Steven H. Platts

Steven H. Platts is currently leading a comprehensive review of all biomedical research ever conducted aboard the International Space Station (ISS). His goal is to create an integrated publication of scientific accomplishments, knowledge gains, and future opportunities that advance human spaceflight research.

Previously, Platts served as chief scientist for NASA’s Human Research Program (HRP) where he guided scientific content and ensured scientific integrity, ethics, and quality. In that role, he provided scientific leadership across NASA’s human health and performance research portfolio in support of future exploration missions.

Platts joined NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston in 2003 as a senior scientist in the Cardiovascular Physiology Laboratory, later becoming laboratory director. He led many experiments for the lab, including several that ran on the space shuttle, the International Space Station, bed rest platforms, and parabolic flights. 

Platts moved into the role of an increment scientist in 2013 and later as an element scientist for the space station’s Medical Projects element. He joined HRP leadership as deputy chief scientist in 2018.

Platts graduated with a bachelor’s degree in zoology from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst in 1987. He earned a doctorate degree in cardiovascular physiology from Texas A&M University Health Science Center in 2000. Platts went to the University of Virginia for his postdoctoral fellowship under the guidance of Dr. Brian Duling.