Vol. 25 No. 29 -- James Pawelczyk
Who's been chosen?
James Pawelczyk, assistant professor of applied physiology in the College of Health and Human Development, has been chosen to train as a payload specialist for the 1998 space shuttle flight and could become the first Penn State faculty member to fly on a shuttle mission.
"I'm absolutely delighted by this opportunity," Dr. Pawelczyk said. "I'm getting the chance to collaborate with 31 of the best investigators in the world in the area of neuroscience research. It's way cool."
NASA named Dr. Pawelczyk, 35, as one of four payload specialists on the Neurolab mission, scheduled to be launched aboard the shuttle Columbia on March 5, 1998. The mission, jointly sponsored by the space agency and the National Institutes of Health, will focus on neuroscience research.
Of the four payload specialists, only two -- to be chosen early next year -- will actually fly on the Neurolab mission, joining five career astronauts on the seven-member crew. The two payload specialists who are not chosen will serve as alternates.
Payload specialists are responsible for conducting experiments on behalf of about two dozen researchers divided among eight teams, according to Dr. Pawelczyk. "There is still a great amount of responsibility in being the backup. You have to be ready to fill in even up to the moment of launch," he said. "Of course, I want to fly on the mission, but everyone's role is important."
Dr. Pawalczyk explained that the role of the payload specialist isn't to conduct just one experiment for one or two investigators, but to ensure that every investigator gets the data that he or she needs from the mission.
"In the coming two years I'm going to have to retool and learn all that I can about the space shuttle and the science of each of these 31 investigators," he said. Aware of the potential danger in a space flight and the recent publicity surrounding movies like "Apollo 13," Dr. Pawelczyk said he has no fears about his possible mission because he has seen NASA at work.
"A current astronaut said something to the effect that if we didn't take risks, we might as well live in a padded room our whole lives and that's essentially it," he said. "Sure there's a calculated risk in this mission, but there's a risk just driving to work in the morning, too. I've been extraordinarily impressed with NASA and with the personal responsibility that each person takes in the individual job they do to put a space shuttle into orbit. I have to rely on the strength of that organization."
As a faculty member in the Department of Exercise and Sport Science, Dr. Pawelczyk studies the role of the nervous system in regulating blood flow. NASA is especially interested in his research because many astronauts experience irregularities in blood pressure immediately after returning from a flight, and some crew members have reported bouts of dizziness and unsteadiness for several hours after returning to Earth.
"One simple test is to ask a person to stand motionless for a 10-minute period," Dr. Pawelczyk said. "About 70 percent of astronauts are unable to complete that test after flight, despite use of countermeasures to avoid this." NASA encourages astronauts to ingest extra fluids and salt in the hours before re-entry to try to boost blood volume, and to wear special garments that limit the amount of blood that pools in the legs.
The Neurolab mission -- STS-90 -- is one of several shuttle flights dedicated to life sciences research. Results of the research may prove useful not only to astronauts but to older adults as well.
"Many of the changes we see in space flight are similar to those associated with the aging process," Dr. Pawelczyk said. "These include not only a loss in blood volume and less precise control of the cardiovascular system, but also problems with vestibular control, and on longer flights, loss of muscle mass and bone mineral.
"So it's very possible that some of what we learn on these missions will translate to problems that are often seen in the elderly."
Other studies on the mission will focus on how microgravity affects such functions as sleep, the respiratory system, nervous system development, motor behavior and balance. Some experiments -- like Dr. Pawelczyk's -- will use the astronauts themselves as subjects, while others will involve fish, snails, mice, rats and crickets.
Dr. Pawelczyk is part of a team that includes Dr. C. Gunnar Blomqvist of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, as well as investigators from Vanderbilt University, the Medical College of Virginia and the German Aerospace Research Establishment.
Their Neurolab experiments will make use of a technique called microneurography, which involves inserting extremely small needles into the astronauts' nerves in order to record electronically the neural activity that is transmitted to blood vessels. Measurements will be taken before, during, and after the mission.
Dr. Pawelczyk, who conducts his research at Noll Physiological Research Center at University Park, spent three years on the faculty at UT-Southwestern before joining Penn State's Department of Exercise and Sport Science last August. NASA will contract with Penn State for two years of Pawelczyk's time while he and the other three payload specialists train for the March 1998 mission.
Penn State faculty have been involved in experiments on numerous shuttle missions, but Dr. Pawelczyk would be the first to actually fly on the shuttle. The list of shuttle astronauts and payload specialists also includes three Penn State graduates: Guion Bluford, Robert Cenker and Paul Weitz.
Dr. Pawelczyk himself is a Penn State alumnus, having earned his master's degree in physiology from the University in 1985. He also has a Ph.D. in biology from the University of North Texas.
Contributing to this story were Tina M. Hay and Lisa M. Rosellini
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