The Life Sciences Section is comprised of a Health Safety Information Team and an Environmental Aerospace Physiology Research Team.

The Health Safety Information Team performs a variety of functions researching and addressing how well aerospace medicine policy controls and decisions are mitigating risk in aerospace operations, this includes predicting and producing tools to predict the dose of radiation to which passengers and crew are exposed during aerospace operations.

The Environmental Aerospace Physiology Research Team examines the impact to human health and performance associated with performing operations in the aerospace environment, specifically focusing research on environmental factors that may influence human performance, physiology, safety, and health in aviation/aerospace environments in response to stressors such as hypoxia, rapid decompression, and biological/chemical threats to include cabin air quality issues.  It also develops test procedures to assess environmental hazards and the adequacy of life support systems, medical devices, and other equipment at altitude. The products from the Life Sciences Section are used to set aerospace standards and guidance.

Health Safety Information Research Team

The Health Safety Information Research Team collects, consolidates, and publishes geographically- and temporally oriented data on radiation risks for flight planning and alerting systems for use by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the global aerospace operations community. It consolidates collected health and safety information, researching novel ways to use it to quantify, visualize, and mitigate aerospace medical risks, thus providing curated empirical evidence to inform the decisions of the Office of Aerospace Medicine, in managing the safety of its’ regulatory and certification missions for the FAA.

Aerospace & Environmental Physiology Research Team

The Aerospace and Environmental Physiology Research Team conducts research on environmental factors that may influence human performance, physiology, and the safety, and health of passengers and crew in aerospace environments, in response to stressors such as hypoxia and biological-chemical threats, including cabin air quality issues. The team also develops test procedures to assess environmental hazards and the adequacy of life support systems, medical devices, and other equipment at altitude.

Medical Accident Review & Hazard Analysis Program (MARHAP)

Leads the division’s Medical Accident Review & Hazard Analysis Program (MARHAP) by 1) Conduct expert aerospace medical review and hazard analysis of FAA medical certification records, investigator provided medical information, toxicology, autopsy results, and other information to generate medical case review summaries for all fatal aircraft accidents, 2) Collaborate with the Autopsy Program Team and others to coordinate the acquisition and storage of pilot medical information for all fatal accidents with the Office of Aerospace Medicine, the Office of Accident Investigation, and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), and 3) Record MARHAP aeromedical review findings in specialized databases/registries, e.g., the Medical Analysis Tracking (MANTRA) system for the benefit of research scientists, AAM-1, and accident investigators.