Francis Andrew "Drew" Gaffney is an American
doctor. He previously worked for
NASA and participated in the
STS-40 Space Life Sciences (SLS 1)
Space Shuttle mission in 1991 as a
payload specialist.
Gaffney was a co-investigator on an experiment that studied human cardiovascular adaption to space flight.
The SLS-1 mission crew completed over 18 experiments in nine days, bringing back more medical data than any previous NASA flight.
Dr. Gaffney became a member of the
Institute of Medicine
The National Academy of Medicine (NAM), formerly called the Institute of Medicine (IoM) until 2015, is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Medicine is a part of the National Academies of Sciences, E ...
’s Committee on Space Biology and Medicine, serving from 1992 to 2000. He is a professor of medicine (cardiovascular disease) at
Vanderbilt University and continues to serve as a consultant and reviewer for human spaceflight-related studies.
He is currently a professor of medicine at
Vanderbilt University. Gaffney has over 50 publications in the areas of
cardiovascular regulation and
space physiology
Space medicine is the practice of medicine on astronauts in outer space whereas astronautical hygiene is the application of science and technology to the prevention or control of exposure to the hazards that may cause astronaut ill health. Both ...
.
Biography
Gaffney was born June 9, 1946, in
Carlsbad, New Mexico. He is married to Elizabeth (Lili) Burgo Sims of
Berkeley
Berkeley most often refers to:
*Berkeley, California, a city in the United States
**University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California
* George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher
Berkeley may also refer ...
,
California. He has two daughters.
Gaffney graduated from Carlsbad, New Mexico High School in 1964; received a
Bachelor of Arts degree
Degree may refer to:
As a unit of measurement
* Degree (angle), a unit of angle measurement
** Degree of geographical latitude
** Degree of geographical longitude
* Degree symbol (°), a notation used in science, engineering, and mathematics
...
from the
University of California, Berkeley in 1968; and a
Doctor of Medicine degree,
University of New Mexico in 1972.
A
Colonel in the
Texas Air National Guard
The Air National Guard (ANG), also known as the Air Guard, is a federal military reserve force of the United States Air Force, as well as the air militia of each U.S. state, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the ter ...
, Gaffney served as a
Flight Surgeon
A flight surgeon is a military medical officer practicing in the clinical field of aviation medicine. Although the term "flight surgery" is considered improper by purists, it may occasionally be encountered.
Flight surgeons are physicians ( MD ...
for the
147th Fighter Interceptor Group
The 147th Attack Wing (147 ATKW) is a unit of the Texas Air National Guard, stationed at Ellington Field Joint Reserve Base, Houston, Texas. If activated to federal service, the Wing is gained by the United States Air Force Air Combat Command.
...
at Ellington Air National Guard Base,
Houston, Texas
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
.
Gaffney served as a Visiting Senior Scientist with the Life Sciences Division at NASA Headquarters from January 1987 through June 1989. He worked with the Operational Medicine group and was Associate Manager of Biomedical Research as well as Program Scientist for the D-2
Spacelab mission and the Research Animal Holding Facility. He was a member of several working groups and implementation teams planning collaborative research with German, French and
Soviet government scientists. He also served on a number of
Space Station Freedom and advanced mission planning groups including the "Humans to Mars" study group.
[ ]
Gaffney's 15 years of experience in cardiac research and operation of equipment such as
echocardiograms and rebreathing devices led to his being selected as a payload specialist aboard
STS-40 Spacelab Life Sciences (SLS 1), a mission which took place in June 1991. STS-40 was the first Spacelab mission dedicated to biomedical studies. The SLS-1 mission flew over 3.2 million miles in 146
orbits and its crew completed over 18 experiments in nine days, bringing back more medical data than any previous NASA flight. Mission duration was 218 hours, 14 minutes and 20 seconds.
References
External links
Spacefacts biography of F. Drew Gaffney
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gaffney, F. Drew
1946 births
Living people
Physician astronauts
People from Carlsbad, New Mexico
University of California, Berkeley alumni
University of New Mexico alumni
United States Air Force officers
Texas National Guard personnel
NASA civilian astronauts
Vanderbilt University faculty
Space Shuttle program astronauts