Pharmacy graduate shoots for the stars
With experience gained at NASA and UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, Emma Ives hopes to work in aerospace medicine.
When Emma Ives was in first grade, she dressed up as astronaut Sally Ride for a class presentation. Her dad made her costume by putting stickers on the sleeves of a blue sweatsuit.
Soon after that presentation, she asked for a telescope instead of toys for her birthday.
“You know how you build forts out of cardboard boxes or couch cushions in your living room?” said Ives. “I built a spaceship, which then turned into the space station, out of refrigerator boxes.”
In high school, Ives pivoted to a more “practical” career path in health care, eventually landing on pharmacy. She was drawn to the compounding process, where pharmacists create customized medications for patients’ ailments.
Later, while sitting in an Ohio State University class on U.S. prescription drug culture, she jokingly asked the internet, “Can pharmacists work at NASA?” The positive answer solidified her plan to combine her passion for space with pharmacy.
A dream acknowledged
When Ives applied to the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, “I talked about NASA, pharmacy and space in my interviews,” she said. “In the interview, the Eshelman team saw my dreams, acknowledged them and were excited for them, too. That’s what you really want.”
The stars aligned. The Carolina Pharmacy Alumni Association awarded her a scholarship.
Her coursework at Carolina allowed her to balance interaction with patients in hospital settings with her passion for aerospace medicine through treatment pharmacy and occupational medicine.
For the past two years, Ives has been co-chairing the Aerospace Medicine at Carolina Organization, which educates students on career opportunities that combine aerospace and health care. They invite speakers working in aerospace medicine, civil aviation, space health and with Carolina AirCare.
Ives gained experience in emergency medicine, risk management, family medicine, infectious disease and surgery at rotations at Duke University Hospital and Duke Specialty Pharmacy.
She published a paper in July analyzing expiration dates and effectiveness of prescription and over-the-counter drugs at the International Space Station. The research team — Ives and three other pharmacy students — found that over 50% of drugs would expire within three years, but people in space could still use those drugs, although the medicine may not work as effectively.
Ives enjoys the problem solving, quick thinking and planning needed in aerospace medicine.
“It’s very similar to working in an emergency room where you don’t have the answers right away. You are problem solving and planning into the future of what you need,” said Ives. “You see what you have space for. What do we need? What can we live without? Where do we go from a risk management standpoint?”
As part of her clerkship, Ives was able to tour facilities and the campus of the space center in Houston. (Submitted)
A dream takes flight
In October, Ives joined 19 other clerks in the NASA/Johnson Space Center Aerospace Medicine Clerkship program in Houston, a month-long opportunity to gain insight into the world of aerospace medicine at NASA. The clerkship featured sessions on bacteria growth and humidity, pharmaceuticals, managing eye ailments, bone loss in space and planning for long-term spaceflight. Clerks also toured Mission Control, its mock-up facility and the Neutral Buoyancy Lab.
Following graduation, she will start a residency at Duke University Hospital. But eventually, Ives would love to fulfill the dream that began with the Sally Ride costume and work for NASA’s pharmacy department or engineering team.
She credits her Carolina experience with equipping her with the expertise needed to succeed anywhere — even out of this world. “Eshelman has been the No. 1 ranked school in the nation for the past three rankings,” she said. “It’s a good environment to train, prepare and practice with the best of the best.”
