Polar Operations | Thought Leader Series

Polar Operations: Exploring Health Care in Extreme Environments

Location | Space Center Theater

Join us for an illuminating panel discussion that delves into the intricacies of providing medical care in the world’s most extreme environments, and how these lessons can be invaluable for the future of human spaceflight. Our distinguished panelists, comprising experts in polar medical operations, aerospace medicine, and human physiology, will share their insights, experiences, and research findings in managing healthcare challenges in extreme conditions.

Panelists

James J. McKeith, MD, MSHA
Chief Medical Officer, Center for Polar Medical Operations
Medical Director, United States Antarctic Program
Clinical Assistant Professor, Division of Aerospace Medicine, Department of Preventive Medicine
Clinical Assistant Professor Department of Emergency Medicine
UTMB

James (Jim) Mckeith grew up in Northern California. He received his B.S. in Biology from the University of California, Riverside and his Medical Degree from Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, PA. He completed a residency in Emergency Medicine at Los Angeles County/USC Medical Center. He is a founding faculty member at the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond where he served as Medical Director for QI/UA. While there he received a Masters in Healthcare Administration from Virginia Commonwealth University. He was the medical director for Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital-Emergency Department, Santa Rosa (CA) Fire Department and Sonoma Life Support. In 2012, he was the lead physician at McMurdo station in Antarctica and assumed the Chief Medical Officer position in late 2014. In this position, he serves as the medical director for the Antarctic support contract and provides medical support to the CMO of the National Science Foundation. In his current role with UTMB, he is responsible for medical care in the US program including the three US science stations, deep field camps, and ships-at-sea. Additional responsibilities include physical qualification reviews, policy development, hiring medical providers, formulary and supply management and best practice recommendations.

Craig Kutz, MD, PhD, MPH
Aerospace Medicine Resident
UTMB

Dr Craig Kutz, MD MPH PhD is double-boarded in Emergency Medicine and Undersea/Diving & Hyperbaric Medicine, completing training at UC-San Diego. He is currently enrolled in the Aerospace Medicine program at UTMB, graduating next month before starting as a NASA contracting Flight Surgeon. Through UTMB Aerospace Medicine, he has trained in collaboration with multiple branches of the Department of Defense on prevention, stabilization, and evacuation of patients exposed to extreme physiologic environments such as spaceflight, aviation, and altitude. Dr Kutz has provided medical care in many operational austere locations, including work as the sole Emergency Physician and mountain medicine expert at a high-altitude aid-post station in the Himalayan mountains with the Himalayan Rescue Association Nepal. He also worked with the UTMB Center for Polar Medical Operations at McMurdo Station in Antarctica as a clinical physician. Dr Kutz was recognized with a Diploma in Mountain Medicine, sponsored by the International Commission for Alpine Rescue, for his management of complex patient care within mountains, difficult austere terrain, and extreme low resource environments. He holds a Fellowship in the Academy of Wilderness Medicine through the Wilderness Medical Society, the highest nationally-recognized achievement in austere medicine, operational experience in difficult patient access, limited equipment, and evacuation of injured patients within environmental extremes. Dr Kutz recently returned from Everest Base Camp in Nepal, where he was the expedition and medical lead for a group of medical professionals. He has been responsible for multiple medevacs from extreme locations, including management and evacuation of critically ill patients from as high as 17,800ft.

Ronak Shah, DO, MBA, MPH
Director of Aerospace Medicine, UTMB

Dr. Shah joined The University of Texas Medical Branch in 2022 and serves as Director of the Aerospace Medicine Division. He provides oversight of the Residency in Aerospace Medicine, a training program for physicians seeking to become specialists in this field. Dr. Shah joined UTMB from NASA, where he spent the last five years as Medical Director of the NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) Clinic. He previously has provided operational medical support to NASA as a flight surgeon in Star City, Russia and at the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory in Houston, Texas. During his early years at NASA, Dr. Shah served as the Deputy Element Scientist for the Exploration Medical Capability Element in the NASA Human Research Program. He is a 2010 graduate of the UTMB Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, a 2011 graduate of the UTMB Residency in Aerospace Medicine, and former President of the Society of NASA Flight Surgeons. He is board-certified in Aerospace Medicine and Internal Medicine, and holds dual Master’s degrees in Public Health and Business Administration.