Lab Personnel

Lonnie (MD, PhD) completed her MD from the University of Copenhagen, Denmark in 2007 and has worked in Emergency Medicine and Intensive Care. Dr. Petersen received her PhD in Gravitational Physiology and Space Medicine in 2016. Currently an assistant Professor the University of California, San Diego and supported by NASA, Department of Defense, and the Novo Nordic Foundation as well as being a Sapera Aude Fellow (National Research Council). Her research is rooted in cardiovascular, cerebral and exercise physiology always with an integrative physiology approach. 

Casper (MD, PhD) graduated from University of Copenhagen in 2008 and has worked in Cardiology and Emergency Medicine. He has focused on research in renal physiology and sympathetic reflexes as well as physiological fluid shifts in regard to space and aviation medicine and countermeasure development for long term space travel. He recieved his PhD in Biomedical Sciences in 2023. Dr. Petersen is supported by NASA , Kratos and ONR and currently holds a position as Research Scientist at Center for Clinical and Translational Research at MIT.

Experienced Systems and Hardware Engineer with a demonstrated history of working in the Defense & Space industry, as well as the Biomedical & Biomechanical industry. Skilled in Hardware Engineering, Analytical Skills, Leadership, and Translation. Well-trained professional and academic, graduated and currently pursuing and advanced degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. A veteran of the military and law enforcement sectors.

Visiting student from Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, currently doing research for his MS thesis in Aerospace Engineering. He is interested in the overlap between engineering aspects and human physiology in space, and has previous experience designing exercise equipment for the International Space Station.

PhD student in MIT and Harvard Medical School's Medical Engineering and Medical Physics program. Her research focuses on developing monitoring techniques and countermeasures to ensure astronaut health, in a collaboration with the Tearney Lab and The Human Performance Laboratory. 

Danny is a first-year graduate student in MIT AeroAstro with a focus in Humans in Aerospace. She received her B.S. in aerospace and mechanical engineering from UC Davis in 2023. Her prior research experience includes turbulent flow physics, computer vision and thermal payload hardware development for cubesats, along with helmet-mounted display technology for underwater astronaut training at NASA’s Neutral Buoyancy Lab (NBL). Her current research interests include developing countermeasures for astronaut safety during long duration spaceflight.

Ciarra is a graduate student in the MIT AeroAstro department with a focus in Human-System Collaboration. She received her B.S. in Biomedical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2023. Her prior research experience includes human performance, physiological signals, and wearable device evaluation. Her current research interests include developing countermeasures and hardware to aid physiological changes during long duration space missions.

Current Masters student pursuing an advanced degree in aerospace engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Research area is Humans in Space, with a current focus on lower body negative pressure suit design and testing.

Bachelor's degree obtained from the University of California, San Diego in Bioengineering:

Biotechnology. Past work history in Conservation Technology, Emergency Medicine, and Biological Research.

Interests and hobbies include surfing, bouldering, crochetting, chess, and solo-travelling.

Full time summer research: project is focused on assisting with the development of a Neural Network to better integrate human physiological signals into our deep learning tool for motion prediction. Ultimately this work will increase fluency in human-hardware interaction.