July 01, 2024

The Space Surgery Association is a new AsMA Constiuent Organization.

The Space Surgery Association Future Researcher Award is presented to a member of the Space Surgery Association who early in their career has demonstrated achievement, future potential, or interest in the area of Aerospace Medicine with an emphasis on surgical care in space. The recipient of the 2024 award was Ami Mange. She has a Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience from Johns Hopkins University (and a minor in Space Science and Engineering with a Space Medicine focus). At John Hopkins she worked on a project investigating the effects of space radiation on cognitive function in rodents. She then became a Research Assistant at a clinical space medicine lab at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine under Dr. David F. Dinges, where she investigated the effects of stress, isolation, and confinement on biomarkers and physiological health and emotional valence in astronaut surrogates. She is now at the Yale School of Medicine, where she will graduate with her M.D. in 2025 and is currently a 5th (research) year medical student engaged in clinical neurosurgery research. At Yale, she founded a chapter of the Aerospace Medicine Student & Resident Organization (AMSRO), which now boasts over 90 members. She has accumulated many awards, honors, and publications. Her long-term career interests and goals involve combining neurosurgery, neuroscience, and space medicine.