{"id":122197,"date":"2020-07-07T14:49:32","date_gmt":"2020-07-08T00:49:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=122197"},"modified":"2020-08-07T12:40:42","modified_gmt":"2020-08-07T22:40:42","slug":"grad-earns-space-medicine-fellowship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2020\/07\/07\/grad-earns-space-medicine-fellowship\/","title":{"rendered":"PhD<\/abbr> grad earns prestigious space medicine fellowship"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>

\"person<\/p>\n

A 2018 University of Hawaiʻi<\/span> at M\u0101noa electrical engineering<\/a> PhD<\/abbr> graduate has been awarded a two-year, $120,000 postdoctoral fellowship to develop a space medical oxygen delivery system.<\/p>\n

\"Arif<\/p>\n

Arif Rahman<\/strong> said the current problem is that space explorations require crew members to work in a reduced pressure cabin atmosphere, which may lead to hypoxia or lack of oxygen in the tissues. The primary treatment is to administer medical-grade oxygen. However, exhaling oxygen-enriched air into a confined space will violate NASA<\/abbr> flight rules prohibiting concentrations of more than 30 percent oxygen, which increases the likelihood of a fire.<\/p>\n

Under the mentorship of Professor Aaron Ohta<\/strong>, Rahman will create a delivery system that can reduce the oxygen concentration after a patient exhales to safe levels while still administering enough oxygen to the patient. Most of the work will be completed at 糖心视频<\/abbr> M\u0101noa\u2019s Microdevices and Microfluidics Lab.<\/p>\n

Rahman, who worked as a postdoctoral fellow with the Hawaiʻi<\/span> Natural Energy Institute<\/a> in the School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology<\/a> since 2019, is one of five awardees of the Translational Research Institute for Space Health (TRISH<\/abbr>) at Baylor College of Medicine postdoctoral fellowship. TRISH<\/abbr>, which aims to solve health challenges to human deep space exploration, is a partner to the NASA<\/abbr> Human Research Program.<\/p>\n

Reaction to the award<\/h2>\n

Rahman said he is looking forward to the challenge and is proud to have his proposal approved after modifying it for about a year.<\/p>\n

“I submitted many proposals for the federal research grant since 2019,” Rahman said. “The success of this proposal came after at least nine failures, which amplified my joy. This fellowship provides a unique opportunity to address challenges to astronaut health during deep space exploration missions.”<\/p>\n

Ohta, who also served as Rahman\u2019s PhD<\/abbr> advisor for four years, describes him as “self-motivated, ambitious and hard working.” Ohta said he is looking forward to reconnecting with Rahman later in his career as a researcher.<\/p>\n

“I’m very excited and happy that Dr. Rahman (Arif) received this fellowship,” Ohta said. “This is great visibility for 糖心视频<\/abbr>. This fellowship also demonstrates Arif’s growth as a researcher. The idea for this project and the fellowship proposal are all Arif’s work, so he deserves this honor.”<\/p>\n

—By Marc Arakaki<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

糖心视频<\/abbr> M\u0101noa electrical engineering PhD<\/abbr> graduate Arif Rahman has been awarded a two-year, $120,000 postdoctoral fellowship to develop a space medical oxygen delivery system.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[679,179,182,294,1363,92,9],"class_list":["post-122197","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-people","tag-alumni-recognition","tag-college-of-engineering","tag-engineering","tag-hawaii-natural-energy-institute","tag-manoa-research","tag-school-of-ocean-and-earth-science-and-technology","tag-uh-manoa","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t