Sharing Invaluable Lessons Learned from Interning at NASA

Jessica Snyder
NSBRI Intern - Class of 2010

After returning to Philadelphia from my summer at NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC), I visited my high school, Hammonton High School, to talk about the NSBRI Internship and space life sciences. My experience with NSBRI and JSC made me recognize two important lessons, both of which I wanted to share with students weighing various university studies and professions. 

The first lesson is NASA is an incredible national asset. NASA carries people to space, shelters them in the International Space Station and photographs our galaxy. These are the impossible accomplishments of devoted, imaginative people who never stop learning. To spend a summer working alongside such people is a humbling and exciting prospect. NASA reaches across political and social divides to be a truly collaborative environment with partners in foreign governments, private industry and academia. Space exploration and manned space travel generates new scientific expertise and technology with real applications to human health and wellness here on Earth. Search and rescue technology, automation, remote medical treatment capabilities and imaging and sensing technology are critical to astronaut safety, and translate to better quality emergency care on Earth. NASA is a national initiative to be proud of, and we should feel encouraged to participate in its active research.

The second lesson from my summer is the value of a good mentor. Many new interdisciplinary research fields are beyond the scope of a conventional high school science class. It is my opinion, this type of cooperative research and exchange of expertise and perspective results in some of the most interesting work. It is the responsibility of researchers to further science and introduce the next generation to the value of their field of research. I wanted to invite other students to get involved and share their own questions and ideas. I think it is important that students realize opportunities like the NSBRI Summer Internship Program are available to experience scientific research, and the people who receive such awards are just like themselves. These awards are to introduce motivated students to hands-on lab work and relevant current research topics.

It was very rewarding to share my experience with my old teachers and their current students. I would encourage other interns to pursue similar opportunities to share. Students wanted to hear about space life sciences and had interesting questions about NASA. I believe the talk introduced the students to space life sciences in a new and inviting way. I hope the students feel encouraged to investigate and apply for such opportunities and consider a career in science or engineering.

There Are Many Tough Decisions In Life; This Is Not One Of Them. Be A NSBRI Intern!

Andrew Abercromby - Class of 2003, 2004, 2005
working underwater at NEEMO 14

It’s a cold and rainy Sunday evening and I really want to lie on the couch and watch football. But my conscience won’t let me do that until I write this blog. I was asked if I would be willing to write a short description of how my NSBRI internship experiences have affected my career path. Well, the truth is that my NSBRI internships were such positive experiences for me that I knew I was going to have to do this…

I enjoyed three summer internships with NSBRI: two in the Neuroscience Laboratory under the mentorship of Dr. Bill Paloski and one in the Anthropometry and Biomechanics Facility (ABF) under Dr. Sudhakar Rajulu. The work I performed with NSBRI at NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) resulted in two peer-reviewed journal publications and ultimately my doctoral dissertation. The subject matter was a possible countermeasure to bone and muscle atrophy, but the most important part for me was the opportunity to learn how to conduct research from expert space scientists and engineers. There were specific skills I learned, like new types of signal processing and statistical analysis, and other things that are softer but that I now know are hugely important for being an effective member of a science or engineering team. Things like: Ask questions when you don’t understand. Know when to lead and when to follow. Balance work and play. Speak up if you disagree. Think before you speak up. Speak up if you screw up. Think before you screw up. I am still working on all of these things, but the NSBRI internships have proven to be excellent training for the work that I now do every day.

Since completing my internships and my Ph.D., I have worked in several different roles at JSC. I am currently a biomedical engineer and deputy project manager for the Space Exploration Vehicle (SEV) project. The SEV team is designing and testing a new type of human space exploration vehicle. I am also a member of the Extravehicular Activity Physiology, Systems and Performance Project, whose goal is to help develop new spacesuits that will be safer, more efficient and easier to use.

One of the most important skills that I developed as an intern with NSBRI was the ability to organize and lead projects. I have enjoyed working on NASA tests – and in some cases leading tests – in a variety of environments from the cold of the High Arctic to the heat of the Arizona desert and from the heights of reduced-gravity research aircraft to the depths of a remote Canadian lake. The highlight so far came when I was selected to live underwater for 14 days in the Aquarius habitat as a crew member on the NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO 14) research mission (which incidentally included conducting an NSBRI experiment under the ocean!).

I love space exploration, and I love my job. My NSBRI internships were hugely enjoyable and hugely important in my career path. I unreservedly recommend them to anybody seeking to become a better scientist or a better engineer.

No Joke - This is the Real Deal

Scott Sheehan - Class of 2004
next to the space shuttle Atlantis
at NASA Kennedy Space Center

I was an NSBRI Summer Intern in 2004, and like Mae Sattam, I had the pleasure of working in the Neuroautonomics lab with Dr. Todd Schlegel. While the majority of interns that year were undergraduate students, myself and one other intern were medical and dental students respectively. I was mildly concerned coming in that this would be a program more suited to undergraduate work, but I really couldn't have been more wrong. NSBRI will go out of their way to make sure you have every opportunity to get as much as you possibly can out of your time at Johnson Space Center (JSC), so the only limit to your productivity will be yourself.

During my internship, I spent the majority of my time re-designing software algorithms used in signal processing and heart rate variability analysis in electrocardiography. As I had significant experience in software engineering, this was a great fit and maximized my productivity during my time there. If you're thinking about being an intern, rest assured that they will find a lab that is a good fit for you, so you can hit the ground running on day one. There's just so much research going on at JSC, you're bound to fit in somewhere.

Based on my work at JSC, I was ultimately offered graduate admission to the Aeronautics and Astronautics department at MIT, which led to a MS in Aerospace Engineering in 2007. I have since finished my medical degree, and am currently serving as a Diagnostic Radiology resident at the Brigham and Women's Hospital, and serving as a clinical instructor at Harvard Medical School. Also, based in part on my background and previous experience with NASA, I had the opportunity to participate in an Aerospace Medicine Internship at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in May of 2010. While at KSC, I had the opportunity to participate in medical operations though all phases of the mission, from pre-launch through landing, and even got to explore the shuttle cockpit on the launch pad.

The NSBRI Summer Internship program opened a lot of doors for me, and I feel extremely grateful to have had the opportunity to participate. This program is the real deal, so if you work hard and make the most of your time here, the possibilities are truly limitless.

When I Grow Up, I Want To Be...

Rachel Ellman visiting
the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory
Class of 2007

I did my internship with NSBRI the summer after I graduated college because I was having a bit of a quarter-life crisis. I could not decide what I wanted to do with my life – go to graduate school? Medical school? Industry? I knew that I loved space and medicine and wanted to pursue a career that meshed the two. Then, I stumbled on the perfect way to test the waters of Johnson Space Center (JSC) – through the NSBRI Summer Internship.

And I had a blast! My work in the Anthropometry & Biomechanics Facility with Dr. Sudhakar Rajulu was stimulating and challenging. The twice-weekly lecture presentations by JSC scientists was one of the highlights for me. I was able to learn in that one, short summer broadly what everyone was working on in a range of fields from nutrition to radiation to bone. There was never a shortage of tours and talks that allowed us to explore JSC and meet heroes like Gene Kranz and active astronauts. Not to mention the tons of other students that descend on JSC for the summer, with whom there’s plenty of time to explore Houston.

It is largely because of that internship that I am now in my third year of a Ph.D. in the NSBRI-funded Bioastronautics Program within the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences & Technology… and I couldn’t be happier. I was so excited by everything that was going on at JSC that I knew I had to make bioastronautics-related research a priority in my career path. Currently, I am investigating the effects of partial gravity on bone and muscle in a mouse model. 

I definitely recommend applying for the internship because it’s a great way to experience JSC, and a rare opportunity to work alongside NASA scientists and make a contribution to the field!

Helpful Tips to Smoothly Glide through your Internship

Kate Montgomery
NSBRI Intern - Class of 2008

My internship with NSBRI was the most valuable research experience that I had as an undergraduate. I worked in the Neurovestibular lab under the mentorship of Dr. Millard Reschke. Dr. Reschke gave me a lot of independence and an opportunity to really shine and learn much more than I could have hoped for. After my internship, I got the chance to do research on the "Weightless Wonder,” part of NASA's parabolic flight program. It was an amazing experience!

I'm now pursuing a Ph.D. in Bioengineering from Stanford University, in large part because of my internship with NSBRI. I still use many of the skills I learned on the job at NASA for my work at Stanford doing a combination of neurology and biomechanics. Although I'm not currently pursuing a career in space science, I'm definitely not ruling it out. Plus, the things we learn about humans that travel to space gives us knowledge about basic human biology and our capacity to adapt to new environments.

My advice for future participants would be to fully involve yourself in the experience. Work really hard and spend as much time there as you can. This is a once in a lifetime experience and your chance to really get ahead.

Go to scientific talks. Meet astronauts. Go for runs around JSC. Lead your research project.

Publishing Papers, Making Lifelong Friends and the Vomit Comet

Mae Sattam
NSBRI Intern – Class of 2004

My internship with NSBRI was very helpful in so many ways. Though it did not lead to a job at NASA or in the aerospace industry, it led me to lifelong friendships and a future in the medical device industry. I still keep in touch with fellow interns from the summer of 2004. In fact, I recently went to two of their weddings this year. Not only are they great friendships, but we have continued to advise each other as we finished our undergraduate and graduate careers and now as professionals in various industries.

Without the experience I gained at NASA, I would not have been able to go as far I have in cardiovascular technology. During the internship, I worked with Dr. Todd Schlegel and helped co-write his paper, High-frequency QRS electrocardiogram predicts perfusion defects during myocardial perfusion imaging, published in the Journal of Electrocardiology.

In addition to flying on the Vomit Comet, my internship experience has helped shaped my work in cardiology. I'm currently working as a product development engineer at OriGen Biomedical. We design and manufacture extracorporeal membrane oxygenation catheters and cryopreservation bags.

My advice to future participants is to do something you enjoy and are passionate about. This is one of the few times you can, and it is definitely beneficial to get as much experience through internships as possible. It makes for an incredibly enjoyable summer!