UT Health Science Center’s Caskey joins NSBRI
Board of Directors
HOUSTON – (April 3, 2009) – C. Thomas Caskey, M.D., has been elected to the Board of Directors for the National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI). Caskey is the director and chief executive officer of the Brown Foundation Institute of Molecular Medicine for the Prevention of Human Diseases at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.
C. Thomas Caskey, M.D.
“Dr. Caskey is a pioneer in medical research and will provide valuable direction to NSBRI as it develops countermeasures to the adverse health effects of long-duration space exploration,” said Dr. Bobby R. Alford, NSBRI board chairman and chief executive officer.
Caskey has garnered numerous honors and awards, including the Medical Statesman Award from Health Access Texas in 2007. He is a member of the American Medical Association and the National Academy of Sciences and Institute of Medicine. Also, Caskey is the editor-in-chief of the Annual Review of Medicine.
He received his undergraduate degree from the University of South Carolina. He then moved to Duke University Medical School where he earned his medical degree and completed his residency.
In 2006, he joined the UT Health Science Center, where he is also executive vice president of molecular medicine and genetics and the George and Cynthia Mitchell Distinguished Chair in Neurosciences.
NSBRI is a NASA-funded consortium of institutions studying the health risks related to long-duration spaceflight and developing countermeasures to mitigate the risks. The Institute’s science, technology and education projects take place at more than 60 institutions across the United States.
NSBRI projects address space health concerns, which include bone and muscle loss, cardiovascular changes, radiation exposure, neurobehavioral and psychosocial factors, remote medical care and research, and habitability and performance issues such as sleep cycles and lunar dust exposure. Research findings will impact the understanding and treatment of similar medical conditions experienced on Earth.