Who knew the Most Interesting Man in the World would be speaking at the 2018 VisionAmerica Summer Conference? We recently had the opportunity to catch up with Dr. Larry Delucas as he wrapped up his time at the Open National Bowling Tournament in Syracuse, New York. Seriously. The man is a doctor, astronaut, and a competitive bowler. He even has his own Wikipedia page! The interview below discusses Dr. DeLucas' journey from UAB to NASA, his mission in space, what projects he is currently working on and his upcoming lecture at the 2018 Vision America Summer Conference. We are certain you will enjoy it! 1. What is your background?
A lot of schooling. I ended up with five degrees from UAB. I have two in Chemistry (Bachelor and Master of Science) and a Bachelor's degree in Physiological Optics. My PhD is in biochemistry and my focus was in protein crystallography. Thanks to Dr. Jerry Christianson I also have my doctorate in Optometry. It was Dr. Christianson who convinced me to pursue combined degrees, a PhD in Biochemistry and a doctorate in Optometry. What led you to NASA? When I graduated from optometry school we had a yearbook and I was a nerd. I sat on the front row and a photo in the yearbook had a title that said, "The Space Cadet" (Laughs). No one ever thought that would actually come true, especially not me. I was hired by Dean Henry Peters of the UAB School of Optometry. I owe him a lot. I didn't participate in a residency and my position wasn't in research. Instead, it was in clinical optometry. Dean Peters took a chance and hired me and I started teaching in the clinic and had a private practice in the faculty clinic. There were several faculty members who helped me grow as a practicing optometrist, especially Dr. Rod Nowakowski and Dr. Larry Alexander. Along the way, I was also doing my research. My first grant involved working on the membrane protein, rhodopsin, and in the early years I continued focusing on research topics connected to the school. The connection to NASA began when U.S. Senator Howell Heflin made the statement that "we have all those scientists at UAB and all the scientists and engineers at Marshall Space Flight Center and they never talk." He suggested that we organize a conference where we could share ideas. At the conference, one scientist held up this bag with a huge salt crystal that was grown in space and began talking about why they grow larger and of higher quality in space. Our thought was, if that's true, since protein crystals grow by a similar technique we need to try it. I eventually designed a protein crystallization experiment and it flew on the US Space Shuttle just three months later. When you have an experiment on the Space Shuttle you get to watch it with the astronaut's spouses. You are as close as any onlookers can get to the shuttle. In this close location, when it lifts off you feel the ground shake. My wife and I both got emotional watching the shuttle take off and I knew I had to experience it myself. After seven years of trying, I finally was selected as a NASA payload specialist astronaut. Optometry actually played a critical role in my being selected. I received an eye injury playing basketball prior to my NASA physical. I am not a tall guy and I took an elbow to the eye which resulted in a peripheral tear in my retina. It was repaired, but I thought there was no way I would be cleared to take part in the mission. "I arrived for my eye exam at Johnson Space center and, just as I was about to tell the eye doctor about my eye injury, he said, 'Larry, you're an optometrist, I'm an optometrist, and you are going to be the first optometrist that goes into space.'" I arrived for my eye exam at Johnson Space center and, just as I was about to tell the eye doctor about my eye injury, he said, "Larry, you're an optometrist, I'm an optometrist, and you are going to be the first optometrist that goes into space." I was eventually selected and, after two years of training, ended up flying on the Columbia space shuttle. Shortly after my 14-day flight, the head of NASA, Dan Golden, asked me to be the Chief Scientist for the International Space Station. In that position, I worked at NASA head quarters in Washington, D.C., for almost two years (the NASA Space Station Chief Scientist is a two-year position). My family didn't want to live in D.C., so I would work up there during the week and fly back home on the weekends. I had a vibrant research program at UAB until I retired in February of 2016. During that time, I continued with my protein crystallization program and determining protein structures for a variety of proteins involved in diseases such as diabetes, cystic fibrosis, cancer, non-specific inflammation and more. I currently am a principal scientist working for The Aerospace Corporation, but in this capacity I continue my research in protein crystallography research and am participating in a major STEM initiative for high school and elementary students in seven cities from four states. The Aerospace Corporation is a federally funded non-profit that works on spy satellites, drones, and the Air Force's and NASA's rocket launches just to name a few. It isn't every day we get to talk to someone who has been to space. What were the things that surprised you the most about your time in space? There were a lot of surprises. Although you get two years of training, NASA can't be expected to tell you everything. The most spectacular aspect of space flight is looking out the window at earth. It is very emotional. I have always told NASA that they need to fly a writer or poet because they would do a much better job conveying the emotions of your experience looking out at earth and the thousands of stars. It is just spectacular! When the shuttle gets into space, it actually gets bigger. It happens in discreet pops and it scared me when it started happening. On the very first day in orbit I was floating through a long tunnel that connects the front of the shuttle to the science lab and just when my foot hit something, I heard a big bang. I thought I did it, but when I reached the front of the shuttle, the commander told me that it was actually the shuttle expanding. When the shuttle takes off it is pressurized and then as it enters the almost perfect vacuum of space, it expands. The shuttle is built to withstand this expansion. You also get taller in space. Our commander was kind of stocky and on the fourth day of the mission, he took his shirt off and he didn't look stocky anymore. He looked like Arnold Schwarzenegger. Unfortunately for him, he returned to form when we landed. What are some of the projects you are currently working on? We know you are doing research on the shelf life of medicine for potential trips to Mars. Can you tell us a little bit more about what you have going on? I have an experiment on SpaceX 15 that is expected to launch this Friday, June 29th. (This interview was conducted on Thursday, June 28th). (Click here to see the launch footage of SpaceX CRS-15. The launch countdown begins at the 27:27 mark.) The experiment going up on SpaceX 15 is titled, "Effect of Macromolecular Transport in Microgravity Protein Crystallization". Microgravity protein crystallization experiments have a successful history of yielding higher-quality crystals that improve protein structure resolution via X-ray crystallographic analysis. This experiment tests the following hypothesis: Improved quality of microgravity-grown protein crystals is the result of two macromolecular characteristics that exist in a buoyancy-free, diffusion-dominated solution: 1) Slower crystal growth rates, due to slower protein transport to the growing crystal surface; and 2) Predilection of growing crystals to incorporate protein monomers versus higher protein aggregates due to differences in transport rates. Additionally, I just submitted a proposal last Friday, June 22nd, to NASA titled, "Comprehensive Analysis of Expired Pharmaceuticals." For a NASA mission to Mars, you must have a number of different pharmaceuticals. The entire trip takes three years so it is very likely that some, if not all, of the medicines will be expired by the end of the mission. NASA asked that someone look at expired medication to see what the effects might be. Post expiration, the antibiotics tetracycline and doxycycline both break down into a compound that is toxic to your kidneys. We need to know what happens to other medications once they expire as well. What happens when Tylenol breaks down? What about the most commonly used medication in space, Ibuprofen? Our methodology will compare the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) and sample purity for a variety of new versus expired pharmaceuticals (at least two-to-12 years beyond expiration dates) used by astronauts. Our analysis will utilize USP drug analysis guidelines for each medication. The analysis will consist of in-vitrocytotoxicity testing and Transmission Raman Spectroscopy and mass spectrometry analysis for each expired and non-expired drug. What is the likelihood we can put a man on Mars? When could that happen? Well, I think it's probably going to take another decade. I'm pretty optimistic, but it's not just the medicine. You're losing muscle mass, calcium, etc. The best way to prevent this would be to spin the ship to create artificial gravity. Even half of the gravity we have here would help preserve bone and muscle mass. I lost 13% of my muscle mass in space in just 14 days (I chose not to exercise). The commander and pilot only lost ~1%, but they exercised several hours each day we were in space. But how much will astronauts lose on a three-year trip to Mars? Additionally, there are concerns about leaving the Earth's orbit and traveling into deep space because, when you do, you are traveling beyond the Van Allen Belts. Once the shuttle passes the Van Allen Belts, astronauts will be hit by high energy particles such as neutrons that will produce hundreds of breaks in their DNA. If you stay long enough in deep space, there is a good chance you will develop a cancer and other serious medical problems. NASA is looking for a special shielding material that will block those neutrons and allow for a safe mission. What will your lecture at the 2018 VisionAmerica Summer Conference cover? My lecture will cover the following points:
We are excited to have Dr. DeLucas speak at the Summer Conference! Please make plans to join us!
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