Millie Elizabeth Hughes-Fulford (née Hughes; December 21, 1945 – February 2, 2021) was an American medical investigator, molecular biologist, and payload specialist who flew aboard the NASA Space Shuttle Columbia in June 1991.

[3][1][2] She graduated from Mineral Wells High School in 1962,[4] then entered college at the age of 16 and earned her Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry and biology from Tarleton State University in 1968.

[4] This resulted in her joining the faculty of University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas as a postdoctoral fellow with Marvin D. Siperstein, where her research focused on the regulation of cholesterol metabolism.

[6] The mission flew over 3.2 million miles in 146 orbits and its crew completed over 18 experiments during a nine-day period, bringing back more medical data than any previous NASA flight.

[9][10][11] After her space mission for NASA, Hughes-Fulford was a professor at the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center where she continued her research until her death in 2021.

She created and directed the Hughes-Fulford Laboratory[12] at the San Francisco VA Medical Center, where her research focus included immunology, bioastronautics, and oncology.