Ms. Stefanie Countryman is the Director of BioServe Space Technologies and a Research Associate within the Ann and H.J. Smead Aerospace Engineering and Science Department at the University of Colorado Boulder. Countryman has worked for BioServe for over 20 years.
As Director, she leads a wide variety of activities including developing and overseeing the strategic direction of BioServe, grant writing and technical and programmatic oversight of space life science investigations and engineering projects.
Countryman has been involved in or directly responsible for the development and/or management of over 50 different space life science experiments ranging from the simple to the very complex. She is intimately familiar with the process for developing, launching and operating life science experiments in space as well as the development of supporting space flight hardware.
Countryman has expertise in translating ground-based life science research into space based life science research.
While she has experience with the translation of many different types of life science experiments, mammalian cell culture in particular, is her area of expertise and focus.
Recently she has been involved with experiments examining microgravity effects on proximal tubule epithelial cells of the kidneys, induced pluripotent stem cells, mesenchymal stem cells, cardiomyocytes and endothelial cells. Each experiment seeks to utilize the microgravity environment as a model for different types of human disease, including aging, in order to seek more effective treatments for people on Earth.