USA Scientist Awarded Astronaut Health Grant

Scientists at the Frederick P. Whiddon College of Medicine at the University of South Alabama (USA) will test means to reduce oxidative damage to cells and tissues, and better protect the health and well-being of astronauts, the university announced. A grant totaling $918,940 from the Translational Research Institute for Space Health (TRISH) will fund Dr. Marie Migaud’s project, which will begin in October and be funded over two years. Migaud’s study will test ways to mitigate the risks to astronauts embarking on Artemis missions to the moon and Mars, during which they will be exposed to conditions such as ionizing radiation, microgravity and metabolic stressors that have been shown to cause cellular and tissue damage throughout the body. Co-investigators on the project are researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham; the University of Nevada, Las Vegas; and Rutgers University. Dr. Faisal Hayat, a senior research associate in Migaud’s laboratory, developed the chemistry that enables the proposed study and will be essential to the project. TRISH is a partner of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Human Research Program and is funded through a cooperative agreement with NASA to the Baylor College of Medicine.