Medical Operations
Department Leads
Dr. Sheyna Gifford is an Aerospace Researcher and Rehabilitation Physician. She is also the founder of Women in Aerospace Medicine, a STEM mentor and educator, professional science communicator, and simulated astronaut. She was the crew health and safety officer for HI-SEAS IV, the longest space analog in US history, and a mission specialist on HERA VI, a simulated mission to Mars-crossing asteroid Geographos. She received dual-degrees from the University of California at Berkeley in 2003, a Masters of Science in Biotechnology in 2005, an MD in 2013, a Masters in Science Journalism in 2015, and an MBA in 2019. She has worked as an aerospace engineer for Berkeley Space Science Laboratories (rHESSI satellite, power systems), a cosmologist (DEEP2 sky survey, Dr. Marc Davis), a researcher in psychology and neuroscience at Berkeley, Brown, Harvard, and Massachusetts General Hospital, and has more than a hundred publications spanning health, space, science, and medical education. She has given numerous public presentations on how Space Needs Everyone and aspires to make space travel safe, affordable, and accessible to everyone who needs space.
Dr. Carlos Archilla-Cady (he/him) currently works as a Pediatric Anesthesiologist in Orlando, Florida and is a Veteran of the United States Navy. Carlos is a bilateral cornea transplant recipient. He has conducted visual physiology experiments examining the effects of microgravity on eye health and would like to advance research on visual physiologic changes experienced in space travel. After executive education at the Harvard and Wharton Schools of Business, he recently obtained a Global Executive Master’s in Business Administration from the IESE Business School.
General Members
Dr. Erik Viirre M.D. Ph.D. is a Professor in the University of California San Diego (UCSD) Department of Neurosciences, and is the Director of the UCSD Arthur C Clarke Center for Human Imagination. His interests in spaceflight include information systems, spatial orientation in weightlessness and the physiology of spaceflight. He is the PI and co-PI of the UCSD BOARDS missions to the International Space Station. He has worked on wearable astronaut information systems for NASA and served as a medical consultant to ZERO-G, Virgin Galactic Corporation, and Blue Origin. Dr. Viirre has had the privileges of meeting Sir Arthur C. Clarke in person in Sri Lanka and serving as the Chief Medical Officer of ZERO-G leading the medical team that took Professor Stephen Hawking into weightlessness. Dr. Viirre received his Ph.D. in Neurophysiology in 1987 at the University of Western Ontario in London, Canada and his M.D. in 1988. He was a graduate of the Inaugural Class of International Space University (ISU) in 1988.
Jody Greenhalgh
She is a leader in various fields, such as hospital ethics, disability advocacy, and emergency medical care. She has extensive experience in facilitating critical incident debriefings, moderating groups of high-risk women living with HIV, and supporting children with life-threatening diseases and their families. Her work has been published in academic journals and books, and she has co-authored articles on topics such as wheelchair selection and muscular dystrophy. Jody has also coordinated outreach events for children with special needs and promoted therapeutic canine assistance services. She is a frequent guest lecturer at universities and professional conferences, and an international traveler who has participated in the OT Ambassador Delegation to Costa Rica and attended the World Federation of Occupational Therapists Congress in South Africa and France.
Dr. Jim Vanderploeg has over 40 years of experience in aerospace medicine with a career spanning medical support for the NASA Space Shuttle program, serving as Chief Medical Officer and now Senior Medical Advisor for Virgin Galactic, and the clinical practice of civilian aviation medicine. He is Adjunct Professor of Aerospace Medicine in the Department of Preventive Medicine and Population Health at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Texas. His previous work included Executive Director and Principal Investigator on multiple research projects of the FAA Center of Excellence for Commercial Space Transportation; evaluation of airline pilots seeking special issuance authorization for medical certification following recovery from medical or psychological problems; and training physicians in the specialty of aerospace medicine. Dr. Vanderploeg served as a medical advisor and participant on the Zero-G flight for Professor Stephen Hawking in 2007 and has continue his interest in making space flight available to people with all levels of ability. As Virgin Galactic’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Vanderploeg was responsible for developing and implementing the medical programs for spaceflight participants, Virgin Galactic pilots, and other employees.
Dr. Vanderploeg is President of the International Academy of Aviation and Space Medicine, Past President of the Aerospace Medical Association, and is Board Certified by the American Board of Preventive Medicine in both Aerospace Medicine and Occupational Medicine. He has numerous publications, including medical results from research using centrifuge exposure to simulate the G forces of a suborbital space flight.