Jana Stoudemire, Stem Cells and the Space Industry

Our conversation with Jana Stoudemire, M.S., highlights her expansive career. Among her chief accomplishments: creating new market sectors in the low-Earth orbit economy, for in-space manufacturing of biomedical and advanced material applications. Stoudemire transitioned away from pharma to help lead microgravity life science research at the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space, which manages the International Space Station National Laboratory. She then joined Space Tango, where she established defining partnerships for an emerging in-orbit biomedical market. Stoudemire is the former global director of in-space manufacturing for Axiom Space and serves as a member of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Committee on Biological and Physical Sciences in Space. She is also a member of the Regenerative Medicine Manufacturing Society, a National Stem Cell Foundation International Space Station program advisor, and a United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation Board of Trustees member. Additionally, she is a past New Organ Alliance Oversight Committee member and co-chair of the Microgravity Enabling Technology committee. In March 2025, she began work with Barrios Technology, a woman-owned and operated aerospace business. Stoudemire served as co-editor of the book “In-Space Manufacturing and Resources: Earth and Planetary Exploration Applications,” published in 2022 by Wiley. Host: Bobby Gordon Interview recorded October 18, 2024. Information presented herein is current as of the date of recording.