On Aug. 19th, 2024, third-year medical student Dominic Tanzillo joined Hematopathology as part of the Duke Pathology Study Program. He is working with his program mentor, Hematology Chief Thomas Lee Ortel, MD, PhD, to investigate the clotting risks of microgravity.
In 2019, an astronaut found a clot in the internal jugular vein on routine surveillance. Tanzillo is investigating whether there are signs of increased clotting risk in commercial astronauts after limited exposure to microgravity. Prior to attending Duke as a medical student, he was a research intern and contractor for NASA, living and working in Houston.
“I’m really excited to begin this research project using samples from commercial astronauts to look for signs of inflammation and clot formation, because it is vital to the potential of deep space travel,” said Tanzillo.
Because his project is related to a cardiovascular issue (blood clotting), Tanzillo was eligible to apply for and received a Donald B. Hackel Fellowship in Cardiovascular Pathology to help offset tuition expenses while he completes the research.
Ortel is a secondary Duke Pathology faculty member and part of a very small group of non-primary-pathology faculty who are qualified to be director of a Duke University Health System (DUHS) Clinical Laboratory. In general, most all the DUHS Clinical Laboratories are directed by primary pathology faculty members, but Ortel’s unique expertise and experience qualifies him to serve as the Director of DUHS Clinical Coagulation Laboratory Services and the Platelet Antibody Laboratory.