Alina Kunitskaya

Affiliation: NASA Postdoctoral Program / Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU)

Division: Space Science and Astrobiology (ST)

Branch: Planetary Systems (STT)

Email: alina.kunitskaya@nasa.gov

Professional Biography

Dr. Alina Kunitskaya is a NASA Postdoctoral Program fellow at NASA Ames Research Center. Dr. Kunitskaya has a background in engineering and biology and a passion for solving challenges associated with human spaceflight. This has led her to work on developing a platform for on-demand pharmaceutical production in deep space, using genetically modified microbes. As part of the “Astropharmacy” team, she works on engineering Bacillus subtilis bacterium to express desired small peptide pharmaceuticals, developing culture and purification procedures, conducting assays for quantity, purity, and activity, and collaborating with an engineer on the team to translate laboratory procedures to spaceflight-suitable hardware. Previously, Dr. Kunitskaya has worked on developing a process to recycle astronauts’ fecal waste into 3D-printable bioplastics using engineered microbes, developing an oxygen production process on Mars, studying the impacts of spaceflight on human health, and completing a simulated sub-orbital spaceflight to help scientists examine the physiological and psychological impacts of g-forces. Dr. Kunitskaya is experienced in collaborative and interdisciplinary research through her PhD and as part of the University of Calgary iGEM (international genetically engineered machine) teams. She has led several teams, including an interdisciplinary team of students to develop and fly a scientific payload in microgravity on a parabolic flight.

Education

Ph.D. Biomedical Engineering, University of British Columbia, 2024

B.Sc. Chemical Engineering, University of Calgary, 2018

Select Publications

Kunitskaya A, Piret J, Buckley N, Low-Decarie E. Meta-analysis of health research data from greater than three months International Space Station missions.Acta Astronautica 201, 2022, 420 – 430. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actaastro.2022.09.019

Chen X, Ibrahim S, Kunitskaya A, Schaaf K, Wang ZF, Gopalakrishan P, Noor M, Wilton-Clark H, Grainger J, Ivanova A, Lim P, Olsakova M, Bharadwaj L, Sher B, Feehan D, Varga R, Arcellana-Panlilio M. Astroplastic: A start-to-finish process for polyhydroxybutyrate production from solid human waste using genetically engineered bacteria to address the challenges for future manned Mars missions. bioRxiv, Jan. 2018. doi.org/10.1101/288746

Select Conference Proceedings

Kunitskaya A, Fader L, Cleland K, Nguyen A. Operation and implementation of oxygen production process on Mars. Proceedings of the 16^th International Conference on Space Operation; 2021 May 3 – 5; Cape Town, South Africa.

Kunitskaya A, Cleland L, Fader L, Nguyen A. Oxygen production on Mars with in-situ resource utilization. Proceedings of the 70^th International Astronautical Congress; 2019 Oct 21 – 25; Washington, DC, USA.