Dr Beth Healey

Dr Beth Healey, is an Emergency Medicine doctor and inspirational speaker and has worked for several years in the NHS as well as a variety of international settings. Fluent in French, this has included providing pre-hospital medical care in the Swiss Alps.

As part of medical and logistical support teams she has worked in a number of extreme and remote environments including Svalbard, Siberia, Greenland, Antarctica and the North Pole.

As research MD for the European Space Agency (ESA) she overwintered in Antarctica at spaceflight analogue ‘Concordia’, otherwise known as ’White Mars’.

There, she researched the effects of isolation and extreme environment on the physiology and psychology of the crew. During the winter due to the low temperatures (-80C) and long polar night (105 days without any sunlight) they were completely isolated even in case of emergency. This research has been used to help inform space agencies of the challenges future astronauts on long duration spaceflight missions may face as well as develop medical models required for such missions. She also participated on an overland traverse, driving a Caterpillar tractor 1,200 km across the Antarctic plateau.

Since returning she has contributed to a Space and Global Health UN specialist interest group considering how we can use space derived technology to solve medical problems on earth including life support systems, telemedicine and remote diagnostics.

SPEAKING TOPICS

Dr Beth Healey speaks on subjects such as –

• Surviving extreme conditions
• Adapting to new climates
• Space and Antarctic Research
• Isolation & Coping Strategies

More recently during the COVID19 pandemic she has drawn on her personal experience and research into isolation to share advice and coping strategies to help reduce anxiety during governmental lockdowns and self-isolation.

Beth has been an invited speaker at a variety of public and private events including: New Scientist Live, TEDx NHS, TEDx Eton, TEDx Brussels, WIRED Live, WIRED Health, WIRED Next Generation, ESA ‘Space Rocks’, The European Space Policy Institute, London Design Museum, SCIENTIX, Bordersessions, The Eden Project ‘Summer of Space’, The Royal Institute ‘Surviving in space’, Liverpool science museum ‘Train like an astronaut’, Biohacker Conference Helsinki, The Royal Geographical Society EXPLORE Conference ‘Polar Panel’, The Royal Architectural Society Polar Lab, International Air Tattoo, UK Space Conference