Kathleen "Kate" Rubins, Ph.D.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Kathleen "Kate" Rubins, Ph.D., is an American microbiologist and NASA astronaut. She was 1 of 9 members of the NASA astronaut class of 2009. Rubins completed her first spaceflight on Expedition 48/49, where she became the first person to sequence DNA in space.
Rubins holds a Bachelor of Science in molecular biology from the University of California and a Ph.D. in cancer biology from Stanford University Medical School Biochemistry and Microbiology and Immunology Departments. Rubins conducted her undergraduate research on HIV-1 integration in the infectious diseases laboratory at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. She worked as a fellow/principal investigator at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research and headed 14 researchers studying viral diseases that primarily affect Central and West Africa.
Rubins most recently served aboard the International Space Station as a flight engineer for Expedition 63/64. Across her 2 flights, she has spent 300 days in space, the fourth most days in space by a U.S. female astronaut.
Rubins holds a Bachelor of Science in molecular biology from the University of California and a Ph.D. in cancer biology from Stanford University Medical School Biochemistry and Microbiology and Immunology Departments. Rubins conducted her undergraduate research on HIV-1 integration in the infectious diseases laboratory at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. She worked as a fellow/principal investigator at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research and headed 14 researchers studying viral diseases that primarily affect Central and West Africa.
Rubins most recently served aboard the International Space Station as a flight engineer for Expedition 63/64. Across her 2 flights, she has spent 300 days in space, the fourth most days in space by a U.S. female astronaut.