Space Medicine

UT-Moon Campus

Program Highlights

Application:

  • Space Medicine Fellowship Application
  • Applicant must be a United States citizen or permanent resident to comply with ITAR regulations
  • Applicant must be Board-Certified or Board-Eligible in Emergency Medicine
  • Must be eligible to obtain a Texas medical license
  • Must be eligible to obtain a Florida medical license

Application Timeline:

  • Submissions: August 1st – November 1st
  • Interviews: Mid-November through mid-December
  • Candidates will interview with UTHealth Houston as well as with our commercial partners
  • Final Selection: Late December

Fellowship Highlights:

  • 1/2 full-time faculty salary (~$140,000)
  • A clinical obligation of 14 shifts every other month as an attending physician at Memorial Hermann-TMC and Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital
  • Rotations at major commercial spaceflight companies
  • Aerospace engineering coursework
  • Scuba diving rotation/ Extra Vehicular Activity simulations
  • Dentistry
  • Interventional Radiology
  • Regional Anesthesia

Space doctorThe UTHealth Houston Department of Emergency Medicine offers a first-of-its-kind two-year fellowship in Space Medicine. With a focus on providing acute medical care in space, our training program develops physicians who will be trained to provide their medical expertise both on, and off, Earth. The fellowship is open to American citizens, or permanent residents, who are graduates of an ACGME-accredited Emergency Medicine residency program.

The fellows are expected to maintain clinical competency by working longitudinally in the emergency department throughout their training as well as partaking in collaborative experiences with a multitude of partnering agencies in the aerospace industry with an intent on meeting the needs of the commercial space industry and future Exploration-class missions.

Because spaceflight presents a unique set of challenges not encountered on Earth, our primary goals are for our graduates to understand the nuances and limitations of providing medical care in space, obtain hands-on training in more advanced interventional procedures that may be necessary on long-duration missions, obtain first-hand experience with EVA analog environments, and master specific concepts within the field of aerospace engineering. We are also proud to lead research initiatives within the commercial space industry. For more information on our efforts with Polaris Dawn, please visit the program’s respective mission page which highlights UTHealth Houston’s involvement at: Science & Research – Polaris Program.

Space collage 2

The fellow is involved in the education of the Emergency Medicine residents rotating on the Space Medicine elective and works with the director on all administrative duties, including student, resident, and faculty education.

For further assistance, please contact us at [email protected].