Tamarack "Tam" R. Czarnik is an American

medical researcher Medical research (or biomedical research), also known as health research, refers to the process of using scientific methods with the aim to produce knowledge about human diseases, the prevention and treatment of illness, and the promotion of ...

, notable for

space advocacy Space advocacy is supporting or advocating human activity in outer space. The advocated purposes range from orbital flight, space exploration, commercialization of space and space settlement, to outright space colonization. There are many di ...

and academic studies of

human physiology The human body is the entire structure of a human being. It is composed of many different types of cells that together create tissues and subsequently organs and then organ systems. The external human body consists of a head, hair, neck, ...

extreme environment An extreme environment is a habitat that is considered very hard to survive in due to its considerably extreme conditions such as temperature, accessibility to different energy sources or under high pressure. For an area to be considered an extre ...

al conditions.Sublette Examiner: Czarnik on board Oct. 1
/ref>step-too-far-/40681.article Flight Global: A step too far? (by Tim Furniss, 17 December 2001)
/ref> Czarnik is especially known for his scientific contributions to

space medicine Space Medicine is a subspecialty of Emergency Medicine (Fellowship Training Pathway) which evolved from the Aerospace Medicine specialty. Space Medicine is dedicated to the prevention and treatment of medical conditions that would limit success in ...

as well as a better understanding of such phenomena as

ebullism Ebullism is the formation of water vapour bubbles in bodily fluids due to reduced environmental pressure, usually at extreme high altitude. It occurs because a system of liquid and gas at equilibrium will see a net conversion of liquid to gas as ...

Indivisible System: Ebullism at 1 million feet
/ref> and

uncontrolled decompression An uncontrolled decompression is an undesired drop in the pressure of a sealed system, such as a pressurised aircraft cabin or hyperbaric chamber, that typically results from human error, structural failure, or impact, causing the pressurised vess ...

. He is the author of a number of publications in the domain of

bioastronautics Bioastronautics is a specialty area of biological and astronautical research which encompasses numerous aspects of biological, behavioral, and medical concern governing humans and other living organisms in outer space; and includes the design o ...

including "Ebullism at 1 million feet: Surviving Rapid/Explosive Decompression" and "Medical emergencies in space". Czarnik was at the origin of the

Mars Society The Mars Society is a nonprofit organization that advocates for human exploration and colonization of Mars. It was founded by Robert Zubrin in 1998 and its principles are based on Zubrin's Mars Direct philosophy, which aims to make human miss ...

Chapter foundation in

Dayton Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

,I4.pdf The Mars Quarterly (Volume 4, Issue 4 – Spring 2013 (p.18)
/ref> and also served as the chapter's first Chair. From 2001 to 2011, Czarnik served in several missions as Medical Director for the Mars Society's

FMARS The Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station (FMARS) is the first of two simulated Mars habitats (or Mars Analogue Research Station Programme, Mars Analog Research Stations) located on Devon Island, Nunavut, Canada, which is owned and operated by ...

NASA Research: Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station (FMARS) 2009 Crew Perspectives (p.15)
/ref> and

MDRS The Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) is the largest and longest-running Mars surface research facility and is one of two simulated Mars analog habitats owned and operated by the Mars Society. The MDRS station was built in the early 2000s ne ...

, simulated Mars habitats.

Background and medical career

Tam Czarnik is originally from

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

. He graduated with honors from Ohio State University College of Medicine in medicine residency in Casper, WY. During his medical career as a family doctor, Czarnik was affiliated with many hospitals including Marbleton/Big Piney Clinic, Altru Hospital (Nelson County Health System) and more. Beginning in September 2009, he worked as a family practice physician in McVille, ND and other nearby locations until his retirement in 2019.

Aerospace medical research and the Mars Society

After completing his first residency, Czarnik pursued additional training in aerospace medicine at

Wright State University Wright State University is a public research university in Fairborn, Ohio, United States. Originally opened in 1964 as a branch campus of Miami University and Ohio State University, it became an independent institution in 1967 and was named in ...

. During his residency in Aerospace Medicine and Hypobaric Medicine, Czarnik's research mainly focused on studies of

space exposure The effects of spaceflight on the human body are complex and largely harmful over both short and long term. Significant adverse effects of long-term weightlessness include muscle atrophy and osteoporosis, deterioration of the Human skeleton, ske ...

and the

effect of spaceflight on the human body The effects of spaceflight on the human body are complex and largely harmful over both short and long term. Significant adverse effects of long-term weightlessness include muscle atrophy and deterioration of the skeleton ( spaceflight osteopeni ...

including ebullism, decompression, reactions to drugs, physical activity and medical treatment during spaceflight. In 2004, Czarnik published his thesis on muscle degeneration in long-duration human spaceflight. That same year, he graduated from WSU with an M.S degree. He also joined the Mars Society and was among the co-founders of its Ohio Chapter in Dayton in 1998. During his activity in the Mars Society, Czarnik published a number of works that contributed to further development of aerospace medicine in the field of medical emergencies and integration of remote access medical devices into spacesuits, allowing remote diagnosis and treatment modalities in situ. His studies led him to participate in FMARS and MDRS missions where he served as the medical director and flight surgeon for several crew missions from 2001 to 2011. Czarnik is an ardent advocate of space exploration and the

human exploration of Mars The idea of sending humans to Mars has been the subject of aerospace engineering and scientific studies since the late 1940s as part of the broader exploration of Mars. Long-term proposals have included Colonization of Mars, sending settlers an ...

Selected works

*Czarnik, R. T., ''The Remote Access Medical Suit'', Space Times, (November/December 2005) *Czarnik, R. T.,''Medical Emergencies in Space'', Space Times, (March/April 2005) *Czarnik, R. T., ''Medical Research in the Mars Society'', Journal of Pharmacy Practice (April 1, 2003) *Czarnik, R.T., ''Countermeasures to long-duration spaceflight'' (Parts I,II), Wright State University *Czarnik, R.T., ''Aerospace medicine 101: Adaptations to spaceflight'', Mars Society *Czarnik, R.T., ''Artificial Gravity: Current Concerns and Design Considerations'', Wright State University, (March 1999) *Czarnik, R. T., ''Ebullism at 1 million feet: Surviving Rapid/Explosive Decompression'', Wright State University, (1999). *Czarnik, R. T., Vernikos, J., ''Physiological changes in spaceflight that may affect drug action'', Journal of Gravitational Physiology (July 1999)

External links

Google Scholar profile

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Czarnik, R. Tamarack Living people Space advocates Space medicine doctors American science writers Mars Society American medical researchers Ohio State University College of Medicine alumni Wright State University alumni Year of birth missing (living people)

Background and medical career

Aerospace medical research and the Mars Society

Selected works

See also

External links

References