UTMB launches fellowship to prepare physicians for medicine from the ocean floor to outer space

The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) is preparing physicians for a future where caring for astronauts may require the same expertise used to treat divers. The Aerospace Medicine program at UTMB plans to launch an Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine Fellowship in 2027, creating a specialized training pathway that combines diving medicine, hyperbaric medicine, and elements of aerospace medicine.

The fellowship will prepare physicians to care for people working in environments where dramatic changes in pressure can have life-threatening consequences, from the ocean floor to deep space. The program reflects the growing need for physicians trained to support commercial spaceflight, military operations, aviation, and other high-risk environments where pressure, oxygen, and human performance intersect.

"The human body doesn't distinguish between pressure extremes simply because one occurs underwater and the other in space," said Ronak V. Shah, DO, MPH, MBA, director of Aerospace Medicine at UTMB. "By bringing undersea and hyperbaric medicine together with aerospace medicine, we're giving physicians the knowledge and operational experience to care for people working in some of the most challenging environments imaginable. This fellowship reflects where the field is headed as commercial spaceflight expands and human exploration pushes farther beyond Earth."

Although underwater and space environments seem worlds apart, both expose the body to physiological stresses that require specialized medical knowledge. Fellows will train in diving medicine, hyperbaric medicine, decompression science, and operational medicine while learning how those same principles apply to aviation and human spaceflight.

The fellowship also positions UTMB to help meet the increasing demand for physicians trained in operational medicine as government agencies and commercial companies expand activities in space. By integrating expertise traditionally associated with undersea medicine into aerospace medicine training, UTMB is creating a program designed for the next generation of exploration.

To support the fellowship, UTMB is recruiting an assistant professor of clinical practice to help develop the curriculum, mentor fellows, and expand research and partnerships with academic institutions, government agencies, the military, and commercial aerospace organizations.

The goal is to start the inaugural fellow in July 2027, Shah said.