Space Medicine Fellowship launched by ISRO & SCTIMST
With the Gaganyaan mission coming closer every day, a new program has been launched to help prepare students who are interested in having a career in space medicine and bioastronautics. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), along with Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST), has made India’s first postdoctoral fellowship programme focused on bioastronautics and space medicine!
This 2-year fellowship programme aims to train interested students in the following topics:
- Human physiology in space, including the effects of microgravity, cosmic radiation, isolation, and other spaceflight conditions.
- Space medicine and healthcare strategies for astronauts during short- and long-duration missions.
- Biomedical research related to changes in cells, tissues, organs, and body systems during space travel.
- Development and evaluation of medical technologies, diagnostic tools, and healthcare solutions for human spaceflight.
- Translational research that supports India’s Gaganyaan and future human space exploration missions.
- Collaborative research between SCTIMST and ISRO’s Human Space Flight Centre (HSFC).
- Hands-on research conducted at both SCTIMST (Thiruvananthapuram) and HSFC (Bengaluru).
- Scientific studies that improve astronaut health, safety, and mission performance.
- Interdisciplinary research combining medicine, biomedical engineering, physiology, and space science.
Training in advanced research methods related to human spaceflight and bioastronautics. This fellowship, as mentioned above, is part of a collaboration between SCTIMST and HSFC. The memorandum was signed in April 2025, and it focused on understanding research related to space medicine. Later, in November 2025, the Center for Space Medicine Research was started at SCTIMST to begin joint research and academic work. The programme was officially launched through an agreement signed at ISRO headquarters on June 25th 2026, in Bengaluru. The document signing was overseen by Director Dr Sanjay Behari of SCTIMST and Director Dr Dinesh Kumar Singh of HSFC.
Selected candidates will receive focused training and conduct research at both SCTIMST in Thiruvananthapuram and the Human Space Flight Centre in Bengaluru. This curriculum will also help fellows understand the changes observed during space travel. This focuses on human cells, tissues and anatomical changes. This program also encourages curiosity in space medicine and future human space missions.
This fellowship currently has 2 positions, and candidates can be from highly specialised medical qualifications or Life Science PhD Degree holders. The academic year begins in July every year. For more information, you can read the prospectus here.
At the launch, ISRO Chairman Dr. V. Narayanan explained how important it is to build expertise in space medicine. With India hoping for more space travel, research and training will be very important to prepare future scientists and astronauts to travel in space safely. SCTIMST President Dr. Kris Gopalakrishnan explained the new opportunities this collaboration can bring with examples like new biomedical technologies or discovery of the unknown. He also said that this program would further strengthen India’s Scientific capabilities in the field of space medicine.
The launch of India’s first Postdoctoral-focused space program is a change that would make fellow doctors and researchers excited. It makes me excited just reading about it! The future of working in bioastronautics is now closer than ever with the chance of preparing for long-duration space travel, research and much more!
