Space Biomedicine Conference 2026

2nd Polish Space Medicine Conference

November 5–6, 2026

Dzień 1


08:00 – 09:00 Registration & welcome coffee

09:00 – 09:20 Conference opening

Michał Żmijewski | Medical University of Gdańsk

Grzegorz Kade | Military Institute of Aviation Medicine

09:20 – 10:20 Keynote Lecture

Afshin Beheshti | University of Pittsburgh
Space Biomedicine: Leveraging Extreme Human Physiology to Advance Precision Medicine on Earth

10:20 – 11:00 Session 1: Space Radiation & Omics

Isaiah Reeves | Axiom Space

The Evolving Flight Surgeon Role - Insights from Commercial Space

Willian da Silveira | University of Salford
Space Omics and the Power of Networks

11:00 – 11:30 Coffee break 

11:30 – 12:50 Session 2: Human Health & Translational Space Medicine

<Maybritt Kuypers / Leiden University Medical Center

Space Medicine: From space exploration to health innovation on earth.

Anna Fogtman / European Space Agency

TBA

Begum Mathyk | University of South Florida
Beyond LEO: A Clinical Framework for Women’s Health in the Artemis Era (online)

Ewelina Maculewicz | Military Institute of Aviation Medicine
Potential Chromosomal Changes Associated with Ionizing Radiation Exposure in Aviation Personnel

12:50 – 14:00 Lunch

14:00 –15:20 Session 3: Environmental Adaptation in Human

Jacek Kot | Medical University of Gdańsk
Pressure and Oxygen in Human Adaptation: From Saturation Diving to Lunar Exploration

Dariusz Tomaszewski | Military Institute of Aviation Medicine

Hypobaric Hypoxia and Exploration Atmospheres: Lessons from Aviation Medicine

Joseph Borg | University of Malta

Blood Beyond Earth - Decoding the Haemoglobin Switch

Ian Johnson | European Space Agency
From Tissue Chips to BioBoxes: Building the Next Generation of Space Biomedicine

15:20 – 15:50 Coffee break 

15:50 – 16:50 Roundtable: Collaboration in Space Biomedicine

Michał Żmijewski | Medical University of Gdańsk

Afshin Beheshti | University of Pittsburgh

Joseph Borg | University of Malta

Maybritt Kuypers | Leiden University Medical Center

Magdalena Kozak(moderator) | Military Institute of Aviation Medicine

16:50 – 18:00 Poster Session & Networking

Day 2


Dzień 2


09:00 – 09:40 Opening Lecture
Angelique van Ombergen | European Space Agency
ESA’s Exploration Science activities

09:40 – 10:00 Early-Career Flash Talks (4 speakers)

10:00 – 10:30 Telling the Stories of Space
Maciej Myśliwiec | SGH Space Ecosystem Center
Hubert Kijek | TVN24 BiS

10:30 – 11:30 Session 4: Technologies & Commercial Opportunities in Space Biomedicine
Jonathan Scott | European Space Agency
Crew Health and Performance Technologies for Future Human Space Exploration Missions
Maciej Kosiński | Biomedica Poland
ONT – A Powerful Platform for Next-Generation Sequencing
Bartosz Rybacki | Frontier Space
Microgravity Engineering for Next-Generation Therapeutics

11:30 – 12:00 Coffee break

12:00 – 13:00 Roundtable: Space Medicine: Opportunities for Students
Agnieszka Zimmerman | Medical University of Gdańsk
Willian da Silveira | University of Salford
Karolina Twardowska | Polish Astromedical Society
Maksymilian Brzezicki | King’s College London
Anna Zielazek | Lunares Research Station
Urszula Lawrynowicz (moderator) | Medical University of Gdańsk

13:00 – 14:00 Lunch

14:00 – 15:00 Session 5: Emerging Research & New Directions
Monika Tarpiłowska | Military Institute of Aviation Medicine
Red planet, red flags - intergroup conflict on Mars
Agata Rudolf | AGH University of Krakow
From Mitochondrial Stress to Physiological and Evolutionary Adaptation to Spaceflight
Aleksander Kucner | Polish Astrobiology Society, Medical University of Łódź
Effect of microgravity on regenerative capacity of cardiac fibroblasts

15:00 – 15:30 Coffee break

15:30 – 15:50 Introduction to STARS project
Mona Nasser |University of Plymouth
Anna Fogtman | European Space Agency

15:50 – 16:50 Roundtable: Space Medicine in Europe: Priorities, Opportunities and Constraints
Anna Żaczek | Medical University of Gdańsk
Angelique van Ombergen | European Space Agency
Anna Fogtman | European Space Agency
Jonathan Scott | European Space Agency
Grzegorz Kade | Military Institute of Aviation Medicine
Jakub Mieczkowski (moderator) | Medical University of Gdańsk

16:50 – 17:00 Awards & Closing

We are also pleased to invite you to a special workshop taking place the day before the conference Decompression Sickness: From Water to Space.

November 4, 2026 / 3:00–6:00 PM
Chair: Prof. Jacek Kot
Venue: Kieturakis Auditorium (same location as the conference)
The workshop is free of charge and open to all interested participants. No registration is required.
For more information, please see the attached PDF.