Human health is a critical enabler of safe, sustainable, and long-duration space exploration. The Space Health session brings together researchers, clinicians, engineers, and practitioners to explore how spaceflight affects the human body and mind, and how scientific, technological, and operational innovations can mitigate these risks. Topics span the impacts of microgravity, radiation, isolation, confinement, and extreme environments on physical, cognitive, and psychological health, as well as countermeasures and interventions to support astronaut performance and well-being.
This session emphasizes a transdisciplinary approach, welcoming contributions from health sciences, medicine, neuroscience, engineering, life sciences, and the social sciences. It also highlights the bidirectional exchange between space and Earth: how terrestrial health research can inform space exploration, and how discoveries from space health research can translate into benefits for human health on Earth. By fostering cross-disciplinary dialogue and collaboration, the Space Health session aims to advance knowledge and solutions that will enable future deep-space missions and a thriving human presence beyond Earth.
| Afternoon Session · 2:00 pm – 6:00 pm | |
| 2:00 pm | Spines in SpaceDr. Haig John — Odyssey Charter School |
| 2:10 pm | A Model of Astronaut Telomere Dynamics: Literature Review and AnalysisDr. Joannes Paulus Tolentino Hernandez — Helene Fuld College of Nursing |
| 2:20 pm | 3DMM: 3D Cell Culture Lab-on-Chip with Microfluidics under Simulated MicrogravityMichela Cutigni — Sapienza University of Rome / Thales Alenia Space |
| 2:30 pm | From Bench to Beyond Earth: Augmenflo - A Novel Wearable Device to Prevent Vision Loss in SpaceDr. Shenoy Varadaraya — University of Washington |
| 2:40 pm | The Resolution of Space Adaptation Syndrome (SAS) and Expected Space Ionizing Radiation Injury by Restoring Natural Recovery SystemsDr. William Gardiner — Laboratory Consulting Resources, Inc. |
| 2:50 pm | Advancing Biomedical Research Infrastructure for Human Spaceflight: Challenges and Pathways for Standardized Biospecimen CollectionJeremy Wain Hirschberg — Weill Cornell Medicine |
| 3:00 pm | Integrative Human Performance in Space: Exploring Ayurveda-Informed Approaches to Astronaut ReadinessDr. Meredith Beckford-Smart — Futures Forum |
| 3:10 pm | NSS Student Space Settlement Contest Presentation |
| 3:30 pm | Extreme Healthcare in Extreme Environments - From Space to EarthDr. Eliah Aranoff-Spencer — University of California, San Diego |
| 4:00 pm | Extreme Environments as Discovery Tools: What Spaceflight Physiology Reveals About Health, Aging, and DiseaseDr. Dana Levin — Vast |
| 4:25 pm | Psychological and Psychiatric Issues in SpaceDr. Nick Kanas — University of California, San Francisco, Emeritus |
| 4:55 pm | When the Hatch Opens - Physiology, Fitness and Survival in SpaceDr. Erik Seedhouse — Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University |
| 5:20 pm | Ground Based Analogs for Space Flight: Work You Can Do That Benefits People on Earth Today and Space Exploration in the FutureDr. Marc Shepanek — NASA, retired |
| 5:45 pm | Open Forum: Questions and Closing ThoughtsSession Participants |
| 6:00 pm — End | |
Space Health
Session Chair Info
Dr. Giuseppe Iaria
Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Calgary
Giuseppe Iaria, PhD is Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Calgary (Calgary, Alberta, Canada), with appointments in the Department of Psychology, the Hotchkiss Brain Institute, and the Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute. He is an internationally recognized leader in human spatial cognition and space health research, with over two decades of contributions spanning basic neuroscience, clinical translation, and astronaut health. Dr. Iaria is a pioneer in investigating the Read More
Space Health
Session Speakers Info
Meredith Beckford-Smart
Executive Director, The Futures Forum
Dr. Meredith Beckford-Smart is an Ayurveda Health Coach, analog mission leader, and science educator exploring interdisciplinary approaches to human performance in space. She served as Mission Control Flight Director for the Open Afrika Space Exploration Analog Simulation MWEZI 1 mission, supporting international collaboration in analog space operations and participating in the World’s Biggest Analog Mission. Her work also supported the establishment of an analog space research habitat in Kenya, expanding Read More
Michela Cutigni
Aerospace Engineer, Sapienza University of Rome/Thales Alenia Space
Michela is a PhD researcher in Space Biomedicine at Sapienza University of Rome’s National Space Biomedicine Laboratory, in collaboration with Thales Alenia Space. Trained as a Space and Astronautical Engineer (MSc, Sapienza), Michela works at the intersection of space systems and life sciences, studying how microgravity and spaceflight stressors impact human health, with a focus on cancer and female reproductive biology. Michaela has represented their lab at IAC 2024, authored Read More
William W. “Bill” Gardiner
Lab Director, Analytech Div. of Laboratory Consulting Sources, Inc.
William W. “Bill” Gardiner is a professional environmental scientist (MSES, School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Indiana University 1976) who operates Analytech, a Division of Laboratory Consulting Sources, Inc outside of Atlanta continuously since 1981. He is a Licensed Water Analyst (LWA) registered in the State of Georgia. Bill has been a participating member since 1975 of the National Space Society and the predecessor L-5 Society, founded on the vision Read More
Joannes Paulus Tolentino Hernandez
Associate Professor of Nursing, Helene Fuld College of Nursing
Dr. Joannes Paulus Tolentino Hernandez is a Filipino-American nurse helping pioneer aerospace nursing. His research bridges nursing, communication, biology, and aerospace physiology to protect human health in space. He is an Associate Professor of Nursing at Helene Fuld College of Nursing in New York (2023 to present) and received the 2024 Provost Faculty Leadership Award and the 2022 Vicente Teves Locsin, Jr. Research and Scholarship in Nursing Award. He founded Read More
Jeremy Wain Hirschberg
Research Specialist, Weill Cornell Medicine
Jeremy is a Research Specialist in the Christopher Mason Lab at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City. He psychology and neuroscience at the University of Puget Sound and then received a Masters in Space Studies from the International Space University. With a wet lab background in genomics, metagenomics, and diagnostics development, Jeremy now conducts multi-omic research on commercial astronauts. He also is a founder and the Director of Operations Read More
Haig John
Doctor of Chiropractic, Board of Directors, Odyssey Charter School
Dr. Haig John is in private practice in Melbourne Florida and the founder of Your Family Chiropractor & Families First Physicians. He is an international speaker, educator and the developer of the INNATE Chiropractic Adjusting Workshop Series which includes zero gravity adjusting for off-Earth chiropractic training for long and short term space travel, INNATE Newborn Adjusting and Subluxation Analysis, and Anchor Release Method – a technique to release tension on Read More
Dr. Nick Kanas
Professor Emeritus (Psychiatry), University of California, San Francisco
Dr. Nick Kanas is a Professor Emeritus at the University of California, San Francisco. Since 1969, he has conducted research, taught, and written about psychological and interpersonal issues affecting people working in space. For over 15 years, he was an NSBRI- and NASA-funded Principal Investigator doing psychological research with astronauts and cosmonauts on the Mir and International Space Stations and during several space simulation missions. He received the 1999 Aerospace Read More
Dr. Erik Seedhouse
Associate Professor Space Operations, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
Erik Seedhouse is a professor in Spaceflight Operations at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. He holds pilot, scuba, and sky-diving licenses and in his spare time works as an astronaut instructor for the International Institute of Astronautical Sciences, a film consultant to Hollywood, a professional speaker, triathlon coach, and author. He regularly ventures into the mountains and has reached the summits of Kilimanjaro, Aconcagua, Elbrus, Rainier, Island Peak, Denali, Kosciusko, and in Read More
Varadaraya Shenoy
Acting Instructor & Cerebrovascular Fellow, Neurological Surgery, UW Seattle
Dr. Varadaraya Shenoy is an Acting Instructor in the Department of Neurosurgery at the University of Washington, Seattle. He earned his medical degree from Rajiv Gandhi Medical College, Thane, India, and completed neurosurgery fellowships at Kohnan Hospital, Sendai, Japan, and the University of Washington. His research spans cerebrovascular neurosurgery, AI-driven outcome prediction, and space medicine. He has led multidisciplinary projects funded by NIH, WFNS, EANS, and NSF, resulting in novel Read More