Irene Di Giulio, PhD
Senior Lecturer
King’s College London
Human movement, health and exploration
I believe that looking at things differently can reveal possibilities we might otherwise miss.
I am Irene Di Giulio, a biomedical engineer and scientist exploring how diverse human bodies move and adapt, from ageing and neurological conditions (such as Parkinson’s disease) to the extraordinary environment of space.
I am interested in what human variability can teach us about the body, how it interacts with gravity, and how questioning established assumptions might open up new possibilities for health, movement and more inclusive human spaceflight.
From human movement on Earth to inclusive human spaceflight.
My journey began in biomedical engineering, where I became fascinated by how the human body moves and adapts. Today, my research explores adaptation across environments, from people living with neurological conditions to humans preparing for space exploration.
I believe that there is richness in human physiological variability.
My main research questions are:
What can we learn from physiological variability?
For example, why do some diseases affect women and men differently, and what can we learn from this to benefit everyone?
What is the role of gravity for human movement in health and disease?
Think about loss of independence, falls, but also weight-bearing.
Are some disabilities on Earth an advantage in space?
On Earth, disability results from the interaction between the impairment and the environment. In space, we change the environment. How does the disability change?