Out of the lab and into orbit: new TRISH-selected Baylor space health research

The Translational Research Institute for Space Health (TRISH) is uniquely positioned to leverage some of the premier minds and research institutions in health and technology. The NASA-funded consortium utilizes its partner institutions (Baylor College of Medicine, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and California Institute of Technology) to help solve NASA-relevant problems through seed and pilot grant awards.

These programs support new ideas in space medicine that could one day help protect the health and performance of astronauts. Scientific discovery happens through both incremental progress and "moon shots" - disruptive scientific studies and high-impact technologies that address the major risks of human spaceflight. Seed and pilot grants allow TRISH to quickly explore novel, out-of-the-box ideas that target high-priority health risks for space exploration. These advances are crucial to keeping astronauts safe in space while also benefiting healthcare on Earth.

These programs also can serve as a launch pad to space health, a niche field when compared to terrestrial medicine. These funding programs enable researchers from a wide range of disciplines to apply their work to the challenges of space.

Caltech opened the first round of solicitations through a seed grant program in 2019 and has seen several successful and innovative projects since. For example, Caltech researcher and professor Dr. Wei Gao used this modest funding to make great strides in his work with wearable chemical sensors. This technology provides real-time analysis of novel biomarkers using body fluids, offering a non-invasive alternative to blood draws to improve personalized health monitoring. Gao's work is one of many exciting demonstrations of the kinds of high-impact technologies that the TRISH pilot grant seeks to support.

The program recently expanded to include MIT and Baylor. The institute aims to increase the number of proposals as more scientists learn about the opportunity and the College's unique relationship with NASA.

Recently, TRISH selected five pilot grant projects at Baylor. The selected projects are:

Dissecting Desiccation Tolerance in Pleopeltis to Prepare for Interplanetary Travel

Principal investigator: Steven Boeynaems, Ph.D., Department of Molecular and Human Genetics

The Impact of Genetic Variation on Astronauts' Circadian Rhythms: Performance and Health in Space

Principal investigator: Dongyin Guan, Ph.D., Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Department of Medicine in the section of endocrinology, diabetes and metabolism

Automation of Ultrasonographic Optic Nerve Sheath Diameter Measurement Using Machine Learning

Principal investigator: Mohammad Hirzallah, M.D., Department of Neurology

An Antifungal Biotherapeutic for Just-in-time' Treatment of Topical Fungal Infections during Spaceflight

Principal investigator: Chad Johnston, Ph.D., Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Department of Molecular Virology and Microbiology

Investigating Radiation Effects on Engineered Vascularized Human Brain Tissue Microphysiological Systems

Principal investigator: Zbigniew Starosolski, Ph.D., Department of Radiology

Soon, Dr. Lonnie Petersen at MIT will follow in the footsteps of the other TRISH consortium partners and leverage its scientists in advancing space health scientific research through a similar seed grant program.

Harnessing the full potential of the TRISH consortium to create more exciting opportunities for researchers helps send humans safely beyond Earth. Utilizing the consortium's resources facilitates collaboration, innovation and discovery in space medicine. As the pilot and seed programs grow, so do our capabilities in space health.

By Sarah Kimmerly, communications fellow for the Translational Research Institute for Space Health

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