USF Health Morsani College of Medicine physician and assistant professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology in analyzing the effects of space travel on women's health. It is a place that has captivated her imagination since she was a child growing up in Istanbul, and now is the focus of Dr. Mathyk's wide-ranging studies at the University of South Florida.
"My interest is space biology and doing my best to advocate for women's health on Earth and beyond," she said. Dr. Mathyk is an active member of NASA's GeneLab group, consisting of researchers in the field of space biology.
They have published a space biology research package using data gathered from Inspiration 4, the world's first all-civilian, four-person mission to orbit—including two men and two women. Dr. Mathyk served as first author on two papers published June 11 as part of a special Nature Portfolio package.
The first is in Communications Biology journal titled, " Spaceflight induces changes in gene expression profiles linked to insulin and estrogen ." The second, in npj Women's Health , is titled " Understanding how space travel affects the female reproductive system ." She is also a member of the NASA STAR course fellow program, receiving biosciences training, and in 2023 presented at the annual international space research conference held by the American Society for Gravitational and Space Research.
As part of that, an illustration Dr. Mathyk conceived of and commissioned– depicting a female astr.
