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Announcements
AsMA Welcomes a New Corporate MemberThe National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has become AsMA's most recent Corporate Member. NIOSH was created by the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 along with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). NIOSH's mission is to provide research, information, education, and training in the field of occupational safety and health. Toward that end, it conducts scientific research, develops guidelines and recommendations, disseminates information, and responds to requests for evaluation of workplace health hazards. NIOSH is headquartered in Washington, DC, with offices in Georgia, Alaska, Ohio, Colarado, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Washington state. Their staff is a professionally diverse mix from the fields of epidemiology, medicine, industrial hygiene, safety, psychology, engineering, chemistry, statistics, economics, and administration. In addition to their own research, NIOSH also supports occupational safety and health research in academic centers around the United States. For more information on NIOSH, please visit their website at http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/. Mohler Scholarship Now AvailableThe Aerospace Medical Association Foundation announces the Stanley R. Mohler, M.D., Aerospace Medicine Endowed Scholarship. The purpose of the scholarship is to provide training grants and awards to help students and residents in aerospace medicine fund their studies or research activities. Full-time students and residents from any country are eligible, but priority will be given to those early in their careers and to those who are members of the Aerospace Medical Association and the Aerospace Medical Association Student and Resident Organization. Please click here for the application. Deadline is March 31, 2010. AsMA Foundation Annual Report AvailableThe Aerospace Medical Association Foundation has published its 2010 Annual Report. The report provides details about the Foundation and its 2009 activities. The report can be reviewed by going to the announcements on the Members Only page. ASEM Article Featured in NYTAn article from the December issue of Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine was featured in the N.Y. Times. As a public service, we are posting the article in its entirety for free (download pdf). Latest FAA Aviation News Issue OutThe latest issue of FAA Aviation News focuses on the critical role human factors play in aviation safety. Articles address fatigue, decision making, aircraft design and technology, and more. The link to the online edition is: www.faa.gov/news/aviation_news. Journal Archives OnlineArchives of the journals of the Aerospace Medical Association are now available online. Members please log into the Members Only pages to access the archives. Commercial SpaceflightCommercial Human Spaceflight Working Group The Commercial Human Spaceflight Working Group (CSFWG) was mandated by the AsMA President and Executive Director to discuss various commercial spaceflight medical issues on a continuous basis and advise the AsMA Council periodically. Position papers may be developed when considered necessary. It should be understood that the commercial spaceflight situation is dynamic and findings and conclusions will evolve over time. Representation of the AsMA CSFWG on the FAA Commercial Space Flight Transportation Advisory Committee (COMSTAC) is viewed as one way in which the results of the Working Group can be communicated to the commercial space flight providers. Jim Vanderploeg and Mark Campbell currently are Co-Chairmen of the CSFWG. Several principles have been delineated for all discussions: - Issues for consideration must be directly relevant to the emerging commercial spaceflight industry and their participation is considered critical. - The CSFWG will not focus on recommendations for standards or certification, but instead will develop evidence-based, referenced evaluations and guidelines of the risks and ways to mitigate those risks to improve safety. Where there is insufficient evidence concerning a particular issue, then a recommendation will be made on what level of evidence is needed and how to obtain that evidence. A goal is to better articulate what are the gaps in the present knowledge of commercial spaceflight medical issues. - It is important to develop a process of determining risk assessment for participants (instead of standards or certification) with the goal of being able to provide informed consent to individuals prior to flight. This would be protective not only to the individual participant who would be better informed, but also to the industry which is also taking risk with each participant. - The issues to be discussed will include all aspects of commercial spaceflight, such as specific environmental threats (enclosed cabin environment, hyper G, hypo G, remote medical care). It will involve primarily crew issues, but will also address passenger safety. Mitigation strategies might include training issues as well as suggested countermeasures. The goal is to both identify and assess risk and then to suggest ways to mitigate risk. If you have any questions or input for the Commercial Space Flight Working Group, please feel free to contact Mark R. Campbell, M.D. at mcamp@1starnet.com. AsMA Represented at NRC SeminarAsMA was recently represented at an NRC seminar on disease transmission in flight and in airports with emphasis on H1N1. Interestingly, it was demonstrated that even with severe restrictions on airline travel, transmission worldwide would, at best, only be delayed and not prevented. A complete report will be published in the coming months. AsMA Submits White PaperThe National Research Council (NRC) invited AsMA to submit a White Paper on recommended research priorities for the Nation’s space program. The White Paper, which recommends that the highest priority be given to artificial gravity research, was approved by Council and forwarded on to the NRC. It will soon be on our web site(asma.org) under the Policy Compendium section. It is entitled "Decadel White Paper." Archival DVD Now AvailableAsMA's archival DVD of 73 years of the Blue Journal is now for sale. You can fill out the Archival DVD order form and return it or contact Sheryl Kildall. AsMA Foundation Summary AvailableA summary of the AsMA Foundation, including types of gifts that can be given and how to give, is now available for perusal. |
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