Dr. Lisa Carnell
Division Director of the Biological and Physical Sciences Division
Dr. Lisa Carnell is the Division Director for NASA’S Biological and Physical Sciences (BPS) Division.
Recently, Dr. Carnell served as BPS’s Program Scientist for Translational Research where she led the division’s strategic partnership initiatives with other government agencies, including NIH, BARDA, FDA, DARPA, NSF, and the USDA. She was also responsible for advancing the division’s commercial engagement initiatives.
Dr. Carnell formerly served as the Space Radiation Medical Countermeasure Lead for NASA’s Human Research Program. In this role, she was involved in all aspects of understanding and mitigating radiation-induced health effects on humans including cancer, cardiovascular, central nervous system, and acute radiation syndrome.
Prior to joining NASA, Dr. Carnell was a business development manager for Dominion Resources, Inc., performing technology transfer of NASA patents to private industry. She holds a PhD from Duke University where she studied the effect of physiological and electrical signals on the differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells.
Dr. Carnell holds eight patents, has authored or co-authored several peer-reviewed journal articles, serves on numerous interagency working groups. She has been honored with prestigious awards and fellowships throughout her career, including the NASA Exceptional Achievement Award, NASA Silver Achievement Medal, Director’s Award for Extraordinary Excellence in Teamwork, NASA Group Achievement Medals, NASA Center Team Awards, NASA Langley Research Center’s Paul F. Holloway Non-Aerospace Technology Transfer Award, and the NASA Graduate Student Research Program Award.