Simon Fraser University
Exploring space health solutions through multiomic analysis of existing human spaceflight and analogue data — Spaceflight produces deleterious effects on multiple physiological systems (e.g., cardiovascular, cardiorespiratory, and postural controls) with astronauts in isolation and confinement (IC) in a microgravity environment. IC studies conducted on the ISS and the ground generally demonstrated altered neuro-immunomodulated responses, whose mechanisms may be related to chronic stress dysregulating the central nervous system (CNS). However, the effects of IC on CNS insult and multi-omic responses are yet to be investigated. The research team proposes to analyze datasets of previous flight experiments from NASA’s OSDR and Vivaldi 1 & 2 transcriptomic data from dry immersion analogue study. They aim to generate new knowledge and understanding of human spaceflight risks associated with CNS dysfunctions and contribute to evidence-based, prophylactic countermeasure development to mitigate the adverse risks associated with current spaceflight. Moreover, this research aims to translate this underst