NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

NASA and the National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI) have selected 12 research proposals from 85 received from NASA Research Announcement NNJ10ZSA003N, "Research and Technology Development to Support Crew Health and Performance in Space Exploration Missions."

Proposals were openly solicited from academia, industry and government laboratories and were judged for scientific merit by non-NASA technical experts. Following external peer review, NASA and NSBRI selected 12 meritorious proposals representing nine states and 11 institutions. These grants are collectively valued at approximately $14 million over a three- to four-year period. The selected investigations address astronaut health and performance risks for future space exploration missions and are listed below.

NASA Awards

• Hernan Lorenzi, Ph.D., J. Craig Venter Institute, Study of the Impact of Long-term Space Travel on the Astronaut's Microbiome
• Christopher Miller, Ph.D., Smart Information Flow Technologies, AD ASTRA: Automated Detection of Attitudes and States through Transaction Recordings Analysis
• Dava Newman, Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Spacesuit Trauma Countermeasure System for Intravehicular and Extravehicular Activities
• William Paloski, Ph.D., University of Houston, Modulation of Muscle Function by Lower Limb Loading during Space Flight
• Steven Platts, Ph.D., NASA Johnson Space Center, Defining the Relation Between Biomarkers of Oxidative and Inflammatory Stress and Atherosclerosis Risk in Astronauts During and After Long-Duration Spaceflight
• Angelia Sebok, Alion Science and Technology, SPACEPRINT: Development and Validation of a Tool to Predict, Evaluate, and Mitigate Excessive Workload Effects
• Rachael Seidler, Ph.D., University of Michigan, Spaceflight Effects on Neurocognitive Performance: Extent, Longevity, and Neural Bases
• Richard Simpson, Ph.D., University of Houston, The Effects of Long-Term Exposure to Microgravity on Salivary Markers of Innate Immunity
• Scott Tannenbaum, Ph.D., The Group for Organizational Effectiveness, Inc., Composing and Developing Resilient, Adaptive, and Self-Sustaining Teams for Long Duration Space Exploration
• Zata Vickers, Ph.D., University of Minnesota, Factors Contributing to Food Acceptability and Consumption, Mood, and Stress on Long-term Space Missions

NSBRI Awards

Human Factors and Performance Team

• Mathias Basner, M.D., University of Pennsylvania, Individualized Real-Time Neurocognitive Assessment Toolkit for Space Flight Fatigue

Musculoskeletal Alterations Team

• Ruth Globus, Ph.D., NASA Ames Research Center, Simulated Space Radiation and Weightlessness: Vascular-Bone Coupling Mechanisms to Preserve Skeletal Health