Marc O’Griofa’s accomplishments are as vast and overwhelming as the terrain in which he works. O’Griofa is a physician and biomedical engineer who has worked all over the world—on land, on the sea and in space.
“My career path has allowed me to combine both medicine and engineering in unique and diverse ways, from working as a triage physician as part of the Space Shuttle medical team at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, to developing advanced medical equipment for special operations medical missions and chronic medical conditions like heart failure to try and reduce unnecessary readmissions and costs,” O’Griofa said.
As such, O’Griofa’s workday can vary wildly. You might find him in an engineering lab overseeing research and the development of medical equipment, or out in the field teaching and training combat medicine. He could be promoting technical innovations or helping oversee the regulatory and governance components for teaching and training elite warfighters and medics.
O’Griofa is a Fellow of the Academy of Wilderness Medicine and was the principal investigator for Project CASPER, which examined the sleep patterns of International Space Station crew members. He was also selected as the first Irish Aquanaut for the NASA NEEMO program as part of the NEEMO 21 mission in 2016.
Locally, he serves as the president of Red Rock Search and Rescue, and a tactical physician, medic and diver for the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department SAR/SWAT Teams. “I am proud to serve and work with both of these organizations to help further their mission and contribute to the Las Vegas community,” O’Griofa said.
When he’s not working in extreme and austere environments, O’Griofa is an avid shark diver and a concert flautist.