About Irene
Irene is a researcher at King’s College London
Short Bio
I research how human movement adapts on Earth and in space.
I am interested in movement in health and disease and the effect of gravity on human physiology. I lead a large research team focusing on the first accessible space mission (ESA - Fly!) and I run lab-based experiments to understand how gravity affects the human body to inform new work into human balance control and beyond.
I have received funding from:
the European Space Agency,
the UK Space Agency,
The Royal Society.
Main research interests
My research focuses on understanding how the human body works. I am interested in human movement, physiological variability, accessibility in space.
For more details, go to Research.
Community building and co-creation
In my opinion, science should not be confined to academia. Everyone brings their own expertise to the table. For this reason, I created the KCL Space4All community, where people with a lived experience of disability and space experts come together to solve the challenges of accessible spaceflight. We look at the unique opportunities that accessible spaceflight may create for everyone.
I am collaborating with Dr Nicola Bailey on a project funded by One King’s Impact Fund
‘Empowering limb difference: making sports accessible for all’.
Our work focuses on prostheses for accessible sports with the users at the centre of the design as the true experts on their needs.
Additional roles
The Physiological Society Theme Lead for ‘Human, Environmental & Exercise Physiology’
The KCL School of Basic and Medical BioScience (BMBS) People and Culture academic lead
Access King’s committee member, with an interest in Education and Allyship