Orthopedic & Muscular System: Current Research
Open Access

Alan R Hargens

Biography

Dr. Alan R. Hargens previously served as Chief of the Space Physiology Branch and Space Station Project Scientist at NASA Ames Research Center (1987-2000) and Consulting Professor of Human Biology at Stanford University (1988-2000).He also holds eight patents. Dr. Hargens is a Fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine and a Fellow of the Aerospace Medical Association. He is Associate Editor of the Journal of Gravitational Physiology. He is the recipient of a NIH Research Career Development Award, Elizabeth Winston Lanier Award from the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and Orthopaedic Research Society, Recognition Award from the American Physiology Society, and two NASA Honor Awards. He is a Board Member and Past President of the International Society of Adaptive Medicine and a winner of the Hallman Award from the University of Waterloo, Canada. Dr. Hargens is also a member of other professional societies including American Physiology Society, Orthopaedic Research Society, International Society for Gravitational Physiology, American Society of Gravitational and Space Biology, and Aerospace Medical Association. He has chaired or served on several Veteran’s Affairs, NASA, NIH, International Space Science Review and National Academy of Sciences Panels. Dr. Hargens received his undergraduate degree, Summa Cum Laude, in Chemistry from the University of Minnesota, and his Ph.D. in Marine Biology from Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UCSD. His paper regarding the effect of backpacks on children in Spine 35: 83, 2010 was the “Most-read, full-text journal article by Orthopaedists in 2010”.

Research Interest

His recent research concerns gravity effects on the cardiovascular and musculoskeletal systems of humans and animals. He also investigates exercise devices to maintain astronaut health and performance in microgravity and partial gravities. This research is translated to aid post-surgical treatment and rehabilitation of orthopaedic patients and to improve performance of athletes. In addition to his research on gravitational stress, Dr. Hargens measures tissue fluid and osmotic pressures, including those in giraffes to understand how they prevent dependent edema, those in skeletal muscle to diagnose compartment syndromes, and those in intervertebral discs to help understand low back pain. Dr. Hargens has edited seven books and published more than 270 peer-reviewed articles, 47 chapters, 40 NASA Reports, and 520 abstracts in general areas of comparative physiology, cardiovascular and musculoskeletal physiology, and orthopaedic surgery.