Rowena Christiansen

Australian physician Dr Rowena Christiansen practises in pre-hospital emergency care and medicine in extreme and austere environments, with a focus on space health. She teaches human physiology and clinical practice within the University of Melbourne Medical School, and is the author of a new ‘space health’ subject. Rowena is a Fellow of the Aerospace Medical Association and of Ormond College at Melbourne University. She is passionate about aerospace medicine advocacy, education, and volunteer service, and serves on the Aerospace Medical Association Council and a number of its constituent committees. Rowena is a member of the Australian Space Agency Space Medicine and Life Sciences Technical Advisory Group. She is the Founder of the “ad astra vita” project and the Space Health Symposium, and one of the creative leads for ASBX 2021: The Australian Space Biology x Health Summit. A finalist in the Australian Space Awards for 2020 and 2021, Rowena was also selected for the 2021 ESA Space Physician Training Course. She is a UNOOSA Space4Women Mentor for 2020-21 and an ISU alumna and mentor. Rowena is the Research Director, Health Law for the Jus Ad Astra human rights in space project, and a strong human rights advocate, particularly in the area of public health and universal access to healthcare.