Meet Our Academic Team - Afer*Nova - London Academy of Excellence

About Our Faculty

Our lectures on the Diploma Level 7 in Genomic and Precision Medicine are delivered by subject specialists with experience across research and clinical practice. Teaching combines academic depth with real-world relevance, giving you the conceptual clarity and applied insight needed to thrive in a rapidly evolving field. You will learn from experts contributing at the forefront of genomic science and precision medicine and develop the knowledge and confidence to engage with the future of healthcare innovation.

Afer*Nova is an independent educational provider. Any references to faculty members’ current or past roles at external universities or institutions are included solely as factual biography. These references do not imply endorsement, authorisation, partnership, or affiliation. Faculty contribute to Afer*Nova in a personal capacity, not on behalf of any external institution.

Detina Zalli, Ph.D.

Detina Zalli, Ph.D.

Dr. Zalli earned her PhD at the University of Leicester, UK and then moved to Boston, where she carried out her postdoctoral research training at the Harvard School of Dental Medicine. Following her postdoctoral training at Harvard, Dr. Zalli focused on teaching, where she directed multiple courses for undergraduate and graduate students in the life sciences. She also acted as the Director of the Advanced Graduate Preclinical and Clinical Research Course and the Director of the Biotech Journal Club at Harvard Medical School. Inspired by the 44th U.S. president, Barack Obama, at Harvard, Dr. Zalli joined Harvard Professional Government and chaired multiple important events such as Harvard Lectures That Last and the Harvard Leadership Conference. Dr. Zalli then moved to the University of Oxford, where she was the academic lead for the MSc course in Precision Cancer Medicine. Aside from teaching, Dr. Zalli is committed to assisting students from ethnic and racial minorities and socioeconomic status. She has led many STEM events in collaboration with faculty from Harvard University, MIT, Yale University, the University of Oxford and scientists from NASA. In 2020, Dr. Zalli co-founded a charity called “Aferdita Ime” in collaboration with otherworld-renowned oncologists and scientists, with the mission of assisting cancer patients through psychosocial support and counselling. Dr. Zalli is also the founder of The Zalli Foundation, a charity, which aims to educate, elevate, and inspire people globally online and offline through STEM education with the aim of producing future leaders.

Ali Yetisen, Ph.D.

Professor | Scientist | Entrepreneur | Innovator

Ali Yetisen, Ph.D.

Professor | Scientist | Entrepreneur | Innovator

Dr. Yetisen is an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Imperial College London. He holds a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering (Biotechnology) from the University of Cambridge. He has worked as a Tosteson Fellow at Harvard University and Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Yetisen has received numerous international awards, including the IChemE Nicklin Medal, the Birmingham Fellowship, and the Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry and the Institute of Physics. Additionally, he serves as an Associate Editor for the journals Sensors & Diagnostics (Royal Society of Chemistry) and Aggregate (Wiley).

Joshua Chou, Ph.D.

Regenerative Medicine x Neurorehab

Joshua Chou, Ph.D.

Regenerative Medicine x Neurorehab

Dr. Joshua Chou is a visionary leader and renowned as a pioneering world leader in space biology, regenerative medicine and neuro rehabilitations. Dr. Chou is fervently committed to pushing the boundaries of science, disrupting human healthcare, and unlocking innovative solutions to debilitating diseases. As a committee member of the Australian Space Agency Space Medicine and Life Science group, Dr. Chou collaborates with international space agencies and research institutions, contributing significantly to the advancement of human health in space exploration. His work not only enhances our understanding of human physiology and disease progression but also translates these insights into tangible medical and healthcare solutions here on Earth. Dr. Chou’s accolades include being recognized as the Australia Space Award Researcher of the Year in 2020, showcasing his outstanding contributions to space biology and health. Previously, as a Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Fellow (JSPS) and a Dean’s Scholar Fellow at Harvard School of Dental Medicine, he has left an indelible mark on the field of cell mechanobiology.   Dr. Chou leads the charge in leveraging space technologies for human healthcare through regenerative medicine and therapeutic developments. His innovative approach capitalizes on the unique properties of microgravity in space, unraveling the physical properties of living cells and their implications for health and disease. This “out-of-this-world” methodology has yielded profound insights into cellular and disease mechanisms, leading to the development of novel preventative and regenerative strategies.

Joseph "Sci" Borg, Ph.D.

Investigator @ NASA GeneLab | Single Cell Sequencing, Omics Analysis | Bioscience Payloads & Astronaut Blood Research with SpaceX

Joseph "Sci" Borg, Ph.D.

Investigator @ NASA GeneLab | Single Cell Sequencing, Omics Analysis | Bioscience Payloads & Astronaut Blood Research with SpaceX

Professor Borg initially undertook the studies of applied biomedical science in the former Institute of Health Care, now Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Malta and subsequently followed specialised training in Molecular Genetics and Haematology. His research career began in 2004 when he formally joined the Laboratory of Molecular Genetics, Department of Physiology and Biochemistry (University of Malta) as an MSc student. In 2006, he enrolled as a research assistant on a Thalassaemia Research Network project that established his career in experimental haematology and haemoglobin genetics. Subsequent work carried out during his PhD years unveiled the molecular genetics of the HPFH KLF1-related condition and established the KLF1 gene as a novel quantitative trait locus for foetal haemoglobin (HbF). He then went on to harness further potential in the field during his two-year visiting postdoc at the Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, The Netherlands and established his own laboratory upon return to Malta. He is part of an Analysis Working Group at the NASA Gene Lab Multiomics section, as well as a member of the European Space Agency Space Omics Topical Team for the past three years. He has collaborated with numerous researchers, including King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre, in Saudi Arabia, NASA Ames Research Centre and Weill Cornell Medicine, in the USA and others to launch Malta’s first ever space bioscience program – MALETH – to the International Space Station in August 2021 aboard SpaceX CRS23 and subsequently sent two more SpaceX missions to the ISS in 2022 and 2023. To date, he has published a total of 112 publications, one book and one book chapter. His next life science missions to space now include testing of private SpaceX astronauts’ blood for haemoglobin biosynthesis and expression. The first launch is expected to take place in 2024 and a next-generation design of a payload system destined for the lunar surface no earlier than 2026 with Private and Commercial lunar landers launching from the USA.

Christopher E. Mason, Ph.D.

Professor, Scientist, Entrepreneur, Inventor, Writer

Christopher E. Mason, Ph.D.

Professor, Scientist, Entrepreneur, Inventor, Writer

Dr. Christopher Mason is a Professor of Genomics, Physiology, and Biophysics at Weill Cornell Medicine. He completed a dual B.S. in Genetics & Biochemistry at University of Wisconsin-Madison (2001), a Ph.D. in Genetics from Yale University (2006), Post-doctoral Fellowship in Clinical Genetics at Yale Medical School (2009) while also serving as the first Visiting Fellow of Genomics, Ethics, and Law at the Information Society Project at Yale Law School (2006-2009). In 2010, he became an Assistant Professor of Genomics, Physiology, and Biophysics at Weill Cornell Medicine, then promoted to Associate Professor in 2015, made the Director of the WorldQuant Initiative for Quantitative Prediction in 2017, and promoted to Full Professor in 2020. He also holds appointments at Tri-Institutional Program on Computational Biology and Medicine (Cornell, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and Rockefeller University), the Sandra and Edward Meyer Cancer Center, the Feil Family Brain and Mind Research Institute, (BMRI), and is an affiliate fellow of the Information Society Project (ISP) at Yale Law School, affiliate faculty of the Consortium for Space Genetics at Harvard Medical School, and a Core Faculty Member of New York Genome Center (NYGC). He was named as one of the “Brilliant Ten” Scientists by Popular Science, featured as a TEDMED speaker, and called “The Genius of Genetics” by 92Y. He has >300 peer-reviewed papers and scholarly works that have been featured on the covers of Nature, Science, Cell, Nature Biotechnology, Nature Microbiology, and Neuron, as well as legal briefs cited by several U.S. District Courts and the U.S. Supreme Court. He is an inventor on five patents, co-creator of five FDA-authorized diagnostic tests, has co-founded 10 biotechnology companies, and 3 non-profits, and he serves as an advisor to 32 others.

Nagina Mangal, Ph.D.

Immune Engineering, Cannabinoids and Future Investigator Imperial College London, MIT

Nagina Mangal, Ph.D.

Immune Engineering, Cannabinoids and Future Investigator Imperial College London, MIT

Dr. Nagina Mangal is a biochemist by training with a master’s in research in stem cells and developmental biology and holds a PhD in clinical medicine from Imperial College London. She spent her doctoral years investigating the effects of cannabinoids on the progression of pancreatic cancer leading to many publications. Her interest in cannabinoids evolved her to investigate its immune interactions in the brain-gut axis at MIT. Nagina looks forward to integrating her biology knowledge into development of cannabinoid-based technologies for the future. She also has a keen interest to work on developing her research into the field of space medicine. The sky’s not our limit!

Georgios Dimitropoulos, Ph.D.

Academic | Open Innovation Incubator | Technologist | Governance Ethicist | Film Director

Georgios Dimitropoulos, Ph.D.

Academic | Open Innovation Incubator | Technologist | Governance Ethicist | Film Director

Innovation Incubator, Academic, Film Director, Ethical Technologist and AI Ethicist with a proven track record of founding and accelerating multiple technology transfer and regeneration ventures. Extensive experience working in over 50 countries, collaborating with NGOs, NPOs, CBOs, and public/private sector organizations. Recipient of 9 international awards for transformational leadership and disruptive innovation. For the past 20 years, I have been consulting businesses and governments, driving organizational performance effectiveness and growth acceleration through transformational leadership, crisis management, and process innovation. As an academic at Swansea University and Head of the Media Innovation Lab, my research focuses on Digital Democracy, AI Ethics and Governance, Open Innovation, Co-creative Digital Storytelling, Surveillance Capitalism, and Storytelling for Change and Advocacy.  I serve as a strategic advisor to regional creative consortiums and engagement projects, dedicating my time to leading not-for-profit community initiatives and promoting media literacy and ethical technologies in the fight against inequality and online disinformation.  Passionate about the arts, culture, and nature conservation, I leverage my expertise in filmmaking to advocate for the sustainable use of biodiversity. My work has been recognized with over 70 international awards from film festivals worldwide. If you are seeking to connect with a multidisciplinary background in open innovation, ethical technologies, academia, and innovative filmmaking, please get in touch.

Brooke A. Travis

Organismic & Evolutionary Biology PhD Candidate at Harvard University

Brooke A. Travis

Organismic & Evolutionary Biology PhD Candidate at Harvard University

Brooke A. Travis is a PhD candidate at Harvard University in the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology (OEB). There, she investigates deep-sea biology through the lens of microbes and molecules in the Girguis Lab. Her goal post graduation is to apply the obscure biological mechanisms found in deep-sea organisms to advance the medical field using an interdisciplinary approach. Brooke strongly believes in interdisciplinary work and is the founder of the InterDisciplinary Club (ID) at Harvard University, where leading scholars across all disciplines of academia gather to formally discuss interdisciplinary research approaches. She is also an avid science communication advocate as she encourages others to seek higher education, promotes scientific curiosity, and advocates for women in STEM on her social media platforms. She has appeared in several news outlets discussing her work and advocacy such as the Harvard Griffin GSAS Newsletter “Deep, Dark… and Teeming with Life”, Sagacity with Madara (Youtube interview), Beyond Science Magazine, and SteamID.

Thais Russomano, Ph.D.

Professor Thais Russomano, MD, MSc, PhD, FRSA – Space Physiology, Aviation Medicine, Telemedicine & Digital Health – International professor & researcher, Co-Founder & CEO, InnovaSpace-UK

Thais Russomano, Ph.D.

Professor Thais Russomano, MD, MSc, PhD, FRSA – Space Physiology, Aviation Medicine, Telemedicine & Digital Health – International professor & researcher, Co-Founder & CEO, InnovaSpace-UK

Professor Thais Russomano graduated in medicine from the Federal University of Pelotas, Brazil (1985), working in internal & emergency medicine until 2005. She has an MSc in Aerospace Medicine – Wright State University, USA (1991) and PhD in Space Physiology – King’s College London (1998). For 3 years she was a Space Scientist at the Institute of Aerospace Medicine, German Aerospace Centre (DLR) in Cologne, Germany, before founding/coordinating the Microgravity Centre, PUCRS, Brazil, for 18 years. Thais has been linked to King’s College London in different academic positions since 1994, having acted at CHAPS, Faculty of Life Sciences & Medicine, King’s College London, as Deputy Course Director/Senior Lecturer of the Space Physiology & Health MSc degree course (2009-2020). She is currently academically linked to: Unyleya & UFCSPA, Brazil; the Innovation and eHealth Center, Space Medicine Group, Carol Davila Univ of Med & Pharmacy, Romania; Center for Aerospace Med Studies, Fac of Med, Univ of Lisbon, Portugal; EIIS MSc in Space Entrepreneurship, Italy. She is Co-founder/CEO of InnovaSpace Ltd, UK. Thais has 30+ years of experience teaching and researching in Aerospace Medicine, Space Physiology, Aerospace Biomedical Engineering and TeleHealth & Digital Health, including participation in 400+ scientific events with 500+ scientific papers and lectures presented. She has authored books, chapters and numerous papers. Thais is a Fellow at RSA, a member of the Moon Village Association (WG Lunar Human Phys and Biology) an Elected Academician of the International Academy of Aviation and Space Medicine, and International Academy of Astronautics, for which she serves on the Board of Trustees (2019-2025) and IAA Committees (2012-2025). She is also a member of international associations/societies in space, aviation and telehealth (ISfTeH), Board Member of companies and organisations (ACESworldwide), reviewer for journals, and holds patents related to Space Life Sciences. Thais was a voluntary Mentor for Space4Women, a United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA, 2020-2021) initiative. She participated in ESA parabolic flight campaigns (2000 & 2006), is a member of ESA Topical Teams and participates in NASA funded projects. In 2021, through InnovaSpace and in partnership with a pharmaceutical company, she participated in research at the ISS (Kibo module). Acts as an educator, researcher and consultant in projects of ESA, NASA, DLR, PT Space, AEB-Brazil, InnovateUK, BlueAbyss, Optmal Cities UK, International Space University, Prog Oportunidades, El Salvador.

CDR Brent West, USN, PhD

Naval Officer, Permanent Military Professor

CDR Brent West, USN, PhD

Naval Officer, Permanent Military Professor

Professor Brent West is a nuclear-trained naval officer, Assistant Professor, and physicist with a decades-long interest in space exploration, astronomy, and all things celestial. He currently serves as Military Deputy to the Dean of the School of Mathematics and Science at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD. Brent, a former USNA midshipman and graduate of the class of 1994, is also a faculty member of the Department of Physics, with experience teaching courses in electrical fundamentals, electromagnetics, Newtonian mechanics, and basic physics. Brent has held numerous positions of increasing leadership responsibility, both at sea and ashore, during his 28-year naval career. His earlier experiences include delivering naval special forces personnel throughout the Pacific theater while stationed aboard two fast-attack submarines, and managing nuclear submarine repair projects at two naval shipyards. Brent later transitioned to supervisory roles in defense acquisition, program management, and Fleet combatant readiness before ultimately embarking upon a career in academia as a military professor at USNA, where he teaches and mentors the future leaders of our Navy and Marine Corps. CDR West earned the Submarine Warfare Officer and Information Dominance Warfare Officer Qualifications. His personal awards include the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Navy Meritorious Service Medal (5 awards), Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal (4 awards), and various campaign awards. In addition to successfully completing the Navy nuclear power training pipeline, Brent is a lettered academic, with degrees in Electrical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, and a PhD in Physics with a focus on X-ray pulsars and radiation transport. Outside the spheres of military duty and academia, Brent has been an avid enthusiast of cosmic research and exploration since his teenage years. He is an identical twin and a participant in a new long-duration Twins Study in space focused on the effects of microgravity and space weather on human biology.

Shawna Pandya, MD

Astronaut, Aquanaut, Physician, Scientist, Explorer, Director – IIAS Space Medicine Group.

Shawna Pandya, MD

Astronaut, Aquanaut, Physician, Scientist, Explorer, Director – IIAS Space Medicine Group.

Dr. Shawna Pandya is a physician, aquanaut, scientist-astronaut candidate with the International Institute for Astronautical Sciences (IIAS), skydiver, pilot-in-training, VP Immersive Medicine with Luxsonic Technologies, and Director of IIAS’ Space Medicine Group. Dr. Pandya was on the first crew to test a commercial spacesuit in zero-gravity in 2015. She earned her aquanaut designation on the 2019 NEPTUNE (Nautical Experiments in Physiology, Technology and Underwater Exploration) mission, 2023 NEP2NE aquanaut mission. She served as Payload Crew and co-PI of the 2023 IIAS-01 suborbital research flight, as well as a PI and/or co-I for Ax-2, Polaris Dawn and Blue Origin payloads. Her publications include a paper on medical guidelines for commercial suborbital spaceflight, and book chapters on space technologies that have benefitted terrestrial medicine, psychological resilience in long-duration spaceflight, and reproduction and sexuality in long-duration spaceflight. In June 2022, her extreme medicine work took her to Poland and Ukraine to work with persons affected by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In 2021, she was granted an Honorary Fellowship in Extreme and Wilderness Medicine and named to the Canadian Women’s Executive Network’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women. Her work is permanently exhibited at the Ontario Science Center alongside Dr. Roberta Bondar, the first Canadian woman in space. In 2022, Dr. Pandya was awarded the Explorers’ Club’s “50 Explorers Changing the World,” and in 2023, named to SustainabilityX Magazine’s “Global 50 Women in Sustainability,” for her work in Social Inclusion. In 2024, she was inducted as a full member of the International Astronautical Federation’s Human Spaceflight Committee, and joined Sunwest Aeromedical as a flight physician. Her work has been profiled by Nature and the Royal Canadian Mint.

Kiran Kaur

Co-founder & CEO of GirlDreamer | Trustee at NCVO | Chair of the Board at Home Girls Unite | European Obama Foundation Leader

Kiran Kaur

Co-founder & CEO of GirlDreamer | Trustee at NCVO | Chair of the Board at Home Girls Unite | European Obama Foundation Leader

Kiran Kaur is the Co-founder and CEO of GirlDreamer, a UK non-profit organisation dedicated to addressing social and economic inequity by providing greater access to leadership and wellbeing opportunities for young women of colour from diaspora communities. She holds the distinction of being the youngest Trustee at the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) in England and Wales. Currently, she serves as Chair of the Board at Home Girls Unite, a charity supporting firstborn daughters from immigrant families. In addition to her leadership roles, Kiran has served as a European Obama Foundation Leader and a UN Women UK Delegate at CSW68. She is also an Honorary Research Associate at the University of Birmingham, where she researches and assesses the impact of women’s development programmes and impact measurement frameworks. Kiran has earned further recognition as ‘UN Women UK – Person of the Year’ and ‘Best Digital CEO’, whilst Girl Dreamer is hailed as one of Creative England’s ‘top 50 most creative, innovative, and disruptive companies in England’.

Noor Haj-Tamim

Mechanical Engineer, Aviator, Executive Director of JSSOAR

Noor Haj-Tamim

Mechanical Engineer, Aviator, Executive Director of JSSOAR

Noor Haj-Tamim is a Mechanical Engineer, aviator, and Executive Director of Jordan Student Space Outreach and Academic Relations (JSSOAR), where she leads initiatives to bring space and aviation opportunities to underserved communities in the Middle East. Under her leadership, JSSOAR organized Jordan’s first nationwide Cubes in Space event, allowing students to send experiments to space and establishing the country’s first Women in Aviation International Chapter. Noor is the Founder of Avionova LLC, a medical technology startup focused on developing vestibular technologies. As a Citizen Scientist Astronaut Candidate with the International Institute for Astronautical Sciences (IIAS), she has gained experience in spacesuit testing, microgravity research, upper-atmospheric studies, and bioastronautics. Driven by a commitment to equity in education, Noor is dedicated to creating inclusive environments where all students can pursue STEM opportunities without sacrificing their culture or roots.

Hasret Balcioglu

Professor of Economics, Microbiology and Immunology Expert Lunar Analog Astronaut, Athletic Medalist.

Hasret Balcioglu

Professor of Economics, Microbiology and Immunology Expert Lunar Analog Astronaut, Athletic Medalist.

Hasret Balcioglu is an economics professor, microbiology and immunology expert, certified Lunar Analog Astronaut, gold and silver medalist in 4×100 relay and long jump, and a self-taught digital artist whose works raise philanthropic awareness. She has held leadership roles in higher education, served as a mentor for EU economic development programs, and contributed to World Bank projects, international mentorship, and research councils. Her academic training includes courses at Johns Hopkins, Duke, and Harvard, with certifications from NASA EPDC and Texas State LBJ Institute. She has received numerous accolades, including awards from NASA, ESA, JAXA, and the REINFORCE Challenge. Her digital art has been exhibited globally, including in London, New York, Vietnam, and Italy. Currently, Balcioglu is a STEM educator for Mission X: Train Like an Astronaut, a volunteer at the Community Resource Center in Colorado, and a lecturer for Oxford Academy of Excellence’s Cosmic Girls Program in the UK.

Afshin Beheshti, PhD

Professor at the School of Surgery and Computational and Systems Biology at University of Pittsburgh Director of the Space Biomedicine Program at University of Pittsburgh Associate Director at the McGowan Institute of Regenerative Medicine at University of Pittsburgh

Afshin Beheshti, PhD

Dr. Afshin Beheshti earned his PhD in physics from Florida State University in 2002 before transitioning to postdoctoral training in cancer research, systems biology, space biology, and radiation biology. From 2006 to 2011, he was part of a NASA Specialized Center of Research (NSCOR) funded project, focusing on cancer risks due to space irradiation, during which he published several key studies. During this time, he also explored how aging affects tumor growth dynamics using novel systems biology approaches, alongside other cancer-related research. In 2014, Dr. Beheshti joined Tufts University School of Medicine/Tufts Medical Center as an Assistant Professor, where his research as a systems biologist centered on cancer, particularly in areas such as microRNAs (miRNAs), aging, cancer drug targets, and the development of novel immunotherapies. In April 2017, he joined KBR at NASA Ames Research Center, contributing to the GeneLab project and platform development. Shortly thereafter, he secured multiple grants from NASA, the Department of Defense, and other agencies, leading research on the roles of miRNAs and mitochondria in space biology, countermeasures against space radiation and microgravity, COVID-19, Long COVID, cancer, and the effects of high altitude on human biology. In 2023, Dr. Beheshti transitioned to the Blue Marble Space Institute of Science at NASA Ames Research Center, where he continued to advance research in these critical areas. He recently joined the University of Pittsburgh as a Professor Surgery and Computational and Systems Biology, Director of the Space Biomedicine Program, and Associate Director at the McGowan Institute of Regenerative Medicine. In these roles, he will continue his ongoing projects and launch a new space biomedicine program at the University. With this new initiative he will create research opportunities to explore space health issues, research countermeasures to mitigate the damage caused by the space environment and develop outreach/education programs for space biology research. Additionally, he holds a Visiting Researcher appointment at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. Dr. Beheshti is also the President of two non-profit organizations. The first, the COVID-19 International Research Team (COV-IRT, www.cov-irt.org), was formed in March 2020 and focuses on COVID-19 and Long COVID research, with many publications produced. The second, established in August 2023, aims to democratize access to artificial intelligence through the design, construction, and maintenance of a free Personal AI called Kwaai (www.kwaai.ai). Recently, Dr. Beheshti, was one of the leads who partnered with Nature Portfolio to coordinate the largest-ever collection of space biology papers, the Space Omics and Medical Atlas (SOMA). This project involved over 100 institutions from more than 25 countries, resulting in an extensive compendium of manuscripts, data, protocols, and code for aerospace medicine and space biology. Dr. Beheshti contributed to 22 papers in this collection, serving as senior author on nine. His contributions were pivotal in securing the cover feature for the August 2024 issue of Nature, which included three of the papers he co-authored, with one highlighting his role as senior author. The issue can be found here: Nature August 2024. Dr. Beheshti’s contributions have earned him recognition and accolades, including the International Space Station Research & Development Award for Compelling Results in Biology from the American Astronaut Society/NASA, the NASA Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal, One KBR Award, and the NASA Outstanding Service Award: NASA Ames Safety Award Program II.

Marcel Dridje

Executive Sales & Business Development Leader, Startup Mentor and Business Angel Advisor, High-tech and Deeptech Specialist

Marcel Dridje

Executive Sales & Business Development Leader, Startup Mentor and Business Angel Advisor, High-tech and Deeptech Specialist

After 30 years of Executive Sales & Business Development experience with EMEA, USA and APAC High-tech Start-ups, Marcel is currently coaching, mentoring and training Start-ups, entrepreneurs and Business Angels in the EMEA region. Marcel is also an Executive Advisor to Start-ups Ecosystems worldwide and currently onboarding a move to the GCC region based in Doha, Qatar. Marcel leads his advisory services under his consultancy firm “Entrepreneur Avenue”. Marcel is a UK citizen, bilingual in English and French with a working knowledge of Spanish, Italian, German and Arabic. He co-founded and launched from scratch 2 major BANs: MDBAN (Maghreb Diaspora Business Angels) and Med Angels. He is an EBAN Board Member, being the largest federation of Business Angel Networks. He currently leads their worldwide corporate partnership initiatives. Marcel has a broad range of experience in all aspects of sales, marketing, communication and management with direct experience with Fortune 500 enterprises (IBM, Nortel, Lucent, Cisco, EMC, ALU), Scale-Ups (Quantum, Andrew Networks, Pluris, Corvis, Ascend and Airespace) and Governments (France, Tunisia, Morocco, Greece). Three major highlights from his career include helping Airespace to be the #2 WLAN in the EMEA market share and positioning Cisco to be the #1 WLAN vendor worldwide. He has helped start promoting the Cisco VCE alliance (VMware, EMC, Cisco) and the BMC OEM relationship to Kick Start their first SP IaaS Cloud offering on a worldwide basis.

Ardi Kuka

MBA Candidate at the University of Oxford | Former Banking Supervision Analyst at European Central Bank

Ardi Kuka

MBA Candidate at the University of Oxford | Former Banking Supervision Analyst at European Central Bank

Ardi is an MBA candidate at the University of Oxford and recipient of the prestigious Oxford Saïd Future Leaders Scholarship. Alongside his academic pursuits, he plays for Oxford’s Premier League handball squad, continuing a distinguished 15-year career in competitive handball. With a Master’s in Management from Kedge Business School and foundational studies in France, Ardi’s professional journey spans leading roles at EY Luxembourg, UniCredit Group, Pictet, and the European Central Bank. At the ECB, he played a pivotal role in banking supervision, evaluating liquidity risks and driving ESG strategies for major European banks. His leadership extends beyond finance, having served as Vice President of the Geopolitics Club and earning awards at the National Model United Nations. His background in competitive sports has sharpened his leadership, resilience, and teamwork—qualities that define his success in both his professional and personal life.

Sara Karati

Computer Scientist | MSc Artificial Intelligence for Biomedicine and Healthcare, University College London (UCL)

Sara Karati

Computer Scientist | MSc Artificial Intelligence for Biomedicine and Healthcare, University College London (UCL)

Sara holds an MSc in Artificial Intelligence for Biomedicine and Healthcare from University College London (UCL). Her academic and professional focus lies at the intersection of artificial intelligence and healthcare, with a particular interest in applying cutting-edge machine learning to enhance clinical decision-making and biomedical research. She has worked on projects involving generative models, including GANs, with applications such as virtual staining techniques to improve diagnostic imaging workflows. Sara is passionate about building a more intelligent, ethical, and accessible healthcare ecosystem through impactful AI innovation.

Junaid Kalia, Ph.D.

Physician-Scientist & AI Health Innovator | Founder, SaveLife.AI™

Junaid Kalia, Ph.D.

Physician-Scientist & AI Health Innovator | Founder, SaveLife.AI™

Dr. Junaid Kalia is a leading specialist in Neurocritical care, stroke, and epilepsy, and a visionary in integrating AI-driven solutions into neurology, radiology, and clinical automation to transform healthcare. As the founder of Savelife.AITM, he focuses on advancing medical imaging and documentation through innovative AI technologies, emphasizing accuracy and efficiency. Dr. Kalia completed a Neurocritical Care and Epilepsy fellowship at UT Southwestern Medical Center, a neurology residency at Saint Louis University, and pursued further education in digital transformation at Harvard Medical School and AI in medicine through the American Board of Artificial Intelligence in Medicine. Through his nonprofit, the Institute of Health Innovation & Education, Dr. Kalia is committed to democratizing AI in healthcare by providing no-cost solutions to low-income countries.

Shafa-at Ali Sheikh, Ph.D.

AI Scientist | Biomedical Engineer | HCI & IoT Innovator

Shafa-at Ali Sheikh, Ph.D.

AI Scientist | Biomedical Engineer | HCI & IoT Innovator

Dr. Shafa-at Ali Sheikh is an AI researcher and biomedical engineer with expertise in physiological signal analysis, cardiovascular diagnostics, Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), and the Internet of Things (IoT). A Fulbright Scholar, he earned his Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology, where he developed AI frameworks to identify cardiac mechanisms underlying heart failure risk in PTSD. His work introduced advanced impedance cardiography (ICG) algorithms for detecting autonomic dysregulation and contractility impairments during trauma recall. Dr. Sheikh's research spans prestigious institutions including Emory University, Georgia Tech, and Huxley Medical Inc., with contributions to wearable health systems and open-source tools such as the widely used ICG Toolbox. He has published in Biological Psychiatry, Psychophysiology, and IEEE journals, and delivered invited talks at leading institutions, including the Armed Forces Post Graduate Medical Institute (AFPGMI) and the National University of Medical Sciences (NUMS), on AI in healthcare and smart medicine. He currently teaches and supervises research at NUST, where he leads projects that integrate AI, HCI, and IoT to develop intelligent, user-centered healthcare solutions.

Cassandra Steer, Ph.D.

CEO, Senior Academic, Consultant, Author

Cassandra Steer, Ph.D.

CEO, Senior Academic, Consultant, Author

Dr. Cassandra Steer is CEO and founder of the not-for-profit Australasian Centre for Space Governance, an Associate Expert at the National Security College, and an independent space consultant. Globally recognised for her expertise in space governance, space law, and space security, she has published widely on these topics, including the application of the law of armed conflict and use of force in outer space. She has consulted on these issues to the UN Institute for Disarmament Research, the Australian, Canadian and U.S Departments of Defence, the Australian Space Agency, Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and the Department of Home Affairs. She has taught space law and space security at McGill university, the ANU College of Law, the National Security College and the Australian Defence College.

Ilona Cenolli, MBE, FRSPH

Bioethicist & Policy Researcher | Founder, Bioethics & Health Policy Institute | Master of Bioethics (MBE), Harvard Medical School

Ilona Cenolli, MBE, FRSPH

Bioethicist & Policy Researcher | Founder, Bioethics & Health Policy Institute | Master of Bioethics (MBE), Harvard Medical School

Ilona Cenolli, MBE, FRSPH, is a bioethicist and policy researcher whose work bridges biomedical innovation, governance, and social justice. A graduate of Harvard Medical School’s Master of Bioethics (MBE) program, Ilona’s research spans reproductive ethics, neurotechnology, and health policy, with a focus on translating complex ethical questions into actionable frameworks for governance. As Founder and Research Director of the Bioethics & Health Policy Institute (BHPI), Ilona leads research initiatives that strengthen ethical and evidence-based health systems across Europe. Current projects address neuroadaptive and digital mental health interventions, embryo research regulation, ethics in genomics, and assisted reproduction policy. Previous work includes contributions to the Nuffield Council on Bioethics, where Ilona authored a major literature review on neurotechnology ethics, and the General Medical Council (UK), leading policy analysis on genomics, data ethics, and patient safety. Published work includes a first-author paper in AJOB Empirical Bioethics on deep brain stimulation for paediatric OCD while based at Harvard Medical School as a researcher. A Fellow of the Royal Society for Public Health (FRSPH), Ilona focuses on developing interdisciplinary infrastructures for ethical innovation and advancing public engagement with science to ensure that

Rabeea Rasheed, MSc

Environmental Psychologist | Space Psychology Researcher

Rabeea Rasheed, MSc

Environmental Psychologist | Space Psychology Researcher

Rabeea Rasheed is an environmental psychologist specializing in space psychology, with a focus on how humans cope with stress, anxiety, and confinement in isolated, confined, and extreme (ICE) environments. She holds a Master’s degree in Environmental Psychology from the University of Surrey—funded through the Emerging Ventures Grant—where her research examined psychological processes and restorative coping strategies among astronauts living in ICE conditions. Her interdisciplinary work bridges environmental psychology, human factors, and space science, with the goal of improving mental health support systems and habitat design for long-duration space missions. Rabeea has been affiliated with the Blue Marble Space Institute of Science, where she contributed to science communication and public engagement projects. Her work included developing outreach initiatives that highlighted the journeys and research of scientists studying the origins of life, aiming to make complex astrobiological concepts accessible and inspiring to public audiences. Beyond her research, Rabeea is deeply committed to education and outreach. She introduced and taught astrobiology as a STEM bridging subject at the secondary school level, reaching more than 4,000 students and inspiring curiosity about life beyond Earth through an interdisciplinary lens that connects psychology, biology, and space exploration. Rabeea’s work reflects a strong commitment to advancing human-centered approaches to space exploration while promoting scientific literacy and the psychological well-being of future explorers.

Dr. Maryam Rahbar, PhD

Clinical Embryologist | Reproductive Scientist

Dr. Maryam Rahbar, PhD

Clinical Embryologist | Reproductive Scientist

Dr. Maryam Rahbar is a clinical embryologist and reproductive scientist with a multidisciplinary background spanning clinical practice, academic research, and fertility innovation. She holds a PhD in Women’s and Reproductive Health from the University of Oxford, where her research focused on early human development. She also completed an MSc in Clinical Embryology and a BSc in Biology, combining a strong scientific foundation with advanced clinical training. Dr. Rahbar is fully trained in all aspects of assisted reproductive technologies, including IVF, egg freezing, and preimplantation genetic testing. She is registered with the Canadian Fertility and Andrology Society and has contributed to the development of fertility preservation initiatives and patient-centred approaches to reproductive care. In addition to her scientific and clinical expertise, Dr. Rahbar has advised several reproductive health startups and continues to advocate for inclusivity and education in women’s health and fertility awareness. Dr. Rahbar’s work reflects a commitment to translating scientific knowledge into meaningful clinical impact, helping individuals make informed decisions about their reproductive futures while advancing the field of reproductive medicine.

About Our Faculty

Detina Zalli, Ph.D.

Ali Yetisen, Ph.D.

Joshua Chou, Ph.D.

Joseph "Sci" Borg, Ph.D.

Christopher E. Mason, Ph.D.

Nagina Mangal, Ph.D.

Georgios Dimitropoulos, Ph.D.

Brooke A. Travis

Thais Russomano, Ph.D.

CDR Brent West, USN, PhD

Shawna Pandya, MD

Kiran Kaur

Noor Haj-Tamim

Hasret Balcioglu

Afshin Beheshti, PhD

Marcel Dridje

Ardi Kuka

Sara Karati

Junaid Kalia, Ph.D.

Shafa-at Ali Sheikh, Ph.D.

Cassandra Steer, Ph.D.

Ilona Cenolli, MBE, FRSPH

Rabeea Rasheed, MSc

Dr. Maryam Rahbar, PhD

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