The Mayo Everest Research Team - Biographies

Health & Wellness

The Mayo Everest Research Team – Biographies

By
Dana Sparks

April 16, 2012

Bruce Johnson, Ph.D., (University of Wisconsin) has more than 30 years experience in physiology and cardiology-related research. He's the lead investigator on this expedition and has conducted extensive studies at Antarctica in 2007 and more recently atop international mountain ranges including Aconcagua in South America and the Matterhorn in Europe. A recreational climber, this is Bruce’s first trip to Everest.

Bio Video Clip: http://bit.ly/JwOjeO

Doug Summerfield, M.D., (Creighton University), the only physician on the team, is a small-town Midwesterner who developed an interest in athletics and science at an early age. He is currently focusing on critical care medicine at Mayo Clinic. On the mountain he will be sharing the data collection duties and dealing with any medical issues that may arise.

Bio Video Clip: http://bit.ly/JwWt5T

Amine Issa, Ph.D. (University of Florida), originally from the nation of Lebanon, is the “tech guy” on the team. Responsible for all of the monitoring equipment and data collection, he also will be conducting cognitive testing of the participants – seeing how well they can think at high altitude. A world-class video game competitor and designer, Amine helped develop one of the online games that will be used on Everest for cognitive testing.

Bio Video Clip: http://bit.ly/JE9Mj3

Bryan Taylor, Ph.D., (Brunel University) hails from Glasgow, Scotland, and focuses on exercise and respiratory physiology. He will not be wearing his kilt on Everest (a bit chilly for that). Bryan will be coordinating all the experiments, making sure readings are taken from all participants at the right time, for the right study. His primary interests are the impact of altitude on lung health.

Bio Video Clip: http://bit.ly/IaZjfD

Alex Kasak, (Winona State University) is a research assistant with background in cardiology testing. A native of Austin, Minn., he is the youngest member of the team at 24. He began his career with an interest in sports physiology, but fell into research and stayed. Our favorite Alex quote: “You can come from a small town and still do big things.”

Bio Video Clip: http://bit.ly/JYd7Xv

Joel Streed, (St. Cloud State University) is an award-winning veteran journalist.
He is a producer of Mayo’s Medical Edge series, as well as an avid biker, hiker and runner. As a correspondent for the Mayo Clinic News Network, he will be reporting from base camp on the Mayo activities, blogging, Tweeting and shooting video. Watch for his updates here.