Kathleen Rubins

Kathleen Rubins, a University of California, San Diego alumna and researcher at MIT, is among nine people selected for NASA's 2009 astronaut candidates. Candidates will begin training at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, Houston, in August.

Rubins earned her B.S. degree in molecular biology in 1999 at UC San Diego's Revelle College. She completed her graduate studies at Stanford University and currently is a fellow/principal investigator at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research at MIT in Cambridge, Mass. Work in the Rubins lab focuses on using poxviruses virus as a tool to explore host-pathogen interaction, as well as to probe mechanisms for regulating host cell mRNA transcription, translation and decay.

The opportunity to become an astronaut culminates a lifelong dream for Rubins. "From as young as I can remember I wanted to be, in order, an astronaut, a geologist, and a biologist," she said. "I think this is a thrilling time to be part of the space program, and I feel very fortunate to be starting as an astronaut candidate at this particular time."

Rubins joins an impressive list of UC alumni who have served as astronauts. The list, spanning 49 years, includes 20 graduates from throughout the UC system.