2021 Inductee
Jessica Scott, PhD
Graduated 1998
Inducted 2021
Jessica graduated from the French Immersion Program at LTCHS in 1998. After receiving a Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Alberta in 2003, she completed her MSc (2005) and PhD (2009) at the University of British Columbia studying the effects of prolonged exercise on heart function in athletes and heart transplant recipients. Sports was an important part of Jessica’s educational experiences. In high school she was a member of the LTCHS Cross Country and Track teams and a longtime member of the Catalina Swim Club; in university she was a member of the Rowing and Cross Country Teams and Triathlon Club. Jessica was a coach with the Marlins Swim Club and was co-race director of the inaugural Woody’s Triathlon. She is still an active athlete competing in trail running and triathlons.
During Graduate School, Jessica attended the International Space University Summer Course in Strasbourg, France, where she became interested in the physiological side-effects of spaceflight. After completing a Post-Doctoral Fellowship at NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, she then spent 5 years as a Senior Scientist in the Exercise Physiology and Countermeasures Laboratory at NASA where she studied how exercise training could help astronauts prevent the damaging side-effects of spaceflight. Jessica joined Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City in 2017 to research how the tools and exercise interventions used to keep astronauts healthy could be applied to help patients with cancer.
Jessica’s research has been funded by NASA, the National Space Biomedical Institute, and the National Cancer Institute. She is the recipient of Natural Sciences and Engineering Council of Canada Awards, Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research Awards, NASA’s Human
Research Program Peer Award, NASA’s Innovation Achievement Award for the design and implementation of a novel ultrasound technique to measure muscle mass in microgravity, and NASA’s Group Achievement Award as a member of the One Year Mission Operations Team.
AWARDS/HONORS:
NASA Group Achievement Award
Johnson Space Center
June, 2016
NASA Innovation Achievement Award
Johnson Space Center
October, 2014
NASA Human Research Program Peer Award
Johnson Space Center
May, 2012
Nominated by the University of British Columbia for the Canadian Natural Sciences and Engineering Doctoral Award (Top 2 Graduate Students)
Vancouver, British Columbia
May, 2010
Nominated by the Department of Education for the Canadian Governor’s General Doctoral Prize
Vancouver, British Columbia
April, 2010
Canadian Society of Exercise Physiology Graduate Student Award Finalist
Vancouver, British Columbia
November, 2009
Canadian Society of Exercise Physiology Certified Exercise Physiologist Award
Vancouver, British Columbia
November, 2009
Canadian Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council Post-Doctoral Fellowship
Johnson Space Center
Nov. 2009 – Oct. 2011
Canadian Space Agency Space Awareness and Learning Grant
Glasgow, Scotland
Sept. 2008
Runner up Canadian Federation of University Women Dr. Margaret McWilliams Pre-Doctoral Fellowship
University of British Columbia
May 2008
International Federation of University Women Recognition Award
Liverpool University
May 2008
Faculty of Education Student Research Grant
University of British Columbia
Sept. 2007
Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research Senior Research Doctoral Award
University of British Columbia
Sept. 2007 -- Jan. 2010
Canadian Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council Doctoral Award
University of British Columbia
Sept. 2005 -- Sept. 2008
Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research Junior Research Masters Award
University of British Columbia
Sept. 2005 --Sept. 2007
Summer Space Program at the International Space University
Vancouver, British Columbia
June 2005 – Aug. 2005
Canadian Space Agency Supplement to Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council Masters Award
University of British Columbia
Sept. 2004 –Sept. 2005
Short Listed for Rhodes Scholarship
Oxford University
Oct. 2004
Dean of Education Scholarship
University of British Columbia
Sept. 2004 –Sept. 2005
Canadian Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council Masters Award
University of British Columbia
Sept. 2004 –Sept. 2005
