Millie Hughes- Fulford was born December 21, 1945 from a town Mineral Wells. That's in Texas! She went to Mineral Wells High School and graduated in 1962.

After graduating from high school, she went on to get her Bachelors of Science in Chemistry and Biology at Tarleton State University. She then got her PhD at Texas Woman's University.

Dr. Hughes-Fulford joined the faculty of Southwestern Medical School at the University of Texas at Dallas where her research focused on regulation of cholesterol metabolism.

This is were her love for science kept growing.

In January of 1983, Dr. Hughes-Fulford was selected by NASA as a payload specialist.

In June of 1991, she flew aboard STS-40 Spacelab Life Sciences (SLS 1), the first Spacelab mission dedicated to biomedical studies.

 Dr. Hughes-Fulford's mission flew over 3.2 million miles, which is 146 orbits around the Earth, and its crew completed over 18 experiments during a 9-day period, bringing back more medical data than any previous NASA flight!

Dr. Hughes-Fulford is a Professor at the University of California Medical Center at San Francisco where she continues her research.

More recently, Dr. Hughes-Fulford, her team

published a featured article in the Journal of Leukocyte Biology showing for the first time that microgravity itself is the root cause of T-cell dysfunction. She is currently still living in California with her husband and continues to focus on her research and teaching.

Time Line

1962- Graduated from Mineral Wells High.

1968- Received a bachelor of science degree in Chemistry and Biology from Tarleton State University.

1972- Received a Ph.D. from Texas Womans University.

1983- Was selected by NASA as a payload specialist.

1991-STS-40 Spacelab Life Sciences.