Scott Parazynski M.D.

Scott E. Parazynski, M.D.

Senior Affiliate Member
Outcomes, Quality & Other Initiatives
The Methodist Hospital Research Institute

E-mail: parazynski@gmail.com
Phone:409-772-3626

Education

Biography

Dr. Scott Parazynski has lived and traveled all over the world, spending many of his grade school and high school years in places such as Dakar, Senegal; Beirut, Lebanon; Tehran, Iran; and Athens, Greece. A graduate of Stanford University and Stanford Medical School, he went on to train at Harvard and in Denver in preparation for a career in emergency medicine and trauma. Dr. Parazynski is also a physiologist with expertise in human adaptation to stressful environments.

In 1992, he was selected to join NASA's Astronaut Corps and eventually flew five Space Shuttle Missions and conducted seven spacewalks (EVAs). In his 17 years as an astronaut, he served in numerous senior leadership roles, including EVA Branch Chief and the Lead Astronaut for Space Shuttle Thermal Protection System Inspection & Repair. Dr. Parazynski has spent over eight weeks in space with more than 47 hours outside on spacewalks.
 
In addition to being a life-long SCUBA diver and accomplished mountaineer, Dr, Parazynski is also a commercial, instrument, multiengine and seaplane-rated pilot with over 2,500 flight hours. He began climbing in his teens, and has climbed in the Alaska Range, the Cascades, the Rockies, the Alps, the Andes and the Himalayas. On May 20, 2009, he scaled Mt. Everest and became the first astronaut to stand on top of the world. Additionally, as part of a NASA-sponsored expedition to the high Andes, he conducted a scientific dive in the summit caldera lake of 19,700-foot Licancabur volcano, the world's highest lake.

He is the recipient of a number of prestigious awards, including: five NASA Spaceflight Medals, two NASA Distinguished Service Medals, two NASA Exceptional Service Medals, two Vladimir Komarov Diplomas from the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale, two Flight Achievement Awards from the American Astronomical Association, the Aviation Week Laureate Award, the Ellis Island Family Heritage Award, Gold Medal from the American Institute of Polish Culture, and the Lowell Thomas Award from the Explorers Club. Additionally, he is a member of the Arkansas Aviation Hall of Fame.

He is currently a visiting professor of space medicine at the University of Oxford, a consulting professor in the department of medicine at Stanford Medical School, and a clinical assistant professor of aerospace medicine at UTMB-Galveston. He is also chairman of the board of the Challenger Center for Space Science Education, a science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education non-profit organization, motivating 400,000 school kids each year with simulated space missions.

Dr. Parazynski became the chief medical officer for the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston's Center for Polar Medical Operations in 2012. In this role, he oversees the health screening and medical care of the National Science Foundation's United States Antarctic Program's.

His research involves a wide range of medical and surgical devices, including robotic control tools, powered implantable devices, systems to reduce Intensive Care psychosis, and devices that improve situational awareness and reduce error in critical care environments. Additonally, he is involved in studies aboard the International Space Station, assessing human adaptation to long duration spaceflight.

Links

Recent Publications

Parazynski SE, K Gast and R Scheuring. U.S. Space Medicine Operations - Overview Part I, Aviation, Space and Environmental Medicine 80:591-592, 2009.

Cabrol NA, EA Grin, G Chong, AN Hock, DP Häder, E Minkley, Y Yu, C Demer-gasso, J Gibson, D Lim, C Woosley, RL Morris, C Tambley, V Gaete, ME Galvez, L Escudero, SE Parazynski, E Smith, I Ukstins-Peate, G Dawidowicz and J Majerowicz. Environment and life in Earth's highest volcanic lake. Journal of Geophysical Research - Biogeosciences, HLP Special Issue, 2008.

Cabrol NA, EA Grin, G Chong, AN Hock, DP Häder, E Minkley, Y Yu, C Demer-gasso, J Gibson, D Lim, C Woosley, RL Morris, C Tambley, V Gaete, ME Galvez, L Escudero, SE Parazynski, E Smith, I Ukstins-Peate, G Dawidowicz and J Majerowicz. The High Lakes Project: Science Overview, Journal of Geophysical Research - Biogeosciences, HLP Special Issue, 2008.

Doerr HK, JD Polk, V Hurst, S Parazynski, S Kelly and J Schmid. Integrated clinical training for space flight using a high-fidelity patient simulator in a simulated microgravity environment. Aerospace Medical Association Annual Meeting (13-17 May), 2007.

Hurst V, HK Doerr, JD Polk, S Parazynski and S Kelly. Development of sub-optimal airway protocols for the International Space Station by the Medical Operations Support Team. Aerospace Medical Association Annual Meeting (13-17 May), 2007.

Parazynski SE. From Model Rockets to Spacewalks: an Astronaut Physician's Journey and the Science of the United States' Space Program. Transactions of the American Clinical Climatological Association. 117: 273-281, 2006.

Chappell SP, DM Klaus and SE Parazynski. Access Systems for Partial Gravity Exploration & Rescue: Engineering Analysis & Design, SAE Technical Paper 2006-01-2291, 2006.

Cabrol NA, AN Hock, EA Grin, GT Kovacs and SE Parazynski. Can the Combination of Extremes Protect Life: Clues from Altiplanic Lakes and Implication for Early Mars. AGU Fall Meeting, Abstract #7353, PD41D-05, 2005.

Cabrol NA, AN Hock, EA Grin, GT Kovacs and SE Parazynski. Combination of environmental extremes in altiplanic lakes and the past habitability of Mars. Salt Lake City Annual Meeting (October 16-19, 2005), Abstract # 90041, 37, No. 7, Paper No. 22-3, 2005.

Hock AN, NA Cabrol, EA Grin, GT Kovacs, RL Rothschild, SE Parazynski, L Prufert-Bebout and the HLP Team. Mars-relevant conditions at the lakes of Licancabur volcano, Bolivia. AGU Fall Meeting, San Francisco, Abstract # P41D-06, 2005.