STAR-3 (2022-2023) Course Participants

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Santhosh Arul, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Scholar, Mayo Clinic.
Neurovascular bioengineering.

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Manuela Buonanno, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Columbia University.
Space radiation.

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Katrina Carter, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Scholar, University of Oregon.
Exercise physiology and cardiovascular biology.

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Hugo Castillo, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
Space microbiology.

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Lauren Cornell, Ph.D., M.S.
Research Scientist, Joint Base San Antonio, Lackland Air Force Base.
Military biomedicine.

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Val Fajardo, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Brock University, Canada.
Muscle biology.

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Melanie Ferlazzo, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Scholar, Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organization, Australia.
Molecular and cellular radiobiology.

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Sylvana Hassanieh, Ph.D.
Research Scientist, Astra Zeneca, United Kingdom.
Cancer genomics and bioinformatics.

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Christina Johnson, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Scholar, NASA Kennedy Space Center.
Microgravity effects on plants.

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JangKeun Kim, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Scholar, Weill Cornell Medicine.
Multi-omics and genetic engineering.

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Sally Kim, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Amherst College.
Zinc functions in mitochondria.

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Ryan Koppes, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Northeastern University.
Microphysiological organ-on-a-chip platforms.

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Rafael Loureiro, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Winston-Salem State University, North Carolina.
Plant responses to environmental stressors.

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Devon Lundine, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Scholar, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.
DNA replication and repair.

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Pedro Madrigal, Ph.D.
Senior Bioinformatician, European Bioinformatics Institute - European Molecular Biology Laboratory, United Kingdom.
Bioinformatics and space 'omics.

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Nozomi Nishimura, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Cornell University.
In vivo imaging for neurodegeneration and cerebral fluid flow.

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Janice Pluth, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
Radiation carcinogenesis.

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Davide Povero, Ph.D., M.S.
Assistant Professor, Mayo Clinic.
Lipid metabolism and liver cancer.

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Erika Reece, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Scholar, Lousiana State University Health, Shreveport.
Genomic engineering for radioprotection.

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Upal Roy, Ph.D.<
Assistant Professor, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.
Neuroimmunology and neurotherapeutics

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Shannon Rupert, Ph.D.
Director, Mars Desert Research Station.
Space science education and analog missions.

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Benjamin Sikes, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, University of Kansas.
Space fungal ecology.

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Eric Tuday, M.D., Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, University of Utah.
Cardiovascular health.

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Michael Wiggs, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Baylor University.
Exercise physiology and muscle biology.

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Detina Zalli, Ph.D.
Director of Pre-Medical Studies, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom.
Genomic medicine and science education.

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James Webb Space Telescope

The image is divided horizontally by an undulating line between a cloudscape forming a nebula along the bottom portion and a comparatively clear upper portion. Speckled across both portions is a starfield, showing innumerable stars of many sizes. The smallest of these are small, distant, and faint points of light. The largest of these appear larger, closer, brighter, and more fully resolved with 8-point diffraction spikes. The upper portion of the image is blueish, and has wispy translucent cloud-like streaks rising from the nebula below. The orangish cloudy formation in the bottom half varies in density and ranges from translucent to opaque. The stars vary in color, the majority of which have a blue or orange hue. The cloud-like structure of the nebula contains ridges, peaks, and valleys – an appearance very similar to a mountain range. Three long diffraction spikes from the top right edge of the image suggest the presence of a large star just out of view.

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