Dr Joan Vernikos

Joan Vernikos, PhD was Director of Life Sciences at NASA Headquarters from 1993 until September 2000. She is well known throughout the scientific community, coming to Washington, DC from NASA's Ames Research Center (ARC) in California. She joined ARC in 1966 after four years at Ohio State University Medical School where she was Assistant Professor of Pharmacology. Trained in London, Dr Vernikos held academic appointments at Stanford University, Wright State University School of Medicine, and was Visiting Professor at the University of London.

She has published over 200 scientific papers and reviews, has served on editorial boards of scientific journals, and was Associate Editor of Pharmacological Reviews. She holds three patents, including that for the Human Powered Centrifuge (US patent #5616104). Her research focused on understanding the hormone and behavioral mechanisms underlying the response to stress and coping and applying that knowledge to operational conditions in aviation and space. In parallel she led the ground research that developed the framework for understanding how spaceflight and Earth's gravity affect the human body. For this work and her leadership in the space sciences, she received numerous awards including the Strughold as well as the Leverett Awards from the Aerospace Medical Association, the Jeffries Award from the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Women in Aerospace, NASA's Exceptional Scientific Achievement and two Exceptional Leadership Awards.

President of Thirdage LLC. she consults, writes and is a personal coach specializing on the elimination of health debt through effective stress-management.

� Member of the International Academy of Aeronautics and Astronautics
� Research Fellow of the International Strategic Studies Association
� Fellow of the Aerospace Medical Association
� Fellow of the World Economic Forum
� Distinguished Speaker on "Leadership" at the Strategy2005: Global Strategic Forum.

An advocate of space tourism, Dr. Vernikos is an ardent believer in the use of space to benefit humanity. She is a consultant to space agencies and the aerospace industry, and a mentor to men and women professionals.

Married to Geoffrey C. Hazzan, she has two children, Eftihia and George Danellis. She plays indifferent tennis, swims and gardens. Is also a recognized expert chocolate truffle-maker, having brought to bear her background as a pharmacologist to invent the first all-white chocolate truffle in Europe.

An entertaining and sought-after public speaker, she offers scientific expertise in understandable terms to audiences of all ages and backgrounds. She brings to her subject strategic senior management experience of a multi-million dollar national program.

For speaking engagements, Dr Vernikos' topics can include:

� The G-Connection: Defying Gravity to Reverse Aging
� Tackling Childhood Obesity: Lessons from Space
� Stress Management in the personal, educational and work environment
� The Great Health Robbery -- The Technological Revolution
� Re-Balancing Your Portfolio: It's not just money
� Leadership: Nature or Nurture;
� Training Leaders � Elements for Nurturing Leadership;
� Benefits from Space: Space Tourism

Books

Inactivity: Physiological Effects (Ed., with H. Sandler) Academic Press Inc., NY. 1986.

The G-Connection: Harness Gravity and Reverse Aging, 294pp. Nov 2004, Lincoln, NE, iUniverse Inc. Foreword by John Glenn.

Hardcover ISBN 0595-66710-4
Paperback ISBN 0595-3293-4
e-book ISBN 0595-77722-8

Maintain Youthfulness Even in Old Age: Space Research Reveals the Secret. Chrysoula Kourtidou-Papadeli, co-author; ZITI publishers, Thessaloniki and Athens, Greece, 388pp, 2004. (Greek version). ISBN 960-431-941-8.

The G-Connection (Japanese version) Asahi-Shimbun-Sha Publishing Co. Tokyo; 2006.

In the pipeline are versions in:

Portuguese with Thais Russomano, M.D., Brazil, due out Sep 2007.

Italian with Felice Strollo, MD

German with Rupert Gerzer, MD

Recent Articles, Reviews, Media

Rappahannock News, Washington, VA, January 6, 2005, "How to Reverse Aging is Topic of RAAC's Program", by Betsy Hille.
The Winchester Star, Winchester, VA, March 11, 2005, "The G-Connection: Gravity Defies Aging Process," Book Review by Val Van Meter.

Daily News, Palo Alto, CA, May 5, 2005, "Gravity may be Linked to Aging," by Joshua Sabatini.

Popular Science, "Headlines from the Future," September 2005.

ODYSSEY Magazine, New York, NY, YJN Yiannias, 2005.

WINC Radio/TV, Winchester, VA, March 3, 2005, interview with Barry Lee.

Fox News/Ch 2, Oakland, CA, May 3, 2005, interview with Frank McGowan.

NPR Marketplace interview with Amy Scott, April 26, 2006.

Book Review by Dr. R.W. Phillips, The Physiologist, Vol. 48(3), p.110, 2005.

Book Review by Roger Landry, MD MPH, Aviation Space and Environmental Medicine, Vol 77, p.765, July 2006.

A Sample of Past Speaking Engagements and Clients

AARP local chapters, eg. Fredericksburg, Lake of the Woods.

Retirement communities, eg Carol Woods Retirement Community, NC; Cascades Senior Ctr, Loudoun County, Sterling, VA; Charlottesville Sr. Ctr, VA; Leesburg Senior Ctr, VA.

Kiwanis; eg: Menlo Park, CA; Winchester, VA.

Universities eg University of North Carolina Planetarium, Chapel Hill, NC; Mary Washington University, Fredericksburg, VA; Mount Sinai University Medical School, New York, NY; University of Missouri, Columbia, MO.

Professional groups. eg: The Harvard Business School Alumni Club of Greater Washington, DC; Women in Technology DC; Executive Women�s Roundtable, DC; Hellenic American Women�s Council, DC; Women of Culpeper, VA; Aerospace Medical Association, National Meeting, Orlando, FL, 2006. Greek Aerospace Medical Association, �Do Astronauts Grow Old Faster in Space?� Oinousses, Greece, 2005.
Distinguished Speaker, Strategy 2005, the Global Strategic Forum, Washington DC.

For more on Dr Joan Vernikos, go to: http://www.joanvernikos.com