KBR helps UHCL student secure two consecutive positions at NASA
Landing a coveted role at NASA is a dream for many, but for UHCL alumna Dana Gardner, it became reality through hard work, unmatched leadership, and the powerful support of UHCL’s partnerships. The opportunity presented itself in 2022 when KBR contacted the University of Houston-Clear Lake’s (UHCL) Health and Human Performance Institute (HHPI) to fill a temporary position at NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC). At the time, Gardner was a graduate research assistant at HHPI, pursuing her Exercise and Health Sciences M.S. Today, she works at NASA as a full-time employee of UHCL.
“From the moment she joined us at HHPI, Dana demonstrated natural leadership, exceptional competence as both a scientist and practitioner, and an innate ability to take charge of situations, uplift a team, and change things for the better,” said Dr. William Amonette, HHPI’s executive director.
KBR regularly recruits interns from a broad range of universities in pursuit of diverse talent. In the spring of 2022, the KBR team lead for the Exercise Physiology and Countermeasures Laboratory (EPC), formerly the Human Physiology, Performance, Protection and Operations (H-3PO) lab, contacted Amonette to request a recommendation for an employee to fill a temporary scientific support position on the Human Health and Performance Contract (HHPC) at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. Amonette immediately thought of Gardner, despite the significant void he knew she’d leave behind at HHPI. In May of 2022, Gardner began working at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in the EPC Lab.
The EPC Laboratory’s primary objective is to maintain and monitor crew health and performance capabilities before, during, and after spaceflight by optimizing exercise and non-exercise countermeasure systems for current ISS astronauts and future exploration missions. Lab employees serve a critical mission for NASA, optimizing human health and the performance of crewmembers through research and operational support. As an employee, Gardner excelled in this and other areas, as her KBR discipline lead noted in a letter to Amonette.
“Dana’s willingness to step up and take action on a number of critical tasks that our lab needs to function safely and effectively have been critical to our operation,” the lead said. “Her leadership in ensuring we have operators trained, and quality documentation finalized for our equipment and testing, has been instrumental in our team being fully prepared to support our work.”
Gardner earned her Exercise and Health Sciences M.S. in December of 2022. Weeks before graduation, though, she was offered and accepted a full-time position with HHPC sub-contracted through UHCL. She has been working at NASA while sporting a UHCL badge ever since.
She returned to campus in the summer of 2024 as an alumna for a planning meeting about the Orion Flywheel study (exercise device for moon missions) to be conducted on campus at UHCL. Gardner is just one of many alumni who remain linked to the university and contribute to ongoing research efforts. Amonette, who is a Co-I on the Orion Flywheel project, also attended the meeting, where he observed more of her high-level performance.
“In a room filled with senior NASA scientists, she demonstrated the same critical thinking, expertise, and confidence that had impressed me three years ago as a student and a research assistant,” said Amonette. “I couldn’t have been prouder of her growth as both a scientist and a leader—though I wasn’t surprised in the least.”
Gardner is among seven employees currently working under HHPI’s contract with KBR. Throughout the partnership, HHPI has hired a total of 13 individuals, including interns and full-time biomedical scientists and engineers, who work for UHCL within KBR labs. Each of these roles support NASA’s Human Health and Performance Contract to KBR and have attracted top-tier employees from across the country to work for UHCL. Currently, UHCL-HHPI employees seven full-time scientists, engineers, and integration specialists who work onsite in KBR labs, three of whom are former UHCL students.
The impact of this collaboration continues to grow. On September 27, 2023, KBR and UHCL signed a new partnership agreement to expand internship opportunities and create more real-world pathways to success like Gardner’s – a milestone facilitated by UHCL’s Office of Strategic Partnerships facilitated the agreement.
The six months Gardner spent working in NASA’s Johnson Space Center’s EPC Lab was a transformative experience, preparing her for a seamless transition into her current position at NASA. She hopes future students can benefit from the same opportunities, thanks to the university’s partnership with KBR.
To learn more about UHCL's partnerships with local organizations, visit the Strategic Partnerships webpage.