Dr. Jojo Sayson- Physical Therapy NASA Consultant/Researcher Perspective

The Healthcare Education Transformation Podcast

Jojo Sayson, PT, DMT, MOMT, FAAOMPT is a fellowship trained PT from the Ola Grimsby Institute who is a consultant/co-investigator (with Dr. Alan Hargens) for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Human Research program at the University of California, San Diego. He comes onto HET Podcast to talk about how he became a PT and got involved with NASA, space's effects on the body, what his research on low back pain is space entails and what they've learned, how to get into space and much more! Jojo Sayson's Website: http://www.jojosayson.com/ Jojo's ResearchGate Profile with Access to research articles: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jojo_Sayson Jojo's Profile on the Ola Grimsby Institute Website: https://www.olagrimsby.com/profile/jojo-sayson/ Project Michelangelo Website: http://www.projectmichelangelo.org/ NASA Website: https://www.nasa.gov/ Jojo Sayson's Official Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/jojosayson.officialpage/ Jojo Sayson's Twitter Page: https://twitter.com/sayson_v Jojo Sayson's Instagram Page: https://www.instagram.com/jojovsayson/ Jojo Sayson's Physical Therapy & Rehabilitation Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/jojo.sayson.daretoheal/?hc_ref=ARTgQBvcB39TjsVuCBdysAroQzzN9I0fHmLd0Y1mqIF955GVpHYvi0ey9AYyPLeXWo4&__tn__=kC-R Biography: Jojo Sayson, PT, DMT, MOMT, FAAOMPT received his Bachelors of Science in Physical Therapy from the Royal Pontifical University of Santo Tomas in the Philippines and his Masters Degree, and Doctorate in Orthopedic Manual Therapy through the Ola Grimsby Institute in San Diego, California. A Fellow of the American Academy of Orthopedic Manual Physical Therapists, Jojo is a national & international lecturer in its advanced concepts for science students, physical therapists, physicians, and dentists. He is also a Board of Director and Examiner for the Ola Grimsby Institute’s international doctoral candidates. Jojo is also a member of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA), American Academy of Physical Therapists (AAPT), the Aerospace Medical Association (AsMA), and the American Astronautical Society (AAS). Jojo is a consultant/co-investigator (with Dr. Alan Hargens) for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Human Research Program at the University of California, San Diego with a NASA grant to examine the risks of spaceflight on spinal deconditioning in crew members of the International Space Station. Their study is titled “Risk of Intervertebral Disc Damage after Prolonged Space Flight”. He started as a volunteer scientist for NASA at the University of California, San Diego and his research together with NASA scientist Dr. Alan Hargens was published in the Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine journal in 2008. He had also served as a referee for the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research and Program Bureau Space Research and an assistant reviewer for Acta Astronautica Journal. Jojo is a commissioned Lieutenant Commander for the Philippine Coast Guard Auxiliary, Air Operations Wing, 103rd Squadron, a judge for the North American Natural Bodybuilding Federation (NANBF) as well as the Miss Illinois Scholarship Foundation/Miss America Organization, a bodybuilding choreographer, a professional model, Add to these, he writes poetry and is into philosophy as his diverse interests take him into many fields of learning and pursuits. A practicing Christian, Jojo pursues humanitarian projects, foremost of which is his involvement in CHILD, a house of refuge for terminally-ill Filipino children with cancer. His current project is helping raise funds in the construction of an elementary school in Zambales, Philippines, while in the very recent past he had built and restocked libraries in far-flung islands of the archipelago. In 1996, Jojo formed an informal group of superheroes who visit children in hospitals donned in superhero costumes confining these visits not only to American hospitals but even flying back home to the Philippines for such outreach. Because of all this, in 2006, Jojo was featured by ABS-CBN Global, The prime Filipino Channel in a documentary-drama as the Filipino Superhero for children and was as a special guest in 2010 on Pastor J Live television interview, Comcast Chicago Region Public Access Channels 4, 17, 19, & 35. A recipient of numerous recognitions, Jojo takes special pride in his 2003 citation as one of eleven outstanding Filipino-Americans in the USA and in his 2006 University of Santo Tomas’ the Outstanding Thomasian Alumnus Award: Health-Allied, the highest and most prestigious award accorded by the university to its alumni who have excelled in their fields and lastly, in a recognition award when his name was included in the list of the 400 Outstanding Alumni for the Royal Pontifical University of Santo Tomas’ Quadricentennial (400 years) Celebration in the Republic of the Philippines last Jan. 28, 2011. Jojo is also a Motivational Speaker lecturing internationally on the topic of Human Factors in Motivation.