Parag Vaishampayan

Parag Vaishampayan is the Space Biology Portfolio Scientist at NASA's Ames Research Center in California's Silicon Valley. He provides overall scientific leadership and direction to maintain the scientific integrity of projects within the ARC Space Biology Portfolio. He supports more than 70 active space biology projects to better understand how spaceflight affects living systems in simulated groundbased experiments, the International Space Station (ISS), and preparing future human exploration...See more

Parag Vaishampayan is the Space Biology Portfolio Scientist at NASA's Ames Research Center in California's Silicon Valley. He provides overall scientific leadership and direction to maintain the scientific integrity of projects within the ARC Space Biology Portfolio. He supports more than 70 active space biology projects to better understand how spaceflight affects living systems in simulated groundbased experiments, the International Space Station (ISS), and preparing future human exploration missions beyond low Earth orbit (BLO). Before joining Ames, he worked at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) since 2008. He has successfully managed several multi-year, multi-institutional research projects. He has supported planetary protection implementation for several NASA missions, including Mars Science Laboratory (Curiosity rover), InSight, Mars2020 (Perseverance rover), Mars Cube One or MarCO, and Psyche. His research work has appeared in more than 60 peer-reviewed publications, book chapters, and more than 50 presentations. He was instrumental in developing and implementing several novel molecular approaches, instruments, and bioinformatics analysis tools widely used by microbial ecologists. He is a leading microbial ecologist and bioinformatician working in the field of space biology, astrobiology, and planetary protection. He is the recipient of several prestigious honors and awards, such as the NASA Exceptional Public Service Medal (2017), JPL Explorer Award (2016), Voyager Award (2015, 2016), and Mariner Award (2012). See less