The Julian E. Ward Memorial Award is given for superior performance and/or outstanding achievement in the art and science of aerospace medicine during residency training. It is sponsored by the Society of USAF Flight Surgeons.

Vasilis Mavratsas, M.D., MS, is this year’s recipient of the Julian E. Ward Memorial Award. He is being honored for his excellent work during his residency. For his MS in Aerospace Medicine Capstone, he and co-residents built a handbook for lay medical examiners who may respond to a spaceflight mishap. This was so well received that they were invited to present their findings to a group of medical examiners and other stakeholders on a national level and at Grand Rounds at UTMB’s annual Commercial Spaceflight Day. His critical appraisal of the role of platelet-rich plasma for osteoarthritis and performance during an AsMA Grand Rounds presentation were both outstanding. Despite the rigors of residency training, he has done additional outside research for a scoping review of tuberculosis outbreaks in prisons. He also remains dedicated to volunteering routinely in the St. Vincent’s Hope Clinic in Galveston, TX.