Dr. Kathie McAlpine, MD

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Get to know Aerospace Medicine Specialist Dr. Kathie McAlpine.

A seasoned occupational medicine and family physician, Dr. McAlpine has had a very diverse career ranging from direct medical service, to NASA bone research, as well as administration and program development. Her current primary focus is in aerospace medicine. She is currently working as an expert consultant with NASA, reviewing health care systems for current and retired astronauts and helping to evaluate/design surveillance programs for long term travel to the Moon and Mars.

Pertaining to her educational background, she obtained her medical degree from the Howard University College of Medicine, and received her Master of Public Health degree and Master of Science degree in Epidemiology and Biostatistics from Harvard University. She did residency training in family medicine at the UMass Chan Medical School.

As a testament of her continued education, the doctor is board-certified in general preventive medicine, and public health by the American Board of Preventive Medicine, a member of the American Board of Medical Specialties that issues “certificates of special knowledge” in the specialty of preventive medicine.

In her professional experience, Dr. McAlpine was the founding Director for the First Family Practice Physician Assistant Program in Colorado. The program was created to help address the healthcare provider shortages in Colorado and the country. She has chaired a statewide coalition for science technology engineering and math (STEM), in addition to directing a large hospital department. She has also studied graduate astrophysics, including creating a new way of interpreting/viewing quasars.

With a passion for teaching, she greatly enjoys mentoring students of all ages and has done this regularly for many years. She has designed and implemented programs for preschool thru post graduate students. To help decrease the inequities in the provision of healthcare services and educational opportunities, she has directly provided services to medical underserved populations and obtained grants to improve general public health ex. Prediabetes and Diabetes prevention. Student outreach programs have included designing programs for 22 schools and 6 school districts obtaining a repeating NASA grant, encouraging student health and educational initiatives. When available she serves as the Chief Medical Officer for the Transnational Resource Development Associates (TRDA): Transnational Resources Development Associates – Professional International Services (transrda.com), which provides services for agricultural, data information and technology, emergency management and disaster mitigation, energy, healthcare, security, and water issues. 

Aerospace medicine focuses on the clinical care, research, and operational support of the health, safety, and performance of crew members and passengers of air and space vehicles, together with the support personnel who assist operation of such vehicles.

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