[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/Hrynyk_Michael.jpg” caption=”Recent graduate Michael Hrynyk is currently participating in the NASA Ames Space Exploration Academy internship program.”]There is a plethora of opportunities for science students to expand their academic experience through co-ops, internships, practicums, volunteer work and other special programs that can be life changing. One example is an internship that any student with a sense of adventure would embark upon with great anticipation.

Michael Hrynyk just completed the honours biology and pharmacology co-op program at McMaster last spring and is currently participating in the NASA Ames Space Exploration Academy internship program.

“Michael is an extraordinary example of one of our future scientists, and we are very proud of him,” said John Capone, dean, Faculty of Science. “He will benefit from a first class experience with the NASA Academy at Ames internship program and down the road, this will give him insights as a scientist that he may not have had otherwise.”

The NASA Academy at Ames is located at the NASA Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California (Silicon Valley), and is led by Dr. Doug O'Handley. The Academy began as an internship program in 1997 to inspire gifted students to become leaders in the aerospace program. However, over the years it has branched out to include the life sciences and astrobiology as well.

The program provides opportunities to undergraduate and first-year graduate students. These students are mentored by top NASA scientists, engineers and educators. They are provided with leadership and networking opportunities and reach out to high needs communities by working as mentors themselves. The experience may open a window to future careers at NASA.

Students are selected based on research experiences, academic standing and leadership abilities. Hrynyk is particularly fortunate, as the NASA Academy at Ames is the only Academy among the many NASA centers that offers one spot for a Canadian student. Of particular interest to the Academy was his real-world, hands-on experience in pharmacology, physiology and the medical sciences.

“My research project focuses on the functional and mechanical analysis of the bystander effect in the nervous system and flight hardware development,” says Hrynyk. “This technical term is used to describe the biological effects observed in neurons that are not themselves traversed by ionizing radiation, but are neighbours to neurons which have been. The objective of this project is to learn how neuronal electrophysiology is altered by surrounding irradiated neurons and how pharmacological interventions may be used to prevent downstream degenerative effects from neighbouring irradiated neurons. The significance of this project is to learn how to prevent the bystander effect, or effectively manage it with drugs for long duration spaceflight such as in traveling to Mars.”

Besides conducting their individual research projects at the NASA Academy, students also benefit from several activities which inspire teambuilding, promote leadership and encourage students to pursue a graduate degree. According to Hrynyk, the Acadamy involves 60 per cent research and 40 per cent networking and teambuilding.

“We have done everything from visiting the Dryden Flight Research Center and walking aboard the SOFIA 747 to seeing the Mars Science Laboratory being built at the Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena,” said Hrynyk, whose enthusiasm is self-evident. “The Academy is doing a terrific job at showing us our potential. This summer has certainly been very exciting, fun and challenging. I look forward to embarking upon my master's degree at Queen's University, and who knows what is down the road — maybe a career with NASA!”