NASA astronaut, space radiation physicist join College of Medicine aerospace medicine team

Jeffery Chancellor, PhD, and Serena Auñòn-Chancellor, MD, MPH, joined the Aerospace Medicine Program at the Texas A&M University College of Medicine as faculty on Sept. 1. The two have a combined experience of nearly five decades in medicine, space exploration and related fields.

Auñòn-Chancellor, a physician who joins the college as an academic professional track faculty member, holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from The George Washington University and a medical doctorate (MD) from The University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston, as well as a master’s in public health (MPH) from The University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. She has 15 years of experience as an astronaut, was a flight surgeon for the space program, served 197 days on the International Space Station, and has spent time in various parts of the world.

The relationship between Auñòn-Chancellor and the College of Medicine began in 2018 when she set up a downlink from the International Space Station to join a virtual panel with the college’s medical and graduate students. The panel discussed the human health risks of spaceflight.

Jeffery Chancellor will join as a tenure track associate professor in the College of Medicine. He comes with a wealth of experience in the field of radiation physics, including expertise in galactic radiation, with more than 10 NASA-funded flight studies. With a bachelor’s and master’s in physics from the University of Houston and a PhD in applied physics from Texas A&M, his return to the university is a natural one.

The Aerospace Medicine Program is something for which Regents Professor David Zawieja, PhD, executive director of the Cardiovascular Research Institute at the College of Medicine, has been advocating since the mid-2010s. The two most recent hires are giving him and the team a push toward their goal of becoming the premier aerospace medicine research destination.

“We are thrilled to introduce the newest additions to our Aerospace Medicine Program in the College of Medicine,” Zawieja said. “With a combined 30+ years of NASA expertise and a shared passion for advancing human exploration in space, this husband-and-wife team brings unparalleled knowledge and dedication to our program. We are confident that their presence will establish our program as one of the premier aerospace medicine programs in the nation.”

The College of Medicine, as part of Texas A&M Health, has been involved as a leader in aerospace medicine for several years. The NASA-funded National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI) supported the aerospace program with graduate stipends and a Mentored Research Program for nearly two decades at Texas A&M and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) until its NASA-funded contract expired. The college has had numerous graduate students, postdoctoral trainees, junior faculty and research projects funded through that NASA program, Zawieja said.

The College of Medicine currently has about a dozen scientists working on NASA-funded space biomedical research projects, equating to approximately $7.5 million in NASA-funded grants. The grants have supported four recent spaceflight missions and many additional ground-based microgravity/space-radiation analog projects at the College of Medicine. Zawieja said the addition of Auñòn-Chancellor and Chancellor will add important expertise in space radiation research and space health workforce development.

Amy Waer, MD, MPSA, Jean and Tom McMullin Endowed Dean of the College of Medicine, is also enthusiastic about expanding the college’s offerings.

“We are thrilled to welcome the Chancellors to Texas A&M! As a space-grant university, pushing the boundaries of space exploration is part of who we are,” Waer said. “At the College of Medicine, we are committed to understanding and solving the effects of spaceflight on humans and creating the right research and resources to ensure we explore and live in the harsh environment of space safely.”