Our Team
Rym Chaid
Director of Space Health
Rym is a Mechanical Engineering student specializing in aerospace, thermofluids and propulsion and an aspiring astronaut/aquanaut. She is the head of the Space Health Division, leading the team and their various projects since 2021 and is part of the executive council of Space Concordia. She also acts as a Mission Specialist in the MICRO2 project for the CAN-RGX campaign in Summer 2022. Rym is a very active member of the National Chapter of the Mars Society of Canada and the Co- Founder & President of the Montreal Chapter, where she also acts as Director of Research/Mission. At the International level, she is part of the Space Generation Advisory Council where her work involves analog astronaut mission development and Spaceflight-Associated Neuro-Ocular Syndrome (SANS) research. She just completed a clinical research internship for a first of a kind study in Canada, in space medicine with the McGill Health Research Institute and the Canadian Space Agency to study the effects of inactivity on astronauts and the elderly. In 2022, Rym was selected as a Fellow for a prestigious network of Space Fellowships for the inaugural class of Canada.
Areas of Expertise
Biomedical engineering of health technologies, system design.
Connect with Rym
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Amanda Spilkin
Lead of Automation
Founder of the Space Health Division
Amanda completed her MSc. in Physics, specializing in Medical Imaging. She founded the Space Health's Division and has been leading the group since its start in February 2019. Upon her role as lead of the Space Health Division, Amanda continues to serve as the automation lead for Space Health's projects. She serves as a Mission Specialist for the Canadian Reduced Gravity Experiment Design Challenge (CAN-RGX) with SEDS Canada in Summer 2022 for the MICRO2 Project. Amanda has worked with EuroMoonMars and the Astronaut Training Center in Poland, participating in mission control and analog astronaut simulation. She is also a member of the Mars Society of Canada and the Co- Founder & President of the Montreal Chapter. Amanda's goal is to continue into a PhD in mechanical engineering, focusing on autonomous robotics in medical imaging and complete her private pilot license.
Areas of Expertise
Biomedical engineering of health technologies, system design, medical imaging, human factors.
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Chaaron Nahar
Systems Engineering and Project Management
Charon is a second year Mechanical Engineering student at Concordia University. As a Systems Engineering Lead in the Space Health division of Space Concordia, Charon is in charge of overseeing project operations and subdivisions, and monitoring the progress of each. She's had the privilege of interning in the aerospace industry, specifically in Operations, and is interested in furthering her knowledge of space exploration via exciting new projects! In the future, Charon would love to immerse herself in work relating to the intersection between artificial intelligence, space exploration, and the healthcare system.
Areas of Expertise
Artificial Intelligence, Remote Healthcare.
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Elias Huckel-Fidalgo
Biology & Genetics Co-Lead
Elias is in the Co-Op programme in Biochemistry and political science major. At Space Concordia, he is currently the co-lead on the Biology and Genetics subdivision of Space Health. His curiosity and ability to jump into different subjects led him into space Concordia, as he is specially interested in human aspect of space exploration and how humans can achieve a healthy and sustained presence away from Earth. In the past, he has worked on the genetic identification of different yeast species and strains and the development of culture protocols for the American Chestnut through grafting culture in growing medium in lab.
Areas of Expertise
Biochemistry, study of gene regulation.
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Anjali Bhardwaj
Data Lead
Anjali Bhardwaj is a second year student studying Software Engineering and is working as a Data Lead for the 3 different projects at Space Health.
Additionally, she is working with the automation team for each project.
Areas of Interest
R&D in the space sector, Artificial Intelligence (AI)
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Meilani Sinnathamby
Experimental Biotechnology Lead
Meilani is a third year Aerospace Engineering major specializing in Aerodynamics and Propulsion. She is passionate about the field of space medicine as well as advocating STEM fields towards the next coming generations.
Areas of Interest
Biomedical engineering, structural design.
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Lorenzo Mercuri
Structural Lead
Lorenzo is a recent graduate from mechanical engineering (B. Eng.). He is the lead for biotechnology-structural. He is involved in computer aided design as well as automation for project 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0. He is passionate about pursuing a career within the biomedical industry.
Areas of Interest
Biomedical engineering, structural design, CAD, automation.
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Alessio Cusmano
Biology & Genetics Lead
Alessio is a second year Biology major with a passion for immunology & microbiology.
He is involved in establishing parameters that will be used to mimic common cardiovascular pathologies in a functional heart simulator, and involved in determining the biological processes of CPR to design an improved, live feedback CPR mannequin.
Areas of Interest
Biology, genetics, physiology of the human cardiovascular system.
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Nelly Bozorgzad
Automation Team
Nelly is a Software Engineering student and a new member of the Automation and Data Sciences teams. Space travel has been her dream for as long as she can remember. In her role at Space Health, Nelly is motivated to help advance and improve space travel for future visitors by adapting Earth’s medical equipment to the zero gravity environment of space. To Nelly, being part of the Space Health team means that she can contribute to making this dream a reality!
Areas of Interest
Data Science, Automation, Reduced Gravity Experimental Platforms.
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Vanessa Pereira
Biology & Genetics Team
Vanessa is a third year Science major, specializing in Cell and Molecular Biology (Honours and Co-op). She is currently working on the MICRO2 data pipeline for analyzing gene regulation via qPCR. In parallel, Vanessa is researching the implications of CPR and participating in the design of Project 3.0 CPR Assistance Device.
Areas of Interest
Biological, Human Physiology and the Cardiovascular System, CPR.
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Amy Tran
Experimenta Biotechnology Team
Amy is a third year Mechanical Engineering major at the Gina Cody School of Engineering and Computer Science. Amy is involved in structural design of Project 3.0's CPR Assistance Device and sensor implementation.
Areas of Interest
Medical Imaging, human physiology and the cardiovascular system, structural design, CPR.
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Arielle Dascal
Experimental Biotechnology Team
Arielle is enrolled in an MSc in Physics at Concordia University and specializing in Medical Imaging. She has worked on Project 1.0 and Project 2.0, researching areas such as the impacts on radiation on the human body in space and the long-term effects of microgravity on the cardiovascular system.
Areas of Interest
Medical Imaging, humans factors, biomedical engineering.
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William Au
Automation Team Member
William is a second year Computer Engineering student. He is working on the Payload & Control Systems for Project 1.0 and is part of the Automation team for Project 2.0 and 3.0.
Areas of Interest
Structural design, payload design, automation.
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Jonathan Andrei
Automation Team Member
Jonathan is a third year Computer Science major. He is currently working on radiation detection and payload design for Space Health's MICRO2 project.
Areas of Interest
Payload design and integration.
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Zoe Lord
Experimental Biotechnology Member
Zoe Victoria Lord is delighted to be joining the Space Health division at Space Concordia as a Biotechnology Scientist! She is already a Concordia graduate in Behavioral Neuroscience and is in her last semester of her second degree - Specialization in Chemistry and Minor in Biology. She is enthralled by neurochemical processes under microgravity environments, where she aspires to pursue a Doctorate of Medicine in order to achieve a professional career in the space medicine field as a Flight Surgeon (astronaut physician).
Areas of Interest
Neuroscience and space applications, medicine, biomedical engineering.
Connect with Zoe
