Mark Shelhamer
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Mark J. Shelhamer | |
---|---|
Alma mater | Drexel University (BSEE)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (ScD) Johns Hopkins School of Medicine (Post-Doctoral) |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Space medicine Human spaceflight Biomedical engineering Electrical engineering Nonlinear dynamics |
Institutions | NASA Johnson Space Center Johns Hopkins School of Medicine George Washington University |
Mark J. Shelhamer is an American human spaceflight researcher specializing in neurovestibular adaptation to space flight.,[1] and former chief scientist of NASA's Human Research Program.[1] He is a Professor of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine,[1] director of the Human Spaceflight Lab at Johns Hopkins, and director and founder of the Bioastronautics@Hopkins initiative. He is also an adjunct associate professor at George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences.[2] He has published over 70 scientific papers[1] and is the author of Nonlinear Dynamics in Physiology: A State-Space Approach and Systems Medicine for Human Spaceflight.[1] He holds several patents for various vestibular assessment devices.[3][4]
Shelhamer is best known for his pioneering work on a multidisciplinary approach to human spaceflight research.[5][6][7] He is also an informal expert on the history of NASA's early human spaceflight, including the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo Programs.[8]
Life, education and research
[edit]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c1/Mark_Shelhamer_in_Parabolic_Flight.jpg/263px-Mark_Shelhamer_in_Parabolic_Flight.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/11/Wiseman_and_Shelhamer.jpg)
Shelhamer earned his Bachelor of Science and his Masters in electrical engineering in 1982 from Drexel University. Intrigued by his father's pacemaker and how it applied electrical engineering principles to a biological system,[7] he attended Massachusetts Institute of Technology for biomedical engineering and earned his ScD in 1990.[8] At MIT, Shelhamer worked with Dr. Laurence Young on sensorimotor physiology and adaptation with an emphasis on the vestibular and oculomotor systems.[9] He applied nonlinear dynamical analysis to the control of eye movements, including investigations on the functional implications of fractal activity in physiological behavior.[1][10] In parallel with this research, he studied astronaut adaptation to space flight and participated in two sets of Spacelab experiments (SL-1 and D-1).[8] During this time, he flew on 80 parabolic flights with NASA's parabolic aircraft, also called the "vomit comet".[11]
After MIT, Shelhamer went on to do his post-doctoral work at Johns Hopkins and continued as an associate professor until 2013, working on various vestibular and sensorimotor specific projects.[8] At Hopkins, he developed the VAN/TAN (vertical and torsional alignment nulling) test, which aims to assess vestibular health through measurements of ocular misalignment.[9] VAN/TAN is designed for space flight and clinical use, and has been tested on numerous parabolic flights.[9] It was patented in 2012.[3]
From 2013 to 2016, he took a leave of absence to serve as Chief Scientist of the NASA Human Research Program.[1] As a chief scientist, he oversaw research aimed to understand and mitigate risks of human spaceflight,[11] including the Twin Study.[11] Through his position at NASA, he realized that the health risks of space flight must be viewed as interrelated factors rather than individual ones.[6][11] He now works to encourage the human spaceflight research community, including larger organizations like the NASA Human Research Program, to standardize this multidisciplinary approach.[6]
In 2016, Shelhamer returned to Hopkins with the goal of creating an academic counterpart to the NASA Human Research Program that encourages cross-disciplinary research.[6][8][11] His current work includes connecting scientists from various fields and encouraging them to find synergies in their research and collaborate to mitigate the health risks of space.[11] At Hopkins, he focuses on expanding and bringing awareness to human spaceflight research, and conducts his own lab research on astronaut adaptation and resilience in space.[11][12] Shelhamer currently directs the Human Spaceflight Lab, where students have the opportunity to participate in human spaceflight research under his guidance.[12] On February 24, 2021, he hosted the kickoff for Bioastronautics@Hopkins.[13]
Outside of his research, Shelhamer is a ham radio hobbyist and an avid drummer.[8] In his free time, he enjoys tinkering with radios and other electronics, playing the drums with his band, and spending time with cats[14]
Awards
[edit]- NASA Group Achievement Award, for Life Sciences Experiments on Spacelab-1 - 1984[1]
- Whitaker Health Sciences Fund Fellowship - 1986-1988[1]
- Award for outstanding contributions to the MIT Man-Vehicle Laboratory 1989[1]
- Senior Member, IEEE - 2007[1]
- Best paper award, Eye Tracking Research and Applications meeting - 2008[1]
- NASA JSC “On the Spot” Award, for reducing ISS crew time requirements - 2015[1]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Mark J. Shelhamer, Sc.D., Professor of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery". Johns Hopkins Medicine. Retrieved 2021-03-08.
- ^ "Faculty Directory | The School of Medicine & Health Sciences". apps.smhs.gwu.edu. Retrieved 2021-03-08.
- ^ a b US 9072481, Shelhamer, Mark J., "Apparatus and method for assessing vestibulo-ocular function", published 2015-07-07, assigned to Johns Hopkins University
- ^ US 7967439, Shelhamer, Mark John & Roberts, Dale Charles, "Wireless scleral search coil including systems for measuring eye movement and methods related thereto", published 2011-06-28, assigned to Johns Hopkins University
- ^ "Keeping Safe in Outer Space". Giving to Johns Hopkins. Retrieved 2021-03-09.
- ^ a b c d "Human Health and Performance for a Mission to Mars: How NASA Does It, How NASA Should do It". ses.gsfc.nasa.gov. Retrieved 2021-03-09.
- ^ a b "America's Future In Space: Colonies, Radiation, Artificial Gravity And Buddy Rich?". www.radio.com. Retrieved 2021-03-09.
- ^ a b c d e f "Dr. Mark Shelhamer | The Space Show". www.thespaceshow.com. Retrieved 2021-03-09.
- ^ a b c Beaton, Kara H.; Shelhamer, Mark J.; Roberts, Dale C.; Schubert, Michael C. (May 2017). "A rapid quantification of binocular misalignment without recording eye movements: Vertical and torsional alignment nulling". Journal of Neuroscience Methods. 283: 7–14. doi:10.1016/j.jneumeth.2017.03.009. ISSN 0165-0270. PMID 28300605. S2CID 239795.
- ^ Shelhamer, Mark; Lowen, Steven B. (2017-02-21). "Repair of Physiologic Time Series: Replacement of Anomalous Data Points to Preserve Fractal Exponents". Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology. 5: 10. doi:10.3389/fbioe.2017.00010. ISSN 2296-4185. PMC 5318392. PMID 28271060.
- ^ a b c d e f g Summer 2019, Laura Wexler / Published (2019-06-20). "Making space travel safer". The Hub. Retrieved 2021-03-09.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ a b "Home, Human Spaceflight Lab". Human Spaceflight Lab. Retrieved 2021-03-09.
- ^ "bioastronautics@hopkins: Virtual Symposium on Human Spaceflight". Johns Hopkins Whiting School of Engineering. Retrieved 2021-03-09.
- ^ "A Match Made in the Heavens". MIT Technology Review. Retrieved 2021-03-09.