Ms. Michelle Frieling is the Director of NASA’s Human Health and Performance Directorate at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.  The Human Health and Performance Directorate is the primary organization focused on humans living, working, and thriving in space, on the moon and on to Mars.  Their mission is to lead the global spaceflight community in protecting astronaut health and ensuring human mission performance.

Ms. Frieling has over 25 years of experience at NASA.  She received her Bachelor of Science degree in molecular biology at Vanderbilt University in 1996.  She began her aerospace career with Wyle Laboratories at JSC in 1999 as a Biomedical Flight Controller focusing on medical operations for both the space shuttle and International Space Station programs.  From there she moved into overseeing Space Medicine training operations where she helped design and identify innovative training techniques for astronauts and ground crew.  Michelle utilized her expertise in human spaceflight operations to concentrate on the emerging commercial human spaceflight market.  During that time, she co-chaired the Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Council (COMSTAC) Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) working group Task Force on Training.  As a part of this task force, Michelle helped author the Commercial Human Space Operations Training Standards.  Michelle served as the Flight and Medical Operations Department manager for several years, overseeing a staff of 300 responsible for crew and ground medical operations, radiation operations, ISS medical project implementation, behavioral health and performance, epidemiology, and industrial hygiene.  She served as the program manager for the Human Health and Performance Contract, with overall responsibility, authority, and accountability for the $150 million/year contract and more than 1000 employees supporting research, medical, and human systems engineering for NASA’s Human Health and Performance Directorate.

Michelle is actively involved in the Aerospace Medicine Association and is a past president of the Space Medicine Association of the Aerospace Medicine Association.  She is a proud recipient of the Silver Snoopy, an award personally given by the astronaut office.