Malou Thiry

Malou Thiry, bioengineer and student in space studies, is a part-time student research scientist at BIO INX. SHe finished her bachelor's and master's degree in bioengineering sciences at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel. Molecular biotechnology was her specialization and during her master thesis, she tackled the antimicrobial resistance problem by developing a bacteriophage-based strategy to treat certain bacterial infections as an alternative for antibiotics. Having completed her bioengineering studies, she now pursues the Advanced Master of Space Studies at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven. Her ambition is to apply the knowledge and skills obtained from her bioengineering background to the space sector. As such, she now works at BIO INX, particularly for the AstroCardia project. AstroCardia aims to research heart health and aging in space. She contributes to this project by 3D printing cardiac cells with a specialized compatible stimuli-responsive bio ink on a chip, which will be sent to the International Space Station.