NASA Astronaut Candidate Imelda Muller 

Dr. Imelda Muller 

Summary

Imelda Muller was selected by NASA in 2025 to join the astronaut candidate class. She reported for duty in September 2025 to begin two years of initial astronaut training. She formerly was a lieutenant in the United States Navy and served as an undersea medical officer. Muller earned a bachelor’s degree in behavioral neuroscience from Northeastern University and a medical degree from the University of Vermont College of Medicine. At the time of her selection, Muller was completing a residency in anesthesia at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore. 

Personal

Muller was born in Mineola, New York, but she considers Copake Falls, New York, her hometown. Her parents, Philip and Imelda Muller, still reside there. She enjoys hiking, endurance sports, scuba diving, and home renovation projects. While on active duty, she competed as an elite triathlete on the U.S. Military Endurance Sports team and was a member of the All-Navy Triathlon team in 2022. 

Education

Muller graduated from Taconic Hills High School in New York. She earned a bachelor’s degree in behavioral neuroscience from Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts, in 2012. She completed her medical degree at the University of Vermont College of Medicine in 2017. 

She completed her transitional year residency internship at the Naval Medical Center San Diego in 2018 and her anesthesia residency at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in 2025.  

Experience

After graduating from her transitional year internship in 2018, Muller was selected as the Transitional Year Academic Chief Resident, where she led efforts to advance the program’s curriculum in simulation training, quality improvement, and medical resident well-being. In 2019, she completed U.S. Navy undersea medical officer training at the Naval Undersea Medical Institute in Groton, Connecticut.  

As an undersea medical officer with the U.S. Navy Experimental Diving Unit in Panama City Beach, Florida, Muller served as deputy Medical Department head and chair of the Institutional Review Board, overseeing protections for human subjects involved in high-risk diving and hyperbaric research. She supported human performance testing programs and Navy diving health initiatives, focusing on decompression safety, physiological resilience, and medical support for saturation diving operations. Her experience includes providing medical support during Navy operational diving training at the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

NASA Experience

Muller reported for duty in September 2025 to complete two years of initial astronaut training. 

Awards/Honors

Frank L. Coulson Jr. Award for Clinical Excellence, The Miller Coulson Academy of Clinical Excellence, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (2024); Dr. Delores M. Etter Top Scientists and Engineers of the Year Award, Pentagon, Department of the Navy (2024); Johns Hopkins Resident Teaching Award, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (2023); Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, Navy Experimental Diving Unit (2022); Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, Navy Experimental Diving Unit (2020); Commander Wayne Horn Honorman Award, Naval Undersea Medical Institute (2019); Global Health Reflections Award, University of Vermont College of Medicine (2017); Class Marshal, Northeastern University (2013)  

Organizations

Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society; Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society, University of Vermont College of Medicine.