2023 Spaceflight Human Optimization & Performance Summit (SHOP-23)

Exclusively represented by Leading Authorities speakers bureau, CAPT Cassidy's talks explore the habits of effective leaders and how they can motivate their teams to overcome the obstacles in front of them, foster a high-performing culture of trust, and thrive in clutch moments when everything is on the line. With a talent for storytelling and well-timed humor, he shares his inspiring journey from the U.S. Naval Academy to becoming NASA's 15th Chief Astronaut — motivating audiences to develop a never-quit mindset to accomplish their goals, and help others along the way.

CAPT Cassidy's career began as a member of the U.S. Navy SEALs team where he spent 11 of his 28 years in the Navy — making two six-month deployments to Afghanistan and a further two deployments to the Mediterranean. During his tenure with the Navy SEALS, he served in various leadership roles, including Executive Officer and Operations Officer of Special Boat Team Twenty and SEAL Delivery Vehicle (SDV) platoon commander in Norfolk, Virginia, as well as SEAL platoon commander at SEAL Team THREE in Coronado, California. Deployed to Afghanistan just two weeks after the September 11 attacks, Cassidy also served as Ground Assault Force Commander for international and U.S.-only combat missions. A master of many trades while serving his country, CAPT Cassidy also amassed several hundred hours underwater as a navigator or mission commander of a two-man flooded submersible SDV which are launched from a full-sized submarine at sea.

Making his way from Earth to the cosmos, CAPT Cassidy was selected as an astronaut candidate by NASA in 2004. Assigned his first spaceflight in 2009 as a mission specialist aboard the STS-127, he became the 500th person in history to fly into space, as well as the second-ever SEAL. In subsequent flight experiences, CAPT Cassidy was assigned to Expedition 35 in 2013 as a flight engineer and Expedition 63 as Commander of the International Space Station in 2020. While at NASA, CAPT Cassidy accumulated 378 days in space, and 54 hours, 51 minutes of spacewalk time, placing him in an elite group of four U.S. crewmembers with 10 spacewalks. He was named NASA's Chief Astronaut in 2015, a role in which he was responsible for flight assignments, mission preparation, and on-orbit support of U.S. crews, as well as organizing astronaut office support for future launch vehicles. He served in this position for two years before returning to normal flight status. In May 2021, three-time space veteran CAPT Cassidy announced his retirement from both NASA and the Navy, transitioning into his current role as CEO and president of the National Medal of Honor Museum. He also serves on the board of directors for the JFK Library Foundation and the Navy SEAL Foundation, and as an advisor for New Vista Acquisition Corp.

Among CAPT Cassidy's awards and honors are the Bronze Star with combat "V," the Presidential Unit Citation for leading a nine-day operation at the Zharwar Kili cave complex on the Afghanistan/Pakistan border, a second Bronze Star for combat leadership during Operation Enduring Freedom, and the NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal. He completed the 2014 Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii and spent three weeks cycling through the Amazon rainforest in 2017. CAPT Cassidy earned his Bachelor of Science in mathematics from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1993 and his Master of Science in ocean engineering from MIT in 2000. He was awarded an honorary Ph.D. from Husson University in 2015, and a second honorary Ph.D. from the University of Maine at Augusta in 2021.

MAJ. Anderson received her Doctor of Physical Therapy from Regis University and direct Air Force commission in 2012. During her first assignment to Travis Air Force Base, she deployed to Kabul, Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. She provided musculoskeletal care for Joint Special Operations Task Force Afghanistan and NATO partners, earning her the United States Air Force Biomedical Service Corps and Military Health Systems Junior Clinician of the Year. In addition, she served as the sole physical therapist while deployed with Navy Special Warfare Unit Three in Bahrain, supporting the training and assistance to the special operations forces of the Nations of the Gulf Cooperation Council. She has instructed numerous Air Force Physical Therapy courses, including topics of medical screening, dry needling, principles of orthopedic manual physical therapy, and spine and peripheral joint management of musculoskeletal conditions and currently serves as an Assistant Professor to the Doctor of Physical Therapy Program at Army-Baylor University, Joint Based San Antonio (JBSA), Tx. Lastly, she is published in Military Medicine and the Journal of Orthopedic and Sports Physical Therapy and has presented in over ten National Physical Therapy conferences.

Prior to her current position, Major Anderson was the Orthopedic and Rehabilitation Flight Commander at 59th Surgical Operations Squadron, JBSA-Lackland, Tx., where she led 72 members among six elements across two sites, providing 77k specialty visits and over 400 surgical procedures annually for 250,000 beneficiaries. Additionally, she was the Program Director for the Air Force's first Orthopedic Physical Therapy Residency and oversaw daily operations and didactic instruction for four directly commissioned Air Force Physical Therapists. Pervious experiences include Deputy Group Senior Biomedical Service Officer, 59th Medical Operations Group, JBSA-Lackland, Tx., Educational Element Chief, 60th Medical Operations Squadron, Travis AFB, Ca., and Staff Physical Therapist, 60th Medical Operations Squadron, Travis AFB, Ca.

Dr. Bell's research appears in top peer-reviewed journals including American Psychologist, Journal of Applied Psychology, and Acta Astronautica. Her research and expertise have been covered in Harvard Business Review, Scientific American, and Discovery among others. She is a Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science, and of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology. Dr. Bell has her Ph.D. in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from Texas A&M University.

Dr. Cerqueira's current research focuses on improving resilience among DoD Service Members which falls under five broad topic areas: 1) mitigating effects of extreme conditions present in occupational exposure – extreme altitude, hypoxia, hyperoxia, hypobaria, hypergravity, traumatic brain injuries, unconventional brain injuries, sleep loss; 2) mitigating effects of infectious disease such as COVID or other novel infectious diseases; 3) enhancing training - identifying key performance indicators related to pilot training; 4) data analytics - machine learning for drug repurposing for cancer treatment and to mitigate effects of high altitude exposure; and 5) neuroscience research to improve mental health outcomes and predict service members with highest risk of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).

As Chief Scientist of TRISH, Dr. Fogarty leads an innovative, high-risk research and development portfolio to address space exploration's most challenging human health and performance risks. In her role at Sophic Synergistics, a women-owned and led human-centered design firm, Dr. Fogarty guides a division focused on developing and expanding medical technologies for use in remote medicine, telemedicine, and home healthcare. As a former NASA Human Research Program Chief Scientist, Jennifer prioritized communication and collaboration between industry, academia, government, commercial spaceflight programs, and international partners. She continues to value and seek partnerships to discover and assess fundamental and mechanistic discoveries that lead to innovative prevention and treatments to sustain health and performance.

Dr. Fogarty received her Ph.D. in Medical Sciences from Texas A&M University College of Medicine. Other appointments include Assistant Professor in both Baylor College of Medicine's Center for Space Medicine and Department of Medicine; Editor of the Fundamentals of Aerospace Medicine, 4th and 5th editions; and Associate Editor for the journal npj Microgravity.

Dr. Hagen is the Faculty Director of the Human Performance Collaborative under the Office of Research at Ohio State University. The HPC has a mission to improve the lives of Athletes, Military, and Patient populations through research and translational science. Within the Human Performance research area, Dr. Hagen leads 2 core research components: Sports and Tactical Performance Science, and Recovery Science. This includes both in-lab controlled and field-based applied research studies consisting of physiological measurements from heart rate, heart rate variability, sleep, blood based biomarkers (acute, chronic, and epigenetic markers) to name a few. Performance tests such as VO2 max, aerobic and anaerobic power testing, biomechanics screening, cognitive testing etc. will be conducted both in the lab and in the field. Through detailed study design, reliable data collection, and in-depth and novel data analytics, all led by HPC researchers and graduate students, we can achieve our goals of maximizing the health, wellness, and performance of athletes, military, and clinical patient populations.

A primary motivation behind Dr. Hagen's research, and a driving factor behind the HPC is to help the population through the advancement and transition of the science behind human performance, health, and wellness. We have the distinct privilege of working directly with military personnel, both active duty and veterans, athletes, both collegiate and professional, and the general population. It is our mission and duty to help all of the groups stay healthy and perform at a high level.

Judy established collaborations and contracts with the NASA international partners to provide ISS medical and experiment support. She continues to work closely with NASA's international partners on various international contracts to provide ISS medical and experiment support. For the initial decade of ISS, she co-led with her Russian counterpart, the Multilateral Medical Operations Panel (MMOP) Countermeasures Subgroup. Similarly, she was a founding member of the International Countermeasures Working Group (ICWG), for developing global standards on spaceflight exercise, rehabilitation, and research.

Currently, Judy leads an interdisciplinary biomedical team involved in research, operations, and project management components of all NASA programs involved in human space exploration: ISS, Artemis, Gateway, Commercial Crew, Orion, EVA, Human Research Program, Human Lander Systems, and Advanced Exploration Systems. This involves activities related to space flight and analog research, clinical testing of astronauts, Human System Risks assessment, development of astronaut and vehicle health standards, countermeasures hardware and prescription validation, astronaut training, monitoring of space vehicle environmental health, and project management.

Judy is the founding Director of the NASA Space Life Sciences Summer Institute, where she has hosted 1200+ undergraduate, graduate, and medical student interns. This educational institute engages college interns and fellows in multidisciplinary challenges related to space physiology, psychology, environmental health, and medicine related to human space exploration.

Judy has published journal articles and book chapters related to space flight exercise.  Judy received Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in Exercise Physiology from West Virginia University, followed by a Master of Public Health degree in Occupational Health from The University of Texas Health Sciences Center. She completed an international health care appointment at The Royal College of Surgeons of England. Judy is currently a doctoral candidate in Leadership Studies at Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio, TX.

Judy has been recognized with various honors, including the Silver Snoopy awarded by the NASA astronauts, as well as West Virginia University Hall of Fame, Outstanding Alumnus, and Academy of Distinguished Alumni.  She holds memberships with the American Institute for Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), Women in Aerospace, and Sigma Xi, the national research society. Judy is a Fellow in the Aerospace Medical Association (AsMA) and a Past-President of the AsMA Space Medicine Association. She currently volunteers with AstraFemina, an organization that inspires girls to engage in STEM education.

Born June 4, 1967, in Killeen, Texas. Married to the former Robbie Lynn Nickels of Marietta, Georgia. They have three children. He enjoys baseball, golf, weightlifting and running.

Graduated from The Lovett School, Atlanta, Georgia, in 1985; received a Bachelor of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering from the United States Military Academy, West Point, New York, in 1989 and a Master of Science degree in Operations Research from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1998.

Kimbrough graduated from West Point in May 1989 and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army. He entered the U.S. Army Aviation School in 1989 and was designated an Army aviator in 1990.  In late 1990, he was assigned to the 24th Infantry Division (Mechanized), Fort Stewart, Georgia, and was deployed to Southwest Asia, where he served in Operation Desert Storm. He served in the 24th Infantry Division as an attack helicopter platoon leader, aviation liaison officer and attack helicopter battalion operations officer. In 1994, he was assigned to the 229th Aviation Regiment (Attack) (Airborne) at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, where he commanded an Apache helicopter company as well as the Regimental headquarters company. After completing a Masters of Science degree at the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1998, he was assigned as an assistant professor in the Department of Mathematical Sciences at the United States Military Academy. Other military schools include the Army Parachutist Course, Army Jumpmaster Course, German Airborne Course, the Combined Arms Services Staff School and the Command and General Staff College.

Kimbrough joined the NASA team at the Johnson Space Center (JSC) in September 2000. He was assigned to NASA's Aircraft Operations Division at Ellington Field in Houston, where he served as a Flight Simulation Engineer (FSE) on the Shuttle Training Aircraft (STA).

Kimbrough was selected as an astronaut candidate by NASA in May 2004. In February 2006, he completed Astronaut Candidate Training that included scientific and technical briefings, intensive instruction in shuttle and International Space Station systems, physiological training, T-38 flight training and water and wilderness survival training. Completion of this initial training qualified him for various technical assignments within the Astronaut Office and future flight assignment as a Mission Specialist. Kimbrough completed his first spaceflight in 2008, logging a total of 15 days, 20 hours, 29 minutes and 37 seconds in space and 12 hours and 52 minutes in two spacewalks. Kimbrough served as the Chief of the Vehicle Integration Test Office (VITO) from June 2013 to June 2014 in the Flight Crew Operations Directorate as well as serving as the Robotics Branch Chief for the Astronaut Office. Kimbrough served as the Chief of the Vehicle Integration Test Office (VITO) in NASA's Flight Operations Directorate (FOD) from 2018-2020.

STS-126 Endeavour (November 14 to November 30, 2008) launched at night from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, and returned to Edwards Air Force Base, California. It was NASA's 4th shuttle flight in 2008 and the 27th shuttle/station assembly mission. Highlights of the almost 16-day mission included expanding the living quarters of the space station to eventually house six-member crews by delivering a new bathroom, kitchen, two bedrooms, an exercise machine and a water recycling system.  During the mission, Kimbrough performed two spacewalks, logging a total of 12 hours and 52 minutes. STS-126 also delivered a new resident to the station, replacing Greg Chamitoff, Expedition 17/18, with Sandy Magnus, Expedition 18. STS-126 returned to Earth after completing 250 orbits in over 6 million miles.

Kimbrough launched on October 19, 2016, as part of Expedition 49/50. He became the Commander of the International Space Station a week after he reached the ISS and remained so until he departed almost six months later. During Expedition 50, Kimbrough performed four spacewalks, logging over 26 hours. This increased his total to six spacewalks and over 39 hours outside the orbiting laboratory. Expedition 50 also experienced the arrival of five visiting vehicle spacecraft, which delivered thousands of pounds of experiments, supplies, and hardware to the ISS. Kimbrough and his two Russian cosmonaut crewmates Sergey Ryzhikov and Andrey Borisenko returned to Earth on the steppes of Kazakhstan on April 10th, 2017 to conclude their 173-day mission. The mission completed 2,770 orbits of the Earth covering more than 80 million miles.

Kimbrough's third flight launched on April 23, 2021. He served as the Commander of the NASA/SpaceX Crew-2 mission to the ISS in the Crew Dragon spacecraft. During his time on ISS, Kimbrough served as a Flight Engineer of Expedition 65/66. He contributed to numerous activities while aboard the station including a host of scientific investigations, technology demonstrations, and maintenance activities. Kimbrough performed three spacewalks on this flight bringing his total to nine and over 59 hours of time outside of the ISS. This flight lasted 199 days, completed 3,190 orbits of the Earth, and covered over 84 million miles. Kimbrough now has logged 388 days in space, and he became the fourth person to fly on three different spacecraft.

Captain of the West Point baseball team; First Team All-Conference Pitcher; Distinguished Graduate from the U.S. Army flight school; Legion of Merit; Defense Meritorious Service Medal; NASA Space Flight Medal; Army Meritorious Service Medal; Army Commendation Medal; Army Achievement Medal; National Defense Service Medal; Southwest Asia Service Medal; Kuwaiti Liberation Medal; Saudi Arabian Kuwaiti Liberation Medal; Valorous Unit Award; Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal; Master Astronaut Badge; Master Aviator Badge; Master Space Badge; NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal; inducted into the Georgia Military Hall of Fame in 2021.

Army Aviation Association of America; United States Military Academy Association of Graduates; Army Athletic Association; West Point Society of Greater Houston; Association of the United States Army.

Dr. Scheuring completed his undergraduate degree at Eastern Illinois University in 1986, medical school at the Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine in 1993, Family Practice residency at Presbyterian/St Luke's Medical Center in Denver, CO in 1996, the Aerospace Medicine Residency and Master of Science graduate program at Wright State University in Dayton, OH in 2005, and most recently an orthopedic ultrasound fellowship at Detroit Medical Center in 2013. He is a Fellow of the Aerospace Medical Association (AsMA) and the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP).

His current research interests include investigations into spine changes that occur during microgravity exposures. Dr. Scheuring serves as the primary investigator on NASA technology demonstrations (TechDemos) in space utilizing ultrasound technology to image the spinal musculature and joints. He is PI for ongoing research into the mechanisms for shoulder injuries incurred during Neutral Buoyancy Lab (NBL) Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) training. He has published over 40 papers and 5 book chapters on musculoskeletal conditions in US astronauts, Apollo medical operations, alternobarics, military medical operations in extreme environments, and operational space medicine.

He received the NASA US astronaut corps highest civilian award, the "Silver Snoopy," by ISS Commander Randy “Komrade” Bresnik in 2019 for extraordinary contribution to the US space program and devotion to crew health and safety. The Aerospace Medical Association recognized him with the Joseph P. Kerwin, MD award in 2017 his work on identifying the mechanisms of shoulder injuries in US astronauts training in the NBL EMU and designing successful mitigation strategies. NASA recognized Dr. Scheuring in 2021 with the NASA Exceptional Achievement Award for exceptional achievement as the ISS Expedition 60/61/62 Prime Crew Surgeon as US Army Astronaut and USUHS graduate COL Drew Morgan's flight surgeon. In 2020 NASA awarded Dr. Scheuring the NASA Silver Achievement award for outstanding contribution to the Exploration Exercise Device Development, an engineering effort to design new exercise equipment for astronauts going to the Moon or Mars. He provided the medical input for optimizing crew readiness and performance optimization for future planetary missions.

Academically, Dr. Scheuring oversees the NASA-Houston Methodist Hospital Dept of Orthopedic Surgery Sports Medicine Fellowship at Johnson Space Center. This collaboration was created by Dr. Scheuring in 2012 at NASA to bring world-class orthopedic care to the US astronaut corps at NASA-JSC. Since its' inception, he has trained 26 orthopedic surgeon sports medicine specialists and provided instruction in orthopedic ultrasound. He is lead instructor for the NASA flight surgeons in the ISS-Russian Soyuz medical operations, oversees the operational space medicine certification process and provides mentoring for new flight surgeons. At USUHS, he has helped co-develop the Operational Space Medicine elective in MEM, along with the Dept of Pediatrics, for 3rd year medical students interested in space medicine. He provides capstone project guidance and brings subject matter experts in the field from the DoD and civilian field to provide cutting edge instruction in operational space medicine. He has served as an instructor coordinator at Operation Bushmaster since 2015, Advanced Combat Medical Experience since 2017, and mentored USUHS 3rd and 4th year medical students during the NASA Aerospace Medicine clerkship at Johnson Space Center since 2010. He also serves as a mentor and guest speaker for the Aerospace Medical Student-Resident Organization (AMSRO) through the Aerospace Medical Association.

As a US military service member, COL Scheuring earned the Defense Meritorious Service Medal in 2021 for outstanding meritorious achievement as Associate Professor of Preventive Medicine, USUHS, for support of an active-duty astronaut’s long duration spaceflight to the ISS and the successful recovery of the crew in Russia and Kazakhstan. He has earned the Joint Service Commendation Medal in 2016 in recognition of meritorious service in training and mentoring hundreds of DoD physicians during the Combat Casualty Care Course at Ft. Sam Houston. Other notable achievements include the senior space badge, senior flight surgeon badge, Antarctic service medal, US army commendation and achievement awards.

He serves as the resident astronomer for Viking Cruise lines, where he provides lectures on astronomy, space medicine, live sky dome shows on the ship’s planetarium, solar telescope viewing and star gazing.

Watkins was born in Gaithersburg, Maryland, but considers Lafayette, Colorado her hometown. Her parents, Michael and Carolyn Watkins, still live there. She enjoys rugby, basketball, soccer, skiing, coaching, movies, and writing.

Graduated from Fairview High School in Boulder, Colorado. Earned a Bachelor of Science in Geological and Environmental Sciences from Stanford University in Stanford, California. Earned a Doctorate in Geology from the University of California, Los Angeles.

As a graduate research fellow at UCLA, Watkins studied Mars surface processes, focusing her Ph.D. research on the emplacement mechanisms of large landslides on Mars and Earth through orbital image and spectral data analysis, geologic mapping, and field work. While at UCLA, she was also a teaching assistant for various courses in earth and planetary science. At the time of her selection in June 2017, Watkins was a postdoctoral fellow in the Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences at the California Institute of Technology, where she collaborated as a member of the Science Team for the Mars Science Laboratory rover, Curiosity. Her work there included participation in daily planning of rover activities, testing of Mars rock physical properties using rover drill parameters, and multi-scale investigation of the geologic history of Gale crater, Mars. While at Caltech, Dr. Watkins also served as a volunteer assistant coach for the Caltech Women's Basketball team.

During undergraduate internships at NASA's Ames Research Center, Watkins conducted research on Mars soil simulant supporting the Phoenix Mars Lander mission. As a graduate student, Watkins participated in several internships at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, including analysis of near-earth asteroids discovered by the NEOWISE mission, tactical and strategic planning for the Curiosity mission, and system design testing for the Mars 2020 and Mars Sample Return missions. In addition, she served as chief geologist for a NASA analog mission at the Mars Desert Research Station in 2009 and as a science operations team member for a NASA Desert Research and Technology Studies analog mission in 2011. Dr. Watkins also served as an aquanaut crew member in the Aquarius underwater habitat for the NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations 23 mission in 2019.

Watkins reported for duty in August 2017 and completed two years of training as an astronaut candidate. Her astronaut candidate training included scientific and technical briefings, intensive instruction in International Space Station systems, spacewalks, robotics, physiological training, T-38 flight training, water and wilderness survival training, geology training, and expeditionary skills training.

Watkins completed her first spaceflight as a mission specialist on NASA's SpaceX Crew-4 mission, having logged a total of 170 days in space over her two increments, Expedition 67 and 68. 

Stanford Earth Early- to Mid- Career Alumni Award (2018); Caltech Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences Chair's Postdoctoral Fellowship (2015); California Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP) Postdoctoral Fellowship (2015); NASA Group Achievement Award, Mars Science Laboratory Prime Mission Science and Operations Team (2015); UCLA Department of Earth and Space Sciences Harold and Mayla Sullwold Scholarship for Academic Excellence and Outstanding Original Research (2012); National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship in Geosciences (2012); UCLA Chancellor's Prize (2010); California Space Grant Consortium Fellowship (2010); Division I College Rugby National Champion, Stanford Women's Rugby (2008); USA Rugby Collegiate All-American (2008-2010); Women’s Sevens Rugby World Cup Semi-finalist, USA Eagles (2009).

Notable findings from Dr. Zwart's research include documentation that diet and exercise can mitigate bone density loss in astronauts, and evidence of a genetic predisposition for some astronauts to develop eye and vision changes during International Space Station missions.

Dr. Zwart received a BS in Biological Sciences from the University of Notre Dame, and a PhD in Nutritional Sciences from the University of Florida. She, her husband, and four children live in the Clear Lake area.