Dr. Gregg Bendrick is currently the Medical Director of the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, located on Edwards Air Force Base in California.  He was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, and attended the University of Chicago for both his undergraduate and professional education.  There he earned the Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree, the Masters of Science (MS) degree, and his Medical Doctorate (MD).  He completed his internship at the St. Joseph Mercy Hospital, near Detroit, Michigan, after which he entered active duty with the U.S. Air Force.  He worked initially as an Emergency Medicine Physician at Misawa Air Base in Northern Japan, and then became a Squadron Flight Surgeon at Yokota Air Base near Tokyo.  He returned to the United States and accomplished the Residency in Aerospace Medicine, followed by the Residency in Occupational Medicine, at the U.S. Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine at Brooks Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas.  During this period he completed his Master of Public Health (MPH) degree at the University of Texas.  He was later transferred to Barksdale Air Force Base, where he served for over two years as the Chief of Aeromedical Operations.  After a total of nine years active service, Dr. Bendrick voluntarily separated from the Air Force with an Honorable Discharge.  He joined the Oschner Clinic in New Orleans, Louisiana, where he practiced Occupational Medicine.  After nearly three years there, he assumed his current position at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, where he oversees all aspects of the Occupational Health Program, including Flight Medicine, Occupational Medicine and Fitness Center operations.  Additionally, he is the Medical Review Officer for workplace drug testing, and the on-site medical coordinator for Space Shuttle landings at Edwards Air Force Base.

 

Dr. Bendrick is Board Certified in both Aerospace Medicine and in Occupational Medicine, and is designated by the FAA as a Senior Aviation Medical Examiner.  He is an Associate Fellow of the Aerospace Medical Association, and an Affiliate Faculty with Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.  Dr. Bendrick has authored several technical papers on various aspects of Aerospace Medicine; and was awarded the Howard R. Unger award in 1997 for outstanding paper of the year.  He has also published a novel entitled The Making of a Flight Surgeon.  He is married, and has one daughter from a previous marriage.