Biomanufacturing in Space Symposium NOVEMBER 12, 2026
Join nearly 100 researchers, industry leaders and government partners as UF convenes its third annual symposium on November 12, 2026, at the frontier of space biomanufacturing — where microgravity becomes a platform for discovery and discoveries become therapies on Earth and beyond.
symposium Agenda and venue
Host Venue
UF Research and Academic Center
The UF Research and Academic Center at Lake Nona is a 110,000 square foot LEED platinum certified building carrying out basic, clinical and translational research in drug discovery and development.
| Time | Session and Speaker | Speaker Title |
|---|---|---|
| 8:30 - 8:55 a.m. | Registration & Coffee Social | |
| 9:00 - 9:15 a.m. | Welcome Remarks and Milestones Update: Siobhan Malany | Director In-Space Biomanufacturing Innovation Hub Professor, University of Florida College of Pharmacy |
| 9:15 - 9:50 a.m. | Opening Keynote: Kate Rubins | Professor, University of Pittsburgh |
| 9:50 - 11:00 a.m. | Panel: Building the Orbital Economy: Transatlantic Pilot Collaboration, (Moderated by Rachael Seidler, director of the Astraeus Space Institute) • Joshua Hunsberger, Chief Technology Officer, RegenMed Development Organization • Jana Stoudimiere, Chief Commercial Officer, Innovian Space • Cora Thiel, Director of International Relations, Center for Space and Aviation Switzerland and Liechtenstein | |
| 11:00 -11:30 a.m. | BREAK | |
| 11:30 a.m. - 12 p.m. | Student Lightening Talks: Showcasing Next-Gen Space Scientists (Moderated by Amor Menezes, Ph.D., and Jamie Foster, Ph.D.) | |
| 12:00 - 1:00 p.m. | LUNCH | |
| 1:00 - 2:35 p.m. | Speaker Discussions: Frontiers in Synthetic Biology and In-Space Biomanufacturing (Moderated by Nils Averesch, Ph.D.) | |
| 1:00 - 1:30 p.m. | Keynote: Elizabeth Reynolds | Executive Director of Space Age at the Translational Research Institute for Space Health (TRISH) |
| 1:30 - 1:50 p.m. | Rosa Santomartino | Assistant Professor, Cornell University |
| 1:50 - 2:10 p.m. | Ashley Kleinman | Graduate Student, Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| 2:10 - 2:35 p.m. | Joseph Emhof | Ph.D. candidate, University of Florida |
| 2:35 - 3:00 p.m. | BREAK | |
| 3:00 - 4:30 p.m. | Speaker Discussions: Next-Gen Therapies and Diagnostics for Human Health in Space (Moderated by Amber Paul, Ph.D.) | |
| 3:00 - 3:30 p.m. | Keynote: Liz Blaber | Assistant Professor, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute |
| 3:30 - 3:50 p.m. | Egle Cekanaviciute | Ames Research Center Lead, NASA |
| 3:50 - 4:10 p.m. | Maddalena Parafati | Research Associate Professor, University of Florida |
| 4:10 - 4:30 p.m. | Meenal Datta | Assistant Professor, University of Notre Dame |
| 4:30 - 5:30 p.m. | Panel: Building the Orbital Economy: Science as a Service (Moderated by Jana Stoudemire) Organizations: • Black Star Orbital • LambdaVision • VAST | |
| 5:30 - 5:40 p.m. | Closing Remarks: Siobhan Malany | |
| 5:40 - 7:00 p.m. | Reception & Networking |
Meet The KEYNOTE SPEAKERS (Coming Soon)
Former NASA Astronaut
Translational research Institute for Space Health (TRISH)
meet the panelists
Meet our Partner Companies
PARTNER COMPANY
Thermo Fisher Scientific
Partner Company
Research Flight Solutions
Partner compnay
Industrial Space Systems
Partner company
Rhodium Scientific
hosted by the IN-SPACE BIOMANUFACTURING FOR HUMAN HEALTH INNOVATION HUB
University of florida
In-Space Biomanufacturing for Human Health Innovation
The InSpa Bio Hub was established through the University of Florida’s strategic funding initiative. Led by Siobhan Malany, Ph.D., an associate professor in the UF College of Pharmacy, the hub will align researchers across the university to conduct astrobiology experiments in space and on the ground to reveal the significant effects of low gravity on biological systems.