Not only are we UC San Diego alumnae , but we also both went to Space Camp as kids — I ’ m curious : what captivated you about space at a young age ?
RUBINS : I can remember being fascinated with space from the time that I was a really small child . It was always one of my goal careers . You ask a little kid what they want to do — I always said “ astronaut , biologist and geologist .” My sense of imagination was probably a little bit overactive , but at Space Camp I felt like I was doing real astronaut training . They have machines that spin you around and put you off balance , but one of the most critical things they teach is working together with a group to put together a mission . I had a smaller role in the mission — I think I was like , backroom science — but I was really excited to be a part of that group with my team members .
It ’ s amazing that you were doing science even then , and that you were also interested in biology , which you ’ d study at UC San Diego . Where did that come from ?
When I was around 15 or 16 , I got really interested in DNA . My dad took me to a DNA conference at the Exploratorium in San Francisco , and that was right around the time of recombinant DNA , and I became completely fascinated thinking about DNA inside our cells . I also had been working for a county public health program to do HIV education , and they actually brought in researchers and physicians to educate you about the virus . So the fact that HIV viruses actually integrated into DNA was fascinating and I thought , “ This is something that I really want to study ; this affects human health . I want to learn more about this as an undergraduate .”
Why did you choose UC San Diego ?
I was looking for a school with an incredibly strong science program . I knew that I wanted to be a molecular biology major and UCSD offered that — a lot of schools just have general biology , but I was interested in molecular aspects . It ’ s such a renowned research institution , too , and I never thought , “ Well , do I want to be a doctor ? Do I want to be a researcher ?” I always knew . Even when I was 16 , I was like , “ I want to be a researcher ; I want to study viruses ; I want to study DNA ; I want to study the human genome .” So I looked for schools that had a strong research program in those areas and even did research at the Salk Institute while an undergrad .
Right , and it ’ s just across the street .
Absolutely . And the fact that they integrate so well with UC San Diego — having that base of an incredible research community surrounding the university is a powerful combination .
So from there you went on to Stanford , and then field research in the Congo , which is a remarkable trajectory considering you ended up in space . But what was the most rewarding of your work in the Congo ?
I really enjoyed living in a completely different way of life . We spent so much time with the villagers out there , really working alongside folks for months . That ’ s different than just going through for a week and collecting samples . We were trying to understand : How do diseases spread ? Why do they spread ? What are the factors that influence disease transmission ? In order to do that , you need a long-term , ongoing research study . But there was also patient care provided ; we had people come from all over for treatment . So actually seeing the healthcare benefit and how medical care — or lack of access to medical care — in this incredibly resource-poor setting contributes to disease spread , observing that firsthand was fascinating .
Rubins works inside the Microgravity Science Glovebox , one of the dedicated science facilities aboard the ISS that provides a sealed environment for conducting science and technology experiments .
Did you ever think about the danger involved , with working with viruses like Ebola and others ?
Humans tend to be really scared of things that are unknown . We ’ re not very rational about danger , so we grow afraid about things like Ebola or smallpox when , statistically speaking , it ’ s not nearly as risky as just getting in our cars and driving down the highway . Same thing with space life — statistically , it ’ s more dangerous than working with Ebola , but you learn to trust your training and the amount of analysis that goes into safety . You ’ re always taking on some kind of risk , but whether working with the CDC with smallpox or now with NASA , you trust the safety review and the processes to protect people from unnecessary risk .
Speaking of space life , how does one go from the Congo to the Space Station ? At what point did you say , “ I want to do this ?” I ’ ve always considered astronauts somewhat superhuman , like you ’ re bred to be an astronaut .
( Laughs ) We ’ re certainly not superhuman — we ’ re normal humans . But how it came about , I was actually just talking to a friend one day , and she was looking at job applications online , and she said , you know , “ There ’ s a job application for being an astronaut .”
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