Kathleen Rubins

Dr. Kathleen Rubins is a microbiologist and retired NASA astronaut whose career spans infectious disease research and human spaceflight. Rubins holds a Bachelor of Science degree in molecular biology from the University of California, San Diego, and a doctorate in cancer biology from Stanford University Medical School. Her undergraduate research at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies focused on HIV-1 integration. At the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, she led a team studying viral diseases affecting Central and West Africa, including research on poxviruses such as smallpox and monkeypox, filoviruses like Ebola and Marburg, and arenaviruses such as Lassa fever. Rubins also collaborated with the U.S. Army to develop therapies for Ebola and Lassa viruses.

Rubins was selected as a member of NASA Astronaut Group 20 and completed Astronaut Candidate Training, which included International Space Station systems, Extravehicular Activity, robotics, physiological training, T-38 flight training, and survival training. She became the 60th woman to fly in space, launching on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft to the International Space Station. As part of Expedition 48/49, Rubins contributed to more than 275 scientific experiments, including molecular and cellular biology research, and became the first person to sequence DNA in space. Aboard the station, she used a hand-held, USB-powered DNA sequencer to determine the DNA sequences of mouse, E. coli bacteria, and lambda phage virus. She also cultured heart cells that beat in microgravity.

Rubins launched again aboard a Soyuz spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, participating in Expedition 63/64. She spent hundreds of hours on new experiments, including heart research, microbiology studies, and advanced DNA sequencing in space—work with implications for diagnosing illness and identifying microbes aboard the station. During her NASA career, Rubins completed two long-duration missions on the International Space Station, logging 300 days in space and conducting four spacewalks. She also served as acting deputy director of NASA's Human Health and Performance Directorate, guiding strategy for crew health and biomedical research, and contributed to the development of next-generation lunar spacesuits for Artemis missions to the Moon.

After her second space mission, Rubins commissioned as a major in the U.S. Army Reserve, serving as a microbiologist in the Medical Service Corps. She received the U.S. Army Basic Aviation Badge with the Astronaut Device and the Basic Space Badge, becoming the first Army reservist to earn the combined honor. Rubins is a frequent keynote speaker at scientific, educational, and industry events on space biology, biomedical engineering, and human exploration, and has advocated for NASA's scientific and exploration missions. Following her retirement from NASA, Rubins became the inaugural director of the Trivedi Institute for Space and Global Medicine at University of Pittsburgh Health Sciences and is a professor of computational and systems biology at the School of Medicine. Her work in space biomedicine research aims to drive biomedical innovation benefiting human health on Earth.