This is Humans of Medicine - A podcast where we interview and learn about different types of people in medicine and research.
If you’ve ever looked up at the night sky and had the really specific thought of - hey, I want to be a doctor and go to space! This is the episode for you.
I chatted with Henry, a 3rd year MD student at the University of Sydney. He’ll explain his journey a bit more in the pod, but Henry’s an Aussie that went to the states to study a mix of science and arts at Duke and Columbia University. Mixed in with all this is his passion for space and the beyond, which has given him a fascinating list of experiences from interning at NASA, researching tissue regeneration, and organising Australian space-biology conferences.
We chatted about his journey so far, some exciting current developments in space medicine, and why now is a good time for all those future doctor-astronauts to start thinking about the field! Hope you enjoy.
He’s also got a podcast called Medicine Among the Stars (find it on insta: @amongthestars.podcast or Spotify), and is building a space-medicine interest group; if you’re interested, find him on Linkedin or contact him here: hfen8792@uni.sydney.edu.au
Timestamps:
0:57 Journeying into space/medicine
6:00 Origins of the passion for space
8:20 The Doctor-Astronaut Phenotype
9:54 Challenges of keeping humans alive in space
15:28 Space commercialisation and the future
17:10 “New space” and public-private partnerships
19:09 Australia’s space innovation landscape
21:17 Colonising mars and why now is the right time
23:08 Flight surgeons: The “space GPs”
25:25 The NASA Experience
28:42 The importance of open-mindedness
