Medical doctor and former astronaut of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). A PhD in Medicine by Cornell University with a Masters in Public Health by the University of Texas (UT), in 1981 she joined NASA as a medical officer and graduated in Aerospace Medicine. 

She is known for her work in the Education and Medicine Division of the NASA Astronaut Office. In 1985 she became an astronaut. Baker has worked on the space shuttle program and the space station. She has participated in three space missions, with more than 600 hours in space.