Dr. Vanessa Farsadaki apart from being a leader in expanding the field of space medicine, she serves as a keynote speaker at multiple fora, including the prestigious Kings College in London, England, and many other universities across the world.
Her proficiency in 18 languages is a testament to her ability to engage with a wide spectrum of audiences. Dr. V’s excellent credentials as the President and Managing Partner of Space Exploration Strategies LLC include graduate degrees in Business Leadership, Genetics, Astronomy, and Astrophysics. She has written and co-written numerous articles supporting improvements in her area of specialisation, and her extensive knowledge of radiation exposure and protection sciences has made her a sought-after advisor on prestigious initiatives because of the gravitas she brings to the table.
Dr. Vanessa Farsadaki was born in New York and lived the first nine years of her life in Greece. Her Greek roots are from the village of Olympos, on the beautiful Greek island of Karpathos, in the Dodecanese. She moved to Houston from Geneva, Switzerland, where she had been living since 2010. She was fortunate to not experience the Greek financial crisis that begun in 2010.
Moving to Houston in the middle of a pandemic was not the easiest as the procedures and health risks were high. Dr. V: “Thank God, everything went and is going as expected. Houston is a beautiful, modern and green city that has the largest Medical Center (it’s a whole city in itself) in North America as well as the Johnson Space Center where astronauts train. So people, mainly, either work in the health sector or in the space sector.”
A day in the life of Dr. Vanessa Farsadaki:
Dr. V: “I wake up at 5 in the morning to do the exercise required for my physical condition. I’m at the lab at 8am where I stay until about 9pm. There are no weekends or holidays as my research needs to proceed as quickly as possible. Practically, in the laboratory I examine a list of genes that have been observed to confer radioprotection, i.e. to protect against radioactivity. The results of this project will be useful both for astronauts exposed to space radiation sources and for future cancer patients, as the genome of a patient with a tendency to create cancer will be able to be protected in the future.”
“One of the greatest joys of being in Houston is being surrounded by like-minded people with the same dreams, vision, and aspirations. It gives me indescribable joy to meet other young people who are training to apply to NASA with the same batch of astronauts that I will. The fact that every day, all day I can discuss the topics that interest me with my colleagues makes me feel very lucky.”
“I believe that women are equal to men. The sciences need the flexible, sensitive and imaginative mind of a woman. Only those who dare to reach the extremes of knowledge and potential have any hope of pushing humanity to take the next step. We all have a choice between what is convenient and what will change the world.”
“The point is not to listen so much to the voices outside us and to focus on the voice within. There are many examples of women who defied everything to serve the strong voice within. With the concept of “inner voice” you certainly understand that I am referring to a person’s talent, inclination, passion. And I must make it clear, however, that these alone are not enough. The owner must serve them with self-sacrifice, faith and hard struggle.”
“The great Napoleon said that if you know how far you want to go, you will get nowhere! At the moment I am working to become the first Greek woman in space, while at the same time learning and teaching.”
Sources:
https://www.greekgateway.com/news/dr-vanessa-farsadaki-to-become-greeces-first-ever-astronaut-in-history/
https://www.karpathiakanea.gr/vanessa-farsadaki-astronaftis-karpathos/