NASA has invested millions of dollars in UC Davis research, working with UC Davis biologists, engineers, physiologists, psychologists and other researchers to study life in space — whether that be studying space itself, the effects of gravity, getting there, staying there or surviving there.

Before delving into the world of endocrinology, Assistant Professor Rebecca Calisi Rodríguez wasn’t following the path of a traditional scientist. She’d studied studio art and psychology at both Skidmore College and Boston College and thought she wanted to pursue the artist’s life.