Three researchers from Virginie Papadopoulou’s ENHANCE Lab—which focuses on human performance in austere environments—were honored with UHMS President’s Awards at the recent joint Aerospace Medical Association (AsMA) and Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society (UHMS) conference. Their achievements highlight the lab’s innovative approach to gas physiology modulation and its commitment to translating research into real-world impact.
Celebrating Award-Winning Research
Danica Grant, an undergraduate researcher in the ENHANCE Lab, received the UHMS President’s Award for Best Overall Resident/Trainee Poster Presentation. Her project, titled “Technical validation of a custom MATLAB interface for higher throughput analysis of ultrasound-based cardiac output estimation with relevance to inert gas loading,”presented a streamlined computational tool for improving cardiac output analysis. The work supports better assessment of inert gas dynamics in extreme environments.
Josh Currens, a PhD student in the lab, earned the UHMS President’s Award for Best Oral Presentation by a Resident/Trainee for his research titled “Divers tend to produce individually consistent venous gas emboli grades after conducting the same dive multiple times.” His findings provide compelling evidence of consistent individual physiological responses to repeated dive exposures—insights that could inform personalized decompression strategies.
Dr. Arian Azarang, research faculty member and former postdoctoral researcher in the ENHANCE Lab, received the UHMS President’s Award for Best Overall Poster Presentation. His poster, “AI-based VGE grading using over 10,000 Doppler recordings is on par with inter-rater human agreement,” demonstrated how artificial intelligence can match human accuracy in grading venous gas emboli, paving the way for scalable, objective evaluation tools in dive medicine.
Advancing STEM and Global Workforce Development
This year’s conference also marked a major milestone in STEM outreach. As co-chair of the UHMS STEM Committee, Dr. Virginie Papadopoulou delivered an invited plenary lecture titled:
“Engineering the Academic Pipeline for Undersea Medicine: A Global Strategy for Next-Gen STEM Workforce Development.”
In addition to the plenary, the committee hosted a STEM welcome breakfast and coordinated a full slate of networking and social activities designed to connect emerging scholars with mentors and thought leaders across disciplines. These efforts reflect ENHANCE Lab’s dedication to fostering the next generation of scientific talent.
About ENHANCE Lab
The ENHANCE Lab (Human Performance in Austere Environments), led by Dr. Virginie Papadopoulou, investigates a broad spectrum of applications within gas physiology modulation. From hyperbaric medicine to aerospace and extreme environments, the lab’s mission is to translate foundational science into real-world innovations that improve safety, health, and human performance.
The recent recognition of its members at UHMS 2025 underscores the lab’s role as a leader in forward-thinking, high-impact research at the intersection of physiology, technology, and performance.