NASA Opens Space Station For Biological Research From NIH Grants
WASHINGTON -- NASA is enabling biomedical research with National
Institutes of Health (NIH) grants that take advantage of the unique
microgravity environment aboard the International Space Station to
explore fundamental questions about important health issues.
The NIH Biomedical Research on the International Space Station
(BioMed-ISS) awards are the next step in a new partnership to apply
the national laboratory to research that complements NASA's own space
studies. The NIH studies include research on how bones and the immune system weaken in space.
"This marks the beginning of a new era in microgravity-based research
with the International Space Station turning the corner from
construction to use as a new national laboratory," said Mark Uhran,
assistant associate administrator for space station, NASA Headquarters in Washington.
In 2005 Congress recognized the immense promise the station holds for
U.S.-led science and technology efforts. It opened the U.S. portion
of the facility to federal agencies, university and private sector
researchers by designating the station as a national laboratory. In
addition to NIH, NASA has similar research agreements with the
Departments of Defense, Agriculture and Energy and the National Science Foundation.
Scientists will conduct their experiments under a two-stage mechanism.
The first is a ground-based preparatory phase to allow investigators
to meet select milestones and technical requirements. The second is
an experimental phase on the space station that will include
preparing the experiments for launch, working with astronauts to
conduct them on orbit and performing subsequent data analyses on Earth.
"BioMed-ISS offers a novel opportunity for gaining scientific insights
that would not otherwise be possible through ground-based means,"
said Stephen I. Katz, M.D., Ph.D., director of the NIH's National
Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases and NIH
liaison to NASA. "The beauty of this initiative is that it offers an
unprecedented opportunity for benefitting human health on earth,
while leveraging the American public's investment in the ISS."
NIH is hosting three rounds of competition for the initiative. The
first round of grants for the ground-based phase, totaling an
estimated $1,323,000, has been awarded as follows:
Paola Divieti, M.D., Ph.D., Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard
Medical School, Boston: Weight-bearing activities contribute to the
development and maintenance of bone mass, while weightlessness and
immobility, as experienced by the astronauts and bedridden and
immobilized patients, can result in bone loss and a weakened
skeleton. Osteocytes, the most common type of bone cell, are believed
to have gravity-sensing abilities. These cells play a key role in
bone remodeling, a process that is vital to skeletal health. In
studying osteocytes in a gravity-free environment, Divieti aims to
uncover new therapeutic targets for osteoporosis and related bone diseases.
Millie Hughes-Fulford, Ph.D., Northern California Institute for
Research and Education, San Francisco: The immune system, which
protects the body against foreign substances, is suppressed in space.
A reduction in the immune response also occurs in the elderly, who,
like the astronauts, are at increased risk for infection. As a former
astronaut, Hughes-Fulford, a former payload specialist on the STS-40
Spacelab Life Sciences shuttle mission in 1991, aims to apply lessons
learned from studies of immune cells in microgravity to a new model
for investigating the loss of immune response in older women and men.
Declan McCole, Ph.D., University of California, San Diego: The
movement of toxins from intestines to other organs in the body is a
major source of illness in the United States. A major factor in
disease stems from the ability of toxins to compromise the natural
barrier function of cells in the gastrointestinal tract. Using
microgravity based three-dimensional cell culture models, McCole
plans to generate insights regarding the barrier properties of the
intestines, and explore how the absence of gravity affects a toxin's
ability to diminish this barrier.
For more information about NIH and NASA activities, visit:
http://www.niams.nih.gov/News_
For information about the International Space Station, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/station
For more information about NIH and its programs, visit:
http://www.nih.gov
Source: NASA
