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!