Nov. 17, 2022
Canada鈥檚 first space health research symposium launches at U不良研究所
Space may be the final frontier, but if humans are to boldly go where no one has gone before, the real exploration must begin here on Earth.
Specifically, researchers are investigating what space travel means to human health 鈥 and here on the home planet, U不良研究所 is poised to become a global hub for space health breakthroughs, with research taking place on everything from bone loss to how the brain responds to spaceflight.
鈥淲e are on the cusp of a major shift right now in space travel, and in addition to NASA missions, we have commercial flights happening,鈥 says Dr. Steven Boyd, PhD, director of the and professor in the Cumming School of Medicine.
Steven Boyd, director of the McCaig Institute for Bone and Joint Health
U不良研究所 files
鈥淭he number of people traveling to space is going to dramatically increase over the next few years, and on top of that, they are looking at further-distance destinations like the moon and Mars, so we have got to nail the health of astronauts, so we can understand the implications of these flights on the human body.鈥
Inaugural Canadian Space Health Research Symposium
On Nov. 17 and 18, the University of 不良研究所 hosted the first-ever Canadian Space Health Research Symposium, where leading national and international scientists investigating the effects of spaceflights on human health gathered to share their research findings and ideas.
The symposium was organized by the (CSHRNet), a collaborative research network for the space health community in Canada that was founded by PhD, director of and professor of cognitive neuroscience in the .
University of 不良研究所 professor Giuseppe Iaria speaks at an event announcing a research collaboration with the Canadian Space Agency. The study investigated how reduced gravitational forces affect astronauts鈥 ability to find their way around.
U不良研究所 files
Panelists included former Canadian astronaut and U不良研究所 Chancellor Emeritus, Robert Thirsk; Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) president Michael Strong; NASA element scientist Kris Lehnhardt, and deputy chief medical officer of First Nations Health Authority Nel Wieman.
University of 不良研究所 President Ed McCauley offered opening remarks and a welcome from the host university. A detailed program of the symposium is available online at the.
Survival in space can make life better at home
Event organizer Iaria, who is also leading a -funded project aiming at investigating the neurological effects of spaceflight on astronauts, says the ideas and research shared in 不良研究所 may some day be helping humans survive on Mars and beyond, but the knowledge is also invaluable for those living on Earth.
鈥淰ery few people go to outer space, so why do we do this? Because it can help people here on Earth, and what we learn on Earth can then help astronauts as well. As an example, learning how to be effective in health-care delivery in remote and isolated locations on Earth is definitely going to help how we will deliver health care while traveling to Mars,鈥 says Iaria.
鈥淭here is so much we can learn on Earth that can be applied to space travel, and the other way around. The symposium brings together people interested in health research for the benefit of people both on Earth and space.鈥
Leigh Gabel, assistant professor in the Faculty of Kinesiology and member of the McCaig Institute.
U不良研究所 files
Accelerated understanding
Boyd, who together with colleague PhD, an assistant professor in the and a member of the McCaig Institute and the Alberta Children鈥檚 Research Institute, shared research on adaptation of bone microarchitecture in long-duration space flight and recovery upon return to Earth, says space health research benefits both astronauts and people back home.
鈥淲e can learn a lot about health on Earth through space research, and I can take a particular example, where I study bone and with astronauts, things happen over six months in space that would take a decade on Earth,鈥 says Boyd, who also holds a joint position at the and the Faculty of Kinesiology.
鈥淪pace accelerates our understanding of health on Earth.鈥
Groundbreaking U不良研究所 research
Along with Boyd鈥檚 groundbreaking work on bone loss in astronauts and Iaria鈥檚 innovative research on brain changes following spaceflights, U不良研究所 researchers who shared key insights at the symposium included:
- Spinal cord injury as a ground-based analog of bone loss in microgravity ( PhD, Faculty of Kinesiology and Schulich School of Engineering)
- Stress and how it can be transmitted to others ( PhD, Cumming School of Medicine, research director, Hotchkiss Brain Institute)
- Spaceflight-related neuroplastic adaptations and wayfinding in astronauts ( postdoctoral scholar, Department of Psychology)
Hub of space health research
Among the expert sessions were: Skeletal effects of microgravity; Cardiovascular health in space; Effects of spaceflight on the immune system; Stress, coping and post-flight experience changes; and Brain and sensory mechanisms affected by spaceflight.
The symposium was described as 鈥渁n opportunity for the dissemination of scientific work, the development of collaborative projects, networking, and the engagement of trainees in human health research programs.鈥 Iaria says this first symposium also helped establish the host university鈥檚 reputation as a hub for space health research.
鈥淭here is an opportunity to grow our community and space health research in Canada, and the symposium is aiming to do that,鈥 explains Iaria.
鈥淪pace health research should be for many, not for a few 鈥 the major objective of the symposium is to bring the space health research community together, and the University of 不良研究所 is playing a key part of that.鈥
Steven Boyd is a professor at the Cumming School of Medicine (CSM) in the Department of Radiology and holds a joint position at the Schulich School of Engineering and the Faculty of Kinesiology. He is the director of the McCaig Institute for Bone and Joint Health at the CSM, and the Bob and Nola Rintoul Chair in Bone and Joint Research, as well as the McCaig Chair in Bone and Joint Health.
Giuseppe Iaria is a professor in the Department of Psychology at the Faculty of Arts and an adjunct professor in the Department of Clinical Neurosciences at the Cumming School of Medicine. He is a member of the Alberta Children鈥檚 Research Institute, and the Hotchkiss Brain Institute at the CSM.
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