IAASM
Dr Jim Vanderploeg - Chair / Past-President
Dr. James Vanderploeg is Past-President of the International Academy of Aviation and Space Medicine, a 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.
Dr. 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 Community 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. 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. Most recently he has advised Virgin Galactic in the response to COVID-19 including the use of virus and antibody testing to help return employees safely to the work site.
Dr Melchor Antunano, M.D., M.S., FAsMA, FAsHFA
Dr. Antuñano was born in Mexico City and is a graduate of the National Autonomous University of Mexico School of Medicine. He completed the Residency in Aerospace Medicine at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio. He was a post-doctoral researcher with the U.S. National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences at the USAF School of Aerospace Medicine. He is the Director of the FAA Civil Aerospace Medical Institute (CAMI) in Oklahoma City. He is credited with 930 professional presentations at national and international conferences in aerospace medicine in 41 countries, and with 65 scientific publications.
He is Past-President of the International Academy of Aviation and Space Medicine, the U.S. Aerospace Medical Association, the U.S. Space Medicine Association, and the Iberoamerican Association of Aerospace Medicine.
He is a Fellow of the Aerospace Medical Association and the Aerospace Human Factors Association. He is a member of the International Academy of Astronautics. He is Honorary Member of the Austrian, Brazilian, Colombian, Greek, Mexican, Peruvian, Slovanian and Turkish Societies of Aviation/Aerospace Medicine.
He is a faculty member at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, and the National University of Colombia School of Medicine. He has received 85 awards and recognitions for his academic, administrative, and research achievements. He has experience as private pilot, parachutist and scuba diver.
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