Level Up with Dr. Shawna Pandya
Wednesday, January 22, 2025
Triffo Theatre (MacEwan University)
What can flying 0g in a spacesuit teach us about success, failure, and becoming better versions of ourselves? More than you think, as it turns out! In this talk from January 22, 2025, commercial astronaut Dr. Shawna Pandya shared her experiences in astronautics, aquanautics, piloting and medicine to share lessons on overcoming challenges, dealing with conflict, and becoming better teammates and leaders, and 'leveling up,' in our day-to-day lives.
The Q&A at this event was moderated by Tara McCarthy from Edmonton AM on CBC Radio One.
About Dr. Shawna Pandya
Dr. Shawna Pandya is the first named female commercial Canadian astronaut, and will be flying to space with the Virgin Galactic Delta class of spacecraft with the International Institute for Astronautical Sciences (IIAS) as early as 2026. She is also a physician, aquanaut, skydiver, pilot-in-training, VP Immersive Medicine with Luxsonic Technologies, Director of IIAS’ Space Medicine Group, Executive Director of the IIAS Flight Opportunities Program, and Chief of Space Medicine at the Advanced Spacelife Research Institute.
Dr. Pandya was on the first crew to test a commercial spacesuit in zero-gravity in 2015. She earned her aquanaut designation on the 2019 NEPTUNE (Nautical Experiments in Physiology, Technology and Underwater Exploration) mission, and completed a second aquanaut mission, NEP2NE, in May 2023, for a total of 11 days, 10 nights underwater. She served as Payload Crew and co-PI of the 2023 IIAS-01 suborbital research flight, as well as a PI and/or co-I for Ax-2, Polaris Dawn and Blue Origin payloads. Her publications include a paper on medical guidelines for commercial suborbital spaceflight, and book chapters on space technologies that have benefitted terrestrial medicine, psychological resilience in long-duration spaceflight, reproduction and sexuality in long-duration spaceflight, and the future of space medicine. Her work is permanently exhibited at the Ontario Science Center alongside Dr. Roberta Bondar, the first Canadian woman in space. In 2022, Dr. Pandya was named to the Explorers' Club's “50 Explorers Changing the World." In 2024, she was recognized for her contributions by the Women’s Space Awards in the Medicine and Health category, and named a Karman Pioneer. Also in 2024, she was further inducted as a full member of the International Astronautical Federation’s Human Spaceflight Committee. Her work has been profiled by Nature Careers and the Royal Canadian Mint.
About Tara McCarthy
Tara McCarthy is the traffic, weather and community reporter for Edmonton AM on CBC Radio One. Born and raised in Ontario, she moved to the Yukon in 2007 to start her radio career as a morning show co-host on CHON FM and eventually started working at CBC Yukon as a fill-in host. She then relocated to Alberta in 2019 to join the CBC Edmonton team. Aside from radio, Tara was the editor of Yukon, North of Ordinary, the official inflight magazine for Air North, from 2012-2019. During that time she won Gold at the 2018 International Regional Magazine Association Awards for her profile feature “Northern Haute Couture.”
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