncharted environments.

Whether our graduates then pursue aerospace medicine directly or bring spaceflight healthcare knowledge to their chosen specialties, they are developing essential skills: adaptability, ingenuity and the ability to provide whole-person care in challenging circumstances. This pioneering program reflects our commitment to training healthcare leaders who not only respond to medical needs as they exist today, but actively shape the future of medicine, and are ready to serve patients wherever human exploration and innovation may lead us.

UC Irvine Pioneers Space Medicine Education

Featuring:
Ariana Nelson, MD, associate professor in the Department of Anesthesiology & Perioperative Care
Jon G. Steller, MD, assistant professor in the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology

Students enrolled in the Concepts of Space Medicine and Orbital Systems (COSMOS) courses first learn in the classroom about the physiological changes that occur during spaceflight. Then, in their fourth year they have the opportunity for rotations with government and commercial industry, and even experience high-fidelity simulations of spaceflight-induced gravitational forces, allowing them to understand firsthand the physical challenges their future patients may face. This experiential learning bridges theoretical knowledge with practical understanding, giving UC Irvine medical students unique insight into the medical complexities of human spaceflight.

A First-of-Its-Kind Program

UC Irvine School of Medicine is the first medical school in the United States to create a foundational Space Medicine Mission-Based Program for medical students. As space exploration continues to advance, so must the practice of space medicine, engineering and design. NASA’s exploration missions will recruit the healthiest astronauts for lengthy exposure to the spaceflight environment, requiring partially autonomous medical care assisted by artificial intelligence. As space missions extend from days to months and potentially years, these longer journeys push the boundaries of known science regarding the effects of prolonged spaceflight on human physiology and health.

Meanwhile, commercial partners pursuing low-Earth orbit missions utilize crews with diverse demographics who may have different goals, desires and activities planned in space. Accordingly, how these humans interact with the spacecraft and how the spacecraft interacts with the humans will vary from mission to mission, introducing unique considerations for risk mitigation and crew health and performance. Commercial spaceflight wants to expand access to space and the UC Irvine Space MED program desires to embolden students to push the boundaries of human health in space by helping make space safe and more accessible to all humans.

Expert Leadership

Leading this innovative program are two faculty members who work in the space industry at NASA and Vast Space, the company aiming to launch the first commercial space station. Ariana Nelson, MD, associate professor in the Department of Anesthesiology & Perioperative Care, worked on the NASA team to construct an AI-assisted clinical decision support system for spaceflight and has significant expertise in anesthesia and pain in the spaceflight environment. Jon G. Steller, MD, assistant professor in the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, is one of the world’s authorities on women’s health in space and focuses his research on the effects of microgravity and radiation on reproductive health.

“The goal is to train future physicians to support the diversity and expansion of humans in spaceflight,” explains Nelson, while Steller emphasizes that “understanding how space affects every aspect of human health will be essential as spaceflight becomes accessible to broader populations.”

Read the full feature article in UCI Health Affairs' website.