May 31, 2024

Emmanuel Urquieta, M.D., M.S., FAsMA, is the 2024–2025 President for the Life Sciences and Biomedical Branch.

He holds a medical degree and specialty in emergency medicine from Anahuac University in Mexico City as well as a Master of Science degree in aerospace medicine from Wright State University in Dayton, OH, United States. He worked for Mexico City’s Police Department as a flight surgeon in the Helicopter Emergency Medical Service “Condors” where he participated in hundreds of rescue missions and aeromedical evacuations within the Mexico City metropolitan area. He has volunteered in medical missions in underserved regions throughout Mexico and in Nigeria, Africa. He was a volunteer paramedic for the Mexican Red Cross for more than 5 years.
   Dr. Urquieta participated as a crewmember of an analog mission at NASA Johnson Space Center: in 2017 he was selected to participate in the Human Exploration Research Analog (HERA) XI mission where he spent 30 days in a capsule simulating a deep space long duration mission. He currently serves as chief medical officer at the NASA funded Translational Research Institute for Space Health where he manages medical research for missions to the Moon and Mars, the commercial spaceflight program EXPAND, and analog capabilities, including partnerships with the Australian Antarctic Division. He also has a dual faculty appointment as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine and Center for Space Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine.
   Dr. Urquieta is a Fellow of the Aerospace Medical Association and has twice been awarded the NASA HRP Peer Award. He is an author or co-author of six articles and was a guest speaker at Space Center Houston in 2016. He is also a member of the Aerospace Nursing and Allied Health Professionals and the Aerospace Physiology Society.