NASA Engineer Receives Double-Lung Transplant for Advanced Lung Cancer

A NASA engineer who developed advanced lung cancer received a double-lung transplant through a specialized clinical trial and is now cancer-free. The 61-year-old robotic software developer, a mother of two, had struggled with shortness of breath for nearly three decades after being diagnosed in 2005 with interstitial lung disease.

The condition causes scarring of the lungs despite her never having smoked. Her health declined further, requiring supplemental oxygen for basic activities, sometimes as much as 10 liters. During a lung transplant evaluation in 2023, physicians discovered a mass in her lungs and diagnosed advanced lung cancer, which made her ineligible for a standard transplant.

While undergoing radiation treatment, her lung function dropped to 30 percent. She continued to seek options and was accepted into the DREAM Program at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago.

The DREAM Program, short for Double lung transplant REgistry Aimed for lung-limited Malignancies, is an observational study and the only program in the country that offers double-lung transplants to select patients with advanced lung cancers who have no other options.

The procedure involves a full heart and lung bypass, removal of the cancer-ridden lungs and lymph nodes, cleaning of the airways and chest cavity, and implantation of new lungs. The engineer began the evaluation process in November 2025 and received her new lungs on Thanksgiving Day.

After the surgery she was able to walk without her oxygen supply. She has stated that she looks forward to traveling and hiking with her husband and two sons. "With my new lungs, I’m so glad that I’ll be there for them a while longer," she said in a press release.

The case highlights an emerging approach that allows certain patients with lung-limited malignancies to become candidates for transplantation after previously being excluded.