TRISH selects extracellular vesicle project to advance human space health research through cellular repair

The Translational Research Institute for Space Health (TRISH) at Baylor College of Medicine, with consortium partners California Institute of Technology and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, announced today its selection of two projects that will protect astronaut health by enhancing pre-existing cellular repair. The awards are part of TRISH’s Biomedical Research Advances for Space Health (BRASH) solicitation.

Design of an Extracellular Vesicle Approach to Protect Human Health in Space led by Dr. Marni Boppart, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign was one of the two selected projects.

The NASA-funded institute’s BRASH solicitation invests in emerging science with the potential to reduce risks to human health and performance during future Artemis missions and beyond. Astronauts embarking on future Artemis missions will be exposed to many stressors, such as radiation, that have been shown to cause cellular and tissue damage throughout the body and could negatively impact human health and performance on long-duration deep space missions. The institute sought game-changing solutions through its BRASH solicitation that could reduce multiple crew health risks. The projects selected will explore approaches to enhance endogenous repair and health maintenance processes to ultimately support optimal organ, tissue and cell function for astronauts.

“TRISH is excited for these newly selected approaches exploring the ability to enhance the ability of cells to repair themselves,” said Dr. Jennifer Fogarty, TRISH chief scientific officer and professor of space medicine at Baylor. “TRISH strives to bring forward novel, inventive and disruptive solutions to the risks to human health in space. These projects brought innovative and revolutionary approaches to help safeguard health in the extremes of space through improvements to cellular repair. As with many of TRISH’s projects, there are potential applications to improving the health of people on Earth.”

Source – Baylor College of Medicine