Aleksandra Stankovic

Dr. Aleksandra Stankovic is the Founding Director of the Center for Space Medicine Research (CSMR) at the Massachusetts General Hospital. The mission of the CSMR is to find biomedical solutions to keep humans safe and healthy in long-duration spaceflight, and to translate innovations from the space environment into novel patient care solutions on Earth. 

Sandra is an Assistant Professor of Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and of Bioastronautics in the joint Harvard-MIT Program in Health Sciences & Technology. She holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Harvard University, a PhD in Experimental Psychology from the University of Cambridge, and a Master’s degree in Aeronautics and Astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, with a concentration in spaceflight biomedical engineering. She completed her postdoctoral training in the NASA Johnson Space Center’s Human Research Program. Sandra has conducted extensive research in remote and resource-limited settings, including spaceflight analogs and Antarctic research stations, to support human performance in extreme environments. Her current work focuses on the sustainable scaling of the spaceflight industry, with a particular emphasis on international cooperation. Sandra is also an active scuba diver, private pilot, volunteer EMT, and a passionate educator who aims to inspire the next generation of explorers and innovators.