News: Translational Research Institute

TRISH releases BRASH 2101 solicitation
Oct. 23 - TRISH's BRASH solicitation, released today, seeks novel research and multi-disciplinary approaches to reduce health risks for Mars explorers through manipulation of human metabolism and homeostasis at the cellular or whole organism level. Step-1 proposals are due Dec. 21, 2020 by 5 p.m. EST.

Space is dangerous, especially when you can’t call home for help
Oct. 22 - TRISH’s Deputy Chief Scientist Dr. Emmanuel Urquieta spoke to Science News for Students about the dangerous health concerns that face those brave enough to undertake the first mission to Mars.

“Far From Home” Storyteller event features astronauts, TRISH staff
Oct. 22 - TRISH director Dorit Donoviel, Ph.D and deputy chief scientist Dr. Emmanuel Urquieta participated in USA Today’s Storytellers Project event alongside astronauts Nicole Stott, Cady Coleman and David Hilmers. The virtual event shared stories from space explorers and scientists preparing for the mission to Mars, and what they learned about loneliness and isolation from space. Donoviel did a Q&A about how to apply the lessons from space to coping during the pandemic. Watch the show here.

Houston virtual reality company Z3VR says TRISH funding “means the world”
Oct. 14 - Z3VR spoke to Innovation Map about designing behavioral health solutions for astronauts. The company recently received a TRISH industry grant.

USA Today talks with TRISH director on top five tips to combat anxiety, loneliness
Oct. 13 - TRISH director Dorit Donoviel, Ph.D spoke with USA Today about top tips for fighting anxiety and loneliness while socially distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic.

TRISH deputy chief scientist discusses space medicine on medical podcast
Oct. 9 - Dr. Emmanuel Urquieta talked about the unique challenges of space medicine on the CorConsult healthcare podcast.

TRISH Chief Scientist gives lecture on deep space health risks
Oct. 8 - Kristin Fabre, Ph.D gave a lecture on the risks and hazards of deep space exploration as part of Carnegie Mellon’s Challenging Boundaries Fall Seminar Series.

TRISH director joins “Above and Beyond for Women” panel
Oct. 8 - Dorit Donoviel, Ph.D was featured as one of three speakers at the Ellevate Houston Above and Beyond for Women panel. She joined NASA flight surgeon Dr. Moriah Thompson and NASA chief scientist Dr. Julie Robinson.

Researchers studying faster diagnosis, treatment of brain injuries, with TRISH funding
Oct. 1 - UTHealth researchers, funded by TRISH, are investigating using artificial intelligence and retinal cameras to diagnose strokes without the need for a MRI or CT scan. Their research was recently featured on UTHealth News.

New rapid detection sensor for COVID-19 comes from TRISH funding
Oct. 1 - Caltech researchers, with TRISH funding,  have developed a new type of COVID-19 test that could enable at-home diagnosis in less than 10 minutes. The researchers hope to start testing hospitalized COVID-19 patients soon.

What NASA can teach us about social isolation
Sept. 23 - How do we combat loneliness and social isolation when physical distancing is critical? The "Creating a New Healthcare" podcast featured TRISH's Gary Strangman, Ph.D. and how findings from space missions drive solutions for all.

Three innovative companies selected to guard the mind of Mars explorers
Sept. 23 – TRISH awarded Z3VR, Ejenta and Holobiome grants to advance their innovative behavioral health technologies to address the needs of future long-duration space missions. Read the announcement. 

TRISH awards grants to mitigate the effects of space radiation
Sept. 18 – TRISH has selected five research teams to advance the study of space radiation using human tissue/organ models. Read the press release. 

Wisdom From The Women Leading The Space Industry
Aug. 16 – TRISH Director Dorit Donoviel, Ph.D was interviewed for Authority Magazine’s series “Women Leading The Space Industry.”  Dr. Donoviel candidly gives her perspectives about the most exciting aspects the space industry, the changes and challenges needed regarding women in STEM, five leadership lessons, and more.

Incredible, radiation-fighting duckweed
July 14 – TRISH PI Barbara Demmig-Adams from the University of Colorado Boulder shared her work to optimize duckweed for use in spaceflight, where space, resources and fresh food are limited. Read the research brief in The Conversation.

Drugs in Space
July 9 - Dr. Emmanuel Urquieta spoke to The Pharmaceutical Journal about the pharmacy orbiting the Earth, and how pharmaceutical solutions being developed for astronauts can have implications for drug delivery at home.

University of Hawaii grad earns TRISH fellowship
July 7 – The University of Hawaii News shared an interview with new TRISH postdoc, Arif Rahman.

TRISH awards postdoctoral fellowships
July 1 – TRISH announced five postdoctoral fellows selected to advance research in space translatable life science. Read the press release. 

Coronavirus hasn’t hit space — yet
May 27 - Dorit Donoviel, Ph.D spoke to Politico about COVID-19 and implications for health in space.

#FarFromAlone Campaign Kickoff
May 10 - TRISH joins partners Humana, Papa, and Uber Health to announce “Far From Alone” public health awareness campaign to promote understanding of loneliness and social isolation.

Houston: We Are On A Podcast
May 8 - TRISH director Dorit Donoviel and TRISH Chief Scientist Kristin Fabre talked innovations for Mars with NASA’s Houston We Have a Podcast.

Space Health Assists in COVID-19
April 20 - The COVID-19 pandemic is a huge challenge for health professionals everywhere. TRISH-funded advances for space health are proving to be useful during this crisis. Read the news release.

Chat with a Space Scientist
March 31 - Schools are moving to remote learning in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. TRISH is here to help with its weekly 30-minute Live On (the way to) Mars interactive talks. Learn more.

Detecting Stress Through Your Sweat
Feb. 26 - TRISH funded researcher Wei Gao is taking his research on sweat sensors used to detect stress and developing it to monitor stress and anxiety in space explorers. From Caltech News.

Video Games Reshape How We Think Of Life After Earth
Feb. 25 - OneZero featured TRISH partner Level Ex and how it’s using video game technology to help assist astronauts properly diagnosis conditions in space.

Livestream of 2020 NASA Human Research Program's Investigators' Workshop
Jan. 28 - TRISH live-streamed the plenary sessions of the 2020 HRP IWS, held Jan. 27-30 in Galveston, Texas. Watch Day 1, Day 2, Day 3 or Day 4.

Thought Leadership in Space Health
Jan. 26 - Authority magazine interviewed TRISH director Dorit Donoviel on being a thought leader in the space medicine industry.

The Future of Making Drugs In Space
Jan. 23 - TRISH Deputy Chief Scientist Emmanuel Urquieta spoke with Pharma Technology Focus on how TRISH-funded research will allow drugs to be manufactured in space.

Innovating in Space City
Jan. 15 - The Houston Innovators podcast hosted TRISH director Dorit Donoviel for a discussion on how the Institute takes risk to advance space medicine.

Video Game Tech Helps Doctors Work
Jan. 9 - The Washington Post spoke to TRISH-funded partner Level Ex on how its video game simulation can help keep astronauts healthy on long space journeys.

TRISH Seeks Space Radiation Research Proposals
Jan. 8 - The Institute released a new funding initiative supporting research advances in the study of space radiation and is seeking countermeasures for deep space exploration. Find the solicitation here. Read the news release here.

TRISH’s Holistic Approach to Astronaut Health
Nov. 22 - TRISH senior innovation scientist Kristin Fabre spoke with HIMSS TV about how the institute helps make advances in space health.

Designing Health Wearables for Astronauts
Nov. 20 - TRISH partnered with medical device company Empatica to develop a wearable monitor to track astronaut health. The company was previously known for creating the first smart watch used to detect seizures. Read more.

Space Health Innovation Conference launches in San Francisco
Nov. 5 – TRISH’s Space Health Innovation Conference has mobihealth news thinking about test driving health technology for the longest space journey yet, and spoke to TRISH’s Senior Innovation Scientist Kristin Fabre about what’s coming next.
Nov. 4 - At SHIC, NASA scientists, astronauts and partners discussed the future of space health. Read the interview with TRISH leadership on NASA’s healthcare challenges from mobihealth news. 

Medical gaming for astronaut simulation
Oct. 31 – Forbesexplores the future of gaming for space: medical training simulations by TRISH-funded gaming company, Level Ex.

TRISH seeks new postdoctoral fellows
Oct. 28 – TRISH announced it is soliciting proposals from postdoctoral researchers ready to help solve the health challenges of human deep space exploration. Read the press release.

Exploring the new health frontiers in space
Oct. 24 – Luminary Labs spoke with TRISH Scientists Dr. Emmanuel Urquieta about the future of health and exploring its new frontiers in space. Read the interview from Luminary Labs.

Hacking for health equity
Oct. 21 – TRISH is participating the second annual Health Equity Hackathon in Houston, using newly available data to help address innovations for underserved communities. Read the news release. 

Future Starship updates could use more details on human health and survival
Oct. 4 – The Verge spoke to TRISH Director Dorit Donoviel about the questions that still remain for protecting human health in space – even aboard the SpaceX Starship rocket.

How does space travel impact health?
Sept. 30 – Texas A&M Today and Vital Record took a look at a TRISH-funded study that will investigate the possibility of developing first-ever international medical database for retired astronauts.

From Jedis to Astronauts
Aug. 30 - CNBC covered the jump from Jedis to astronauts and how TRISH is working with game developer to improve astronaut training. 
Aug. 7 – TRISH awarded medical videogame company Level Ex a significant grant to create a framework to simulate the human body’s anatomical and physiological changes in space, demonstrate how medical devices and procedures function differently in microgravity, and create high-fidelity simulations of the spacecraft environment. Read the news release.

Testing wearables for sleep improvements in space
July 27 – Can a sleep device give deep-space explorers a good night’s rest? TRISH is funding investigators from the Wisconsin Institute for Sleep and Consciousness to test it out.

TRISH announces new postdoc fellows
July 25 – TRISH awarded postdoctoral fellowships to six outstanding early career scientists working in space-translatable life sciences. Read the news on NASA.gov.

Health discoveries enabled by space exploration
July 19 – Dorit Donoviel channels the spirit of the Apollo program for The Hill– and lists some of the medical technologies enabled by the space program.

Who will be the first woman to walk on the moon?
July 18 - Neil Armstrong was the first man to walk on the moon. Who will be the first woman? TRISH Director Dorit Donoviel spoke to the Los Angeles Times about the future of women in space.

The Moon Is a Hazardous Place to Live
July 8 – The New York Times spoke to Dorit Donoviel about the harsh realities of the lunar surface. Healthtech innovator backed by TRISH works on space related eye conditions 
June 21- Dallas Innovates took a look at the work of TRISH-funded investigator Tasneem Sharma, Ph.D. and her patent-pending device to study a condition affecting astronauts returning from outer space.

TRISH announces two sleep studies for astronaut behavioral health
June 17- TRISH and Philips announced the selection of two research studies leveraging Philips technology to evaluate if sleep can be made more efficient to improve cognitive function and behavioral health. RTSleepWorld, HomeCare Magazine, HME News and Yahoo Finance shared the news.

2019 Aerospace Human Factors Award presented at Aerospace Medicine Association conference
May 7- The Aerospace Medicine Association and TRISH awarded Dr. Giuseppe Barisano of the University of Southern California with the 2019 Aerospace Human Factors Award. The honor was presented by Dr. Emmanuel Urquieta at the AsMA annual luncheon.

SPACE tomatoes funded by TRISH could feed future astronauts
May 3- Researchers at the University of California, Riverside are developing tomatoes with minimal biomass but a normal amount of fruit, thanks to a grant from TRISH. Greenhouse Grower highlighted the research effort.
May 3 - The New Food Economy highlights the work of TRISH investigators using gene editing to produce tiny tomatoes for space exploration.
April 25 - UC Riverside News covers the TRISH-funded tiny tomato plants developed at the University of California, Riverside, could one day feed astronauts on the International Space Station.

Tiny ‘tissue chips’ are a big deal for space health research
May 3- The National Institutes of Health sent 3D microphysiological systems, or tissue chips, to the International Space Station Lab. For TRISH, the research model opens up new possibilities to understand what happens to human organs during long space flights. A piece by Baylor College of Medicine about this innovative new technique can be found here.

Study of twin astronauts features multiple TRISH-funded projects
April 11- Astronaut Scott Kelly’s DNA had multiple changes after a year in space, according to recently published study partly funded by TRISH. Scott and his twin brother Mark’s DNA were part of the groundbreaking twin study. TRISH-funded researchers from Cornell University helped develop DNA sequencing techniques that could detect epigenetic changes in space. Read more in the Cornell Chronicle.

TRISH selects Industry 1901 proposals
April 1- TRISH partnered with the Consortia for Improving Medicine with Innovation and Technology to grant $1.5 million in awards to nine companies as part of the Industry 1901 solicitation. The news release can be found here.

TRISH Director speaks about scrapped all-female spacewalk
March 26- TRISH Director Dorit Donoviel was interviewed by Canada’s CTV about the postponed all-female spacewalk.

Red Risk School Highlights Space Health Problems, Solutions
March 18-22- TRISH’s Red Risk School showcased NASA’s top human health risks for deep space exploration. The expert-led scientific webinar featured topics such as radiation, Spaceflight Associated Neuro-ocular Syndrome or SANS, and in-flight medical capabilities. Red Risk School also covered TRISH’s current investigation portfolio and research funding priorities. A recorded version of the webinar is available here.

Space, like love, changes the human heart
Feb. 14- On Valentine’s Day, The Verge published a light-hearted piece about how space flight affects the human heart. TRISH director Dorit Donoviel was interviewed for the story.

Space2 workshop explores how confined environments affect health
Feb. 6-7- The Massachusetts Institute of Technology and TRISH collaborated to present the Space 2 workshop. The event focused on how the lack of space during spaceflight can affect the health of astronauts on board. The Verge, Psychology Today and TechRepublic each wrote pieces about the workshop.

Johnson Space Center highlights TRISH-funded device
Feb. 4- Johnson Space Center highlighted the Butterfly iQ, a small but highly capable ultrasound tool, in its latest news roundup. The Butterfly iQ was created by Butterfly Networks and helped into NASA operations by TRISH.

Health Equity Grand Rounds (in collaboration with Emergency Medicine Grand Rounds, Center for Space Medicine, and Translational Research Institute for Space Health)
Alyson J. McGregor, M.D., M.A., associate professor of Emergency Medicine and director of the Division of Sex and Gender in Emergency Medicine, The Warren Alpert Medical School, Brown University, presented at the Baylor College of Medicine Health Equity Grand Rounds. Watch the recording of her speech "How the Evolution of Sex and Gender-Based Research Impacts the Practice of Medicine."

TRISH Announces Industry Grant Award Winners
The institute, in partnership with Consortia for Improving Medicine with Innovation and Technology (CIMIT), has awarded three companies grants to further research related to artificial intelligence or point-of-care diagnostics that could help enhance astronaut human health and performance in deep space. Read the press release.

Space Health Institute Releases Call for Proposals for Postdoctoral Fellowships
Now through July 31, TRISH is accepting applications for its postdoctoral fellowship program. The two-year grant - with a potential for a third year of funding - is for research related to human health and performance in deep space. Applicants must submit research proposals together with an identified mentor and institution. Read the press release to learn more about the solicitation.

Translational Research Institute for Space Health Announces Grant Opportunity for Space Health Research
Biomedical Research Advances for Space Health (BRASH) is the latest solicitation from TRISH. The solicitation focuses on six topics: Predictive algorithms of health, behavior, and medical events; Improving resilience through nucleotide-based therapy; Non-pharmacological improvement of human performance; Multipurpose edible plants for spaceflight applications; New materials for shielding medications, or Test your expired medications. Initial applications are due by April 16. Read the press release.

TRISH Senior Innovation Portfolio Manager Presents at Mexican Space Agency Forum
Dr. Emmanuel Urquieta, senior innovation portfolio manager for TRISH, presented at the Mexican Space Agency's conference "Towards New Horizons of Medicine."

Forbes Mexico Interviews TRISH's Dr. Emmanuel Urquieta in Advance of Forum Forbes de Salud
The online news organization Forbes Mexico discusses Dr. Urquieta's passion for spaceflight and his path from medical doctor to TRISH - and everything in between. Read the fascinating and engaging interview.

3-D Printable Tools May Help Study Astronaut Health
If humans are destined for deep space, they need to understand the space environment changes health, including aging and antibiotic resistance. Read more.

New Director Named
Dr. Dorit Donoviel has been named the new TRI for Space Health director. Read the press release.

How Are Astronaut’s Brains Different Than Yours and Mine?
Read the fascinating article in The Verge where TRI for Space Health interim director Dorit Donoviel, Ph.D., describes how gravity makes all the difference.

Technology Is Changing How We Respond to Emergencies
TRI for Space Health’s interim director Dr. Dorit Donoviel participates in a Futurecast Technology Innovation Series panel discussion and correlates how space technologies are helping us here on Earth.

Postdoctoral Fellowship Announcement
TRISH awarded four postdoctoral fellowships to early career scientists. Each grantee will conduct a two-year project designed to safeguard and enhance astronaut health during deep space exploration missions. Read the selection announcement for more information.

TRI for Space Health's First Selection Announcement
The institute awarded ten innovative research and technology grants to enhance astronaut health. “We are thrilled to find, fund, and facilitate the maturation of medical advances that have the potential to make exploration of deep space safer for humans,” said Dr. Dorit Donoviel, TRI for Space Health interim director and associate professor at Baylor. “By setting the bar high, we are accelerating inventions in healthcare.” Learn more about our new projects by reading the Baylor news release.

Investing in the Next Generation of Scientists
Two-year fellowships are available in any U.S. laboratory carrying out biomedical research. TRI for Space Health has been tasked by NASA to identify and fund groundbreaking research and development that can reduce the risks to the health and performance of humans on space exploration missions. Read the solicitation for application instructions.

Funding Opportunity
Our first research announcement is now open! The newly established Translational Research Institute led by Baylor College of Medicine seeks innovative and disruptive technologies, techniques, and countermeasures that will enable and enhance human exploration of deep space. The Institute’s goal is to fund innovative approaches that will reduce multiple risks to human health on missions beyond low Earth orbit. Learn more about TRI's call for proposals by reading the Baylor news release.

New Ways to Protect Astronauts
Read the NASA press release about the creation of the Translational Research Institute; view the news release from Baylor College of Medicine.