Predictive Oncology Inc. announced the appointment of Dr. Bernard A. Harris, Jr. to its newly-formed Business Advisory Board. Dr. Bernard A. Harris currently serves as Chief Executive Officer and Managing Partner of Vesalius Ventures Inc., a venture capital firm that supports and invests in early- to mid-stage healthcare companies. He is also the founder and serves as Chief Executive Officer and Director of the Harris Institute/Foundation, a non-profit organization that serves socially and economically disadvantaged communities, striving to reach the most underserved populations in the areas of education, health, and wealth. Dr. Harris serves on several Boards, including Raytheon Technologies (NYSE: RTX), U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE: USPH), Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual) and the Texas Medical Center. In addition, he has served on the boards of the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine - Board on Health Policy and CHI St. Luke's Health System. He previously worked at NASA, where he conducted research in musculoskeletal physiology and disuse osteoporosis. Later, as Head of the Exercise Countermeasure Project, he conducted clinical investigations of space adaptation and developed in-flight medical devices to extend Astronaut stays in space. Selected into the Astronaut Corp. in January 1990, Dr. Harris was a Mission Specialist on the Space Shuttle Columbia STS-55/Spacelab D-2 in 1993. As Payload Commander on Space Shuttle Discovery STS-63 in 1995, he served on the first flight of the joint Russian-American Space Program, becoming the “First African American to Walk in Space." A veteran astronaut for over nineteen years, he has logged more than 438 hours and traveled over 7.2 million miles in space. Dr. Harris earned a Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of Houston, a Master of Medical Science from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Houston and a Doctorate of Medicine from Texas Tech University School of Medicine. He completed a Residency in Internal Medicine at the Mayo Clinic, a National Research Council Fellowship in Endocrinology at the NASA Ames Research Center and trained as a Flight Surgeon at the Aerospace School of Medicine, Brooks Air Force Base.
Dr. Harris is the recipient of numerous awards, including nine honorary doctorates, NASA Space Flight Medal, NASA Award of Merit, National Space Grant Distinguished Services Award, James Bryant Conant Award, a fellow of the American College of Physicians, a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the recipient of the 2000 Horatio Alger Award. He has held faculty appointments including Associate Professor in Internal Medicine at the University of Texas Medical Branch and Assistant Professor at Baylor College of Medicine. Additionally, he is the author and co-author of numerous scientific publications.