Nitza Margarita Cintrón (born 1950) is a Puerto Rican scientist and Chief of Space Medicine and Health Care Systems Office at NASA's Johnson Space Center.
Dr. Nitza Margarita Cintrón
The Chief of Space Medicine and Health Care Systems Office.
Cintrón was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, the capital city of the island. As a child, she lived throughout Europe, as her father was a member of the U.S. Army. When her father retired from the armed forces, they returned to Puerto Rico and settled down in Santurce, a barrio of San Juan. There she attended elementary and high school, where she excelled in science and mathematics. She dedicated many hours to reading and studying about biology, chemistry, astronomy and space.[1]
Nitza Cintrón enrolled at the University of Puerto Rico where she earned a bachelor's degree in Biology. In 1972 she was accepted into the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology training program which was offered by Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and in 1978 she earned a Ph.D. degree there. In 1978, Cintrón read a recruitment announcement for the first Mission Specialist positions in the Astronaut Corps while still completing her PhD research work at Johns Hopkins University. She answered the advertisement and did not passed to the finals. However, she was not selected due to her poor eyesight and because she did not reach the goal. However, her academic credentials also impressed the management at NASA and she was offered a position at NASA as a scientist.
Career in NASA
In 1979, Cintrón was the originator of the center's Biochemistry Laboratory at the Johnson Space Center.[2] During the years 1979 through 1985, she also served as project scientist for the Space Lab 2 mission which was launched aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger in 1985.
After many years of service at NASA, she was sponsored by NASA after she was accepted as a student by the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. She graduated in 1995 with a M.D. degree, and is currently a board-certified specialist in internal medicine.
Among the positions held by Cintrón at NASA are "Chief of the Biomedical Operations and Research Branch in the Medical Science Division" and "Managing Director of the Life Sciences Research Laboratories" in support of medical operations. In 2004 she was named "Chief of NASA's (JSC) Space Medicine and Health Care Systems Office", position which she currently holds. Cintrón then announced that she would be taking time off to be with her sick mother in Hatillo, Puerto Rico. She then returned to NASA in March 2017. Cintrón said her mother was blessed by god.[1]
Awards and recognitions
Cintrón has received many awards and honors. Among them are the "JSC Director's Commendation and Innovation Award", the center's highest award for a civil servants and the NASA Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal, the highest science honor given by the agency. On October 7, 2004, she was inducted into the Hispanic Engineer's National Achievement Awards Conference (HENAAC) Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame, located in Los Angeles, California, was established in 1998 and recognizes the contributions of Hispanics in the fields of science, engineering and technology. In 2006, she was also recognized as one of the 100 most influential Hispanics in the United States by Hispanic magazine.[3][4]
^100 Most Influential-Hispanic magazine 2011-05-22 at the Wayback Machine
External links
January 04, 2023
nitza, margarita, cintrón, born, 1950, puerto, rican, scientist, chief, space, medicine, health, care, systems, office, nasa, johnson, space, center, chief, space, medicine, health, care, systems, office, born1950, juan, puerto, riconationalitypuerto, ricanocc. Nitza Margarita Cintron born 1950 is a Puerto Rican scientist and Chief of Space Medicine and Health Care Systems Office at NASA s Johnson Space Center Dr Nitza Margarita CintronThe Chief of Space Medicine and Health Care Systems Office Born1950 age 72 73 San Juan Puerto RicoNationalityPuerto RicanOccupationScientist Contents 1 Early years 2 Career in NASA 3 Awards and recognitions 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksEarly years EditCintron was born in San Juan Puerto Rico the capital city of the island As a child she lived throughout Europe as her father was a member of the U S Army When her father retired from the armed forces they returned to Puerto Rico and settled down in Santurce a barrio of San Juan There she attended elementary and high school where she excelled in science and mathematics She dedicated many hours to reading and studying about biology chemistry astronomy and space 1 Nitza Cintron enrolled at the University of Puerto Rico where she earned a bachelor s degree in Biology In 1972 she was accepted into the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology training program which was offered by Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and in 1978 she earned a Ph D degree there In 1978 Cintron read a recruitment announcement for the first Mission Specialist positions in the Astronaut Corps while still completing her PhD research work at Johns Hopkins University She answered the advertisement and did not passed to the finals However she was not selected due to her poor eyesight and because she did not reach the goal However her academic credentials also impressed the management at NASA and she was offered a position at NASA as a scientist Career in NASA EditIn 1979 Cintron was the originator of the center s Biochemistry Laboratory at the Johnson Space Center 2 During the years 1979 through 1985 she also served as project scientist for the Space Lab 2 mission which was launched aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger in 1985 After many years of service at NASA she was sponsored by NASA after she was accepted as a student by the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston She graduated in 1995 with a M D degree and is currently a board certified specialist in internal medicine Among the positions held by Cintron at NASA are Chief of the Biomedical Operations and Research Branch in the Medical Science Division and Managing Director of the Life Sciences Research Laboratories in support of medical operations In 2004 she was named Chief of NASA s JSC Space Medicine and Health Care Systems Office position which she currently holds Cintron then announced that she would be taking time off to be with her sick mother in Hatillo Puerto Rico She then returned to NASA in March 2017 Cintron said her mother was blessed by god 1 Awards and recognitions EditCintron has received many awards and honors Among them are the JSC Director s Commendation and Innovation Award the center s highest award for a civil servants and the NASA Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal the highest science honor given by the agency On October 7 2004 she was inducted into the Hispanic Engineer s National Achievement Awards Conference HENAAC Hall of Fame The Hall of Fame located in Los Angeles California was established in 1998 and recognizes the contributions of Hispanics in the fields of science engineering and technology In 2006 she was also recognized as one of the 100 most influential Hispanics in the United States by Hispanic magazine 3 4 See also Edit Puerto Rico portal Biography portalList of Puerto Ricans Puerto Rican scientists and inventors List of Puerto Ricans in the United States Space Program History of women in Puerto RicoReferences Edit a b Latina Women in NASA Archived 2016 01 25 at the Wayback Machine NASA NASA Space Medicine Chief Inducted into Hall of Fame HENAAC Archived 2009 05 13 at the Wayback Machine 100 Most Influential Hispanic magazine Archived 2011 05 22 at the Wayback MachineExternal links Editlatina Women of NASA Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Nitza Margarita Cintron amp oldid 1114765924, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
