A group of earthbound scientists in the radiation medicine lab at Loma Linda University School of Medicine spends most of its time in outer space.
Not literally, of course. There isn’t a spacesuit among them but thanks to a long-running series of tests funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the team is metaphorically in space every day.
“The purpose of the NASA grants is to determine the health risks to astronauts on long-term space missions,” explains Greg Nelson, PhD, professor of basic sciences and radiation medicine at the school.
“An unavoidable complication of space travel is exposure to proton and high-charge, high-energy particle radiation,” notes Roman Vlkolinsky, PhD, assistant research professor. Dr. Vlkolinsky adds that cosmic rays trigger oxidative stress, neuroinflammation, and synaptic changes in the central nervous system similar to the effects of Alzheimer’s disease.
NASA established cooperative research activities with Loma Linda University Medical Center in the early 1990s and has been conducting or sponsoring research on campus ever since.
“Currently, there are four NASA studies within the department of basic sciences,” Dr. Nelson reports. Two of the four studies are scheduled to end in 2014. The other two will conclude in 2016. Together, they are valued at more than $10 million.
The titles of the four studies suggest they might not be intended for casual reading:
- Functional decline in mice with Alzheimer’s-type neurodegeneration is accelerated by charged-particle radiation;
- Charged particle radiation and resultant oxidative stress elicit deleterious functional changes in the central nervous system;
- Role of oxidative stress in mediating the effects of combined exposure to simulated microgravity and radiation on neurovascular remodeling in mice; and
- Impact of spaceflight on primary and secondary antibody responses.
Dr. Vlkolinsky is principal investigator for the first study; Dr. Nelson for the second; and “Vivien” Xiao Mao, MD, assistant research professor; and Michael Pecaut, PhD, associate research professor, serve in the same capacity for the third and fourth studies, respectively.
Dr. Nelson maintains that the studies he and Dr. Vlkolinksy are conducting with their colleagues—postdoctoral fellow Irina Sokolova, PhD; research assistants Mary Campbell-Beachler, Gordon Harding, and Emil Rudobeck; and principal laboratory assistant Tamako Jones—have practical applications for assessing health risks in space.
“We look at the brain, the immune system, and bone as tissues that are at risk from radiation exposure,” he says, noting that his studies have been included in experiments flown on five Space Shuttle missions.
Dr. Nelson is optimistic about the future of space research.
“NASA has their timeline mapped out through the year 2050,” he concludes. “I don’t see it dying out any time soon.”