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Project Title:  Spatiotemporal Mapping of the Impact of Spaceflight on the Heart and Brain Reduce
Images: icon  Fiscal Year: FY 2025 
Division: Space Biology 
Research Discipline/Element:
Space Biology: Cell & Molecular Biology   | Animal Biology: Vertebrate  
 Start Date: 12/01/2021  
End Date: 11/30/2024  
Task Last Updated: 05/05/2025 		 Download Task Book report in PDF pdf
Principal Investigator/Affiliation:   Mason, Christopher  Ph.D. / Weill Medical College of Cornell University 
Address:  1305 York Ave, Room Y13-04, Box 140 
 
New York , NY 10021-5663 		 Email: chm2042@med.cornell.edu 
Phone: 203-668-1448  
Congressional District: 12 
Web:  
 Organization Type: UNIVERSITY 
Organization Name: Weill Medical College of Cornell University 
Joint Agency:  
Comments:  
Co-Investigator(s)
Affiliation: 
Costes, Sylvain  Ph.D. NASA Ames Research Center 
Galazka, Jonathan  Ph.D. NASA Ames Research Center 
Giacomello, Stefania  Ph.D. Kungliga Tekniska Hogskolan 
Key Personnel Changes / Previous PI: NA
Project Information: Grant/Contract No. 80NSSC22K0254 
Responsible Center: NASA ARC 
Grant Monitor: Jones, Harry  
Center Contact: 650.604.5518 
harry.jones@nasa.gov 
Unique ID: 14857  		Solicitation / Funding Source: 2020 Space Biology NNH20ZDA001N-SB E.12. Flight/Ground Research 
Grant/Contract No.: 80NSSC22K0254 
Project Type: Ground 
Flight Program:   		No. of Post Docs: 1 
No. of PhD Candidates: 2 
No. of Master's Candidates: 0 
No. of Bachelor's Candidates: 0  		No. of PhD Degrees: 1 
No. of Master's Degrees: 1 
No. of Bachelor's Degrees: 1 
Space Biology Element: (1) Cell & Molecular Biology
(2) Animal Biology: Vertebrate
Space Biology Cross-Element Discipline: None
Space Biology Special Category: None
Task Description: To prepare for future human exploration missions far from Earth, NASA’s Space Biology Program is seeking to build a better understanding of the effects of spaceflight and zero gravity on the biology of microorganisms, plants, and animals in spacecraft, the International Space Station (ISS), and also in ground-based analog experiments. The National Research Council recommended that NASA undergo studies to elucidate the effects of short and long duration spaceflight on the biology of all three categories of organisms. Technological advances in next-generation sequencing (NGS), spatial transcriptomics, and proteomics (spatial omics), several of which we describe below, create an unprecedented opportunity for in-depth molecular studies applicable to the purposes of NASA’s Space Biology Program. This provides scientists, engineers, and clinicians a more comprehensive view of the functional dynamics of organisms as they evolve and respond to unique or highly selective environments including the ISS.

Spaceflight causes changes in cell signaling pathways that are better understood only by increasing the analysis resolution level. In this project, we will deploy new technologies, i.e. spatial transcriptomics, single-nucleus RNA-sequencing, multi-omic spatial mapping (human and microbial), and systems biology algorithms to discover new insights relevant to the impact of spaceflight on human health. These data and methods will shed light on the complex biosystem dynamics that spaceflight causes in humans. We will be able to clearly dissect the gene expression changes occurring at the single-cell level, analyze how these changes affect the cell-cell genetic and physical interactions, and begin the first-ever in vivo human-microbial interaction maps from spaceflight. To do so we will conduct rigorous and cutting-edge omics analysis using two complementary platforms (10x Genomics Visium and Nanostring’s GeoMx) with six main rodent organs collected throughout several past spaceflight missions and their corresponding ground controls. Our integrated biology approach will allow us to understand physiological, anatomic, and molecular mechanisms of adaptation and response in animals to spaceflight.

For our organism-wide study we will leverage the extensive amount of samples collected throughout several Rodent Research (RR) missions which are accessible through the Life Sciences Data Repository (LSDA). Several of these specimens have already been allocated for Dr. Mason through LSDA. Our study will represent the first-of-its-kind in space biology and will provide foundational discoveries that will allow us to understand not only how astronaut conditions can be improved during spaceflight, but also how the changes induced by spaceflight can be translated into modern medicine to improve human health on Earth. Moreover, we will apply several statistical and machine learning techniques in order to predict changes induced by spaceflight at the organism level for future long-term missions.

Research Impact/Earth Benefits: We will be able to clearly dissect the gene expression changes occurring at the single-cell level, analyze how these changes affect the cell-cell genetic and physical interactions, and begin the first-ever in vivo human-microbial interaction maps from spaceflight. To do so we will conduct rigorous and cutting-edge omics analysis using two complementary platforms (10x Genomics Visium and Nanostring’s GeoMx) with six main rodent organs collected throughout several past spaceflight missions and their corresponding ground controls. Our integrated biology approach will allow us to understand physiological, anatomic, and molecular mechanisms of adaptation and response in animals to spaceflight.

Task Progress & Bibliography Information FY2025 
Task Progress: Our goal for sequencing libraries from the International Space Station (ISS)-terminal group was completed. In total, three eyes from the Live Animal Return (LAR) spaceflight group, three eyes from the LAR ground control group, three eyes from the ISS-T spaceflight group, and three eyes from the ISS-T ground control group are in the sequencing queue.

As an example, one flight eye and one ground control eye was processed with the NanoString GeoMx platform in addition to the flight eye from the last progress report. We also processed the RNA for each tissue. This image was featured as a selected abstract in the 2023 American Society for Gravitational and Space Research (ASGSR) meeting, and the image also won an art award at the conference. We are now in the process of uploading all the remaining data to NASA's GeneLab and the NASA Open Science Data Repository (OSDR).

Of note, this work led to one of our lab’s scientists (Dr. Eliah Overbey) getting a faculty position at University of Austin in the fall of 2024 and another member of the lab (Dr. Jiwoon Park) getting a post-doctoral fellowship in the Church lab at Harvard. This will extend the space biology and space medicine work to a new lab, which will continue to collaborate with our team and to use these data.

Also, these funds helped several projects and informed best practices in the large Inspiration4 / Japanese Space Agency (JAXA) / NASA package in Nature, published in June and July of 2024. Some of these papers include the following. [Ed. Note: For additional information, see Cumulative Bibliography.]

1. Sanders LM, et al. Biological research and self-driving labs in deep space supported by artificial intelligence. Nature machine intelligence. March 23 5, 208–209 (2023).

2. Scott RT, et al. Biomonitoring and precision health in deep space supported by artificial intelligence. Nature machine intelligence. Mar 23, 2023; 5, 196–207 (2023).

3. Overbey EG, Kim J, Tierney BT, Park J, Houerbi N, Lucaci AG, Garcia Medina S, Damle N, Najjar D, Grigorev K, Afshin EE, Ryon KA, Sienkiewicz K, Patras L, Klotz R, Ortiz V, MacKay M, Schweickart A, Chin CR, Sierra MA, Valenzuela MF, Dantas E, Nelson TM, Cekanaviciute E, Deards G, Foox J, Narayanan SA, Schmidt CM, Schmidt MA, Schmidt JC, Mullane S, Tigchelaar SS, Levitte S, Westover C, Bhattacharya C, Lucotti S, Wain Hirschberg J, Proszynski J, Burke M, Kleinman AS, Butler DJ, Loy C, Mzava O, Lenz J, Paul D, Mozsary C, Sanders LM, Taylor LE, Patel CO, Khan SA, Suhail Mohamad M, Byhaqui SGA, Aslam B, Gajadhar AS, Williamson L, Tandel P, Yang Q, Chu J, Benz RW, Siddiqui A, Hornburg D, Blease K, Moreno J, Boddicker A, Zhao J, Lajoie B, Scott RT, Gilbert RR, Lai Polo SH, Altomare A, Kruglyak S, Levy S, Ariyapala I, Beer J, Zhang B, Hudson BM, Rininger A, Church SE, Beheshti A, Church GM, Smith SM, Crucian BE, Zwart SR, Matei I, Lyden DC, Garrett-Bakelman F, Krumsiek J, Chen Q, Miller D, Shuga J, Williams S, Nemec C, Trudel G, Pelchat M, Laneuville O, De Vlaminck I, Gross S, Bolton KL, Bailey SM, Granstein R, Furman D, Melnick AM, Costes SV, Shirah B, Yu M, Menon AS, Mateus J, Meydan C, Mason CE. The Space Omics and Medical Atlas (SOMA) and international astronaut biobank. Nature. 2024 Aug;632(8027):1145-1154.

4. Mason CE, Green J, Adamopoulos KI, Afshin EE, Baechle JJ, Basner M, Bailey SM, Bielski L, Borg J, Borg J, Broddrick JT, Burke M, Caicedo A, Castañeda V, Chatterjee S, Chin CR, Church G, Costes SV, De Vlaminck I, Desai RI, Dhir R, Diaz JE, Etlin SM, Feinstein Z, Furman D, Garcia-Medina JS, Garrett-Bakelman F, Giacomello S, Gupta A, Hassanin A, Houerbi N, Irby I, Javorsky E, Jirak P, Jones CW, Kamal KY, Kangas BD, Karouia F, Kim J, Kim JH, Kleinman AS, Lam T, Lawler JM, Lee JA, Limoli CL, Lucaci A, MacKay M, McDonald JT, Melnick AM, Meydan C, Mieczkowski J, Muratani M, Najjar D, Othman MA, Overbey EG, Paar V, Park J, Paul AM, Perdyan A, Proszynski J, Reynolds RJ, Ronca AE, Rubins K, Ryon KA, Sanders LM, Glowe PS, Shevde Y, Schmidt MA, Scott RT, Shirah B, Sienkiewicz K, Sierra MA, Siew K, Theriot CA, Tierney BT, Venkateswaran K, Hirschberg JW, Walsh SB, Walter C, Winer DA, Yu M, Zea L, Mateus J, Beheshti A. A second space age spanning omics, platforms and medicine across orbits. Nature. 2024 Aug;632(8027):995-1008.

5. Jones CW, Overbey EG, Lacombe J, Ecker AJ, Meydan C, Ryon K, Tierney B, Damle N, MacKay M, Afshin EE, Foox J, Park J, Nelson TM, Suhail Mohamad M, Byhaqui SGA, Aslam B, Tali UA, Nisa L, Menon PV, Patel CO, Khan SA, Ebert DJ, Everson A, Schubert MC, Ali NN, Sarma MS, Kim J, Houerbi N, Grigorev K, Garcia Medina JS, Summers AJ, Gu J, Altin JA, Fattahi A, Hirzallah MI, Wu JH, Stahn AC, Beheshti A, Klotz R, Ortiz V, Yu M, Patras L, Matei I, Lyden D, Melnick A, Banerjee N, Mullane S, Kleinman AS, Loesche M, Menon AS, Donoviel DB, Urquieta E, Mateus J, Sargsyan AE, Shelhamer M, Zenhausern F, Bershad EM, Basner M, Mason CE. Molecular and physiological changes in the SpaceX Inspiration4 civilian crew. Nature. 2024 Aug;632(8027):1155-1164.

6. Kim J, Tierney BT, Overbey EG, Dantas E, Fuentealba M, Park J, Narayanan SA, Wu F, Najjar D, Chin CR, Meydan C, Loy C, Mathyk B, Klotz R, Ortiz V, Nguyen K, Ryon KA, Damle N, Houerbi N, Patras LI, Schanzer N, Hutchinson GA, Foox J, Bhattacharya C, Mackay M, Afshin EE, Hirschberg JW, Kleinman AS, Schmidt JC, Schmidt CM, Schmidt MA, Beheshti A, Matei I, Lyden D, Mullane S, Asadi A, Lenz JS, Mzava O, Yu M, Ganesan S, De Vlaminck I, Melnick AM, Barisic D, Winer DA, Zwart SR, Crucian BE, Smith SM, Mateus J, Furman D, Mason CE. Single-cell multi-ome and immune profiles of the Inspiration4 crew reveal conserved, cell-type, and sex-specific responses to spaceflight. Nature Communications. 2024 Jun 11;15(1):4954.

7. Tierney BT, Kim J, Overbey EG, Ryon KA, Foox J, Sierra MA, Bhattacharya C, Damle N, Najjar D, Park J, Garcia Medina JS, Houerbi N, Meydan C, Wain Hirschberg J, Qiu J, Kleinman AS, Al-Ghalith GA, MacKay M, Afshin EE, Dhir R, Borg J, Gatt C, Brereton N, Readhead BP, Beyaz S, Venkateswaran KJ, Wiseman K, Moreno J, Boddicker AM, Zhao J, Lajoie BR, Scott RT, Altomare A, Kruglyak S, Levy S, Church GM, Mason CE. Longitudinal multi-omics analysis of host microbiome architecture and immune responses during short-term spaceflight. Nature Microbiology. 2024 Jul;9(7):1661-1675.

8. Park J, Overbey EG, Narayanan SA, Kim J, Tierney BT, Damle N, Najjar D, Ryon KA, Proszynski J, Kleinman A, Hirschberg JW, MacKay M, Afshin EE, Granstein R, Gurvitch J, Hudson BM, Rininger A, Mullane S, Church SE, Meydan C, Church G, Beheshti A, Mateus J, Mason CE. Spatial multi-omics of human skin reveals KRAS and inflammatory responses to spaceflight. Nature Communications. 2024 Jun 11;15(1):4773.

9. Overbey EG, Ryon K, Kim J, Tierney BT, Klotz R, Ortiz V, Mullane S, Schmidt JC, MacKay M, Damle N, Najjar D, Matei I, Patras L, Garcia Medina JS, Kleinman AS, Wain Hirschberg J, Proszynski J, Narayanan SA, Schmidt CM, Afshin EE, Innes L, Saldarriaga MM, Schmidt MA, Granstein RD, Shirah B, Yu M, Lyden D, Mateus J, Mason CE. Collection of biospecimens from the inspiration4 mission establishes the standards for the space omics and medical atlas (SOMA). Nature Communications. 2024 Jun 11;15(1):4964.

10. Houerbi N, Kim J, Overbey EG, Batra R, Schweickart A, Patras L, Lucotti S, Ryon KA, Najjar D, Meydan C, Damle N, Chin C, Narayanan SA, Guarnieri JW, Widjaja G, Beheshti A, Tobias G, Vatter F, Hirschberg JW, Kleinman A, Afshin EE, MacKay M, Chen Q, Miller D, Gajadhar AS, Williamson L, Tandel P, Yang Q, Chu J, Benz R, Siddiqui A, Hornburg D, Gross S, Shirah B, Krumsiek J, Mateus J, Mao X, Matei I, Mason CE. Secretome profiling reveals acute changes in oxidative stress, brain homeostasis, and coagulation following short-duration spaceflight. Nature Communications. 2024 Jun 11;15(1):4862.

11. Rutter LA, MacKay MJ, Cope H, Szewczyk NJ, Kim J, Overbey E, Tierney BT, Muratani M, Lamm B, Bezdan D, Paul AM, Schmidt MA, Church GM, Giacomello S, Mason CE. Protective alleles and precision healthcare in crewed spaceflight. Nature Communications. 2024 Jul 22;15(1):6158.

12. Rutter LA, Cope H, MacKay MJ, Herranz R, Das S, Ponomarev SA, Costes SV, Paul AM, Barker R, Taylor DM, Bezdan D, Szewczyk NJ, Muratani M, Mason CE, Giacomello S. Astronaut omics and the impact of space on the human body at scale. Nature Communications. 2024 Jun 11;15(1):4952.

13. Wu F, Du H, Overbey E, Kim J, Makhijani P, Martin N, Lerner CA, Nguyen K, Baechle J, Valentino TR, Fuentealba M, Bartleson JM, Halaweh H, Winer S, Meydan C, Garrett-Bakelman F, Sayed N, Melov S, Muratani M, Gerencser AA, Kasler HG, Beheshti A, Mason CE, Furman D, Winer DA. Single-cell analysis identifies conserved features of immune dysfunction in simulated microgravity and spaceflight. Nature Communications. 2024 Jun 11;15(1):4795.

14. Grigorev K, Nelson TM, Overbey EG, Houerbi N, Kim J, Najjar D, Damle N, Afshin EE, Ryon KA, Thierry-Mieg J, Thierry-Mieg D, Melnick AM, Mateus J, Mason CE. Direct RNA sequencing of astronaut blood reveals spaceflight-associated m6A increases and hematopoietic transcriptional responses. Nature Communications. 2024 Jun 11;15(1):4950.

15. Garcia-Medina JS, Sienkiewicz K, Narayanan SA, Overbey EG, Grigorev K, Ryon KA, Burke M, Proszynski J, Tierney B, Schmidt CM, Mencia-Trinchant N, Klotz R, Ortiz V, Foox J, Chin C, Najjar D, Matei I, Chan I, Cruchaga C, Kleinman A, Kim J, Lucaci A, Loy C, Mzava O, De Vlaminck I, Singaraju A, Taylor LE, Schmidt JC, Schmidt MA, Blease K, Moreno J, Boddicker A, Zhao J, Lajoie B, Altomare A, Kruglyak S, Levy S, Yu M, Hassane DC, Bailey SM, Bolton K, Mateus J, Mason CE. Genome and clonal hematopoiesis stability contrasts with immune, cfDNA, mitochondrial, and telomere length changes during short duration spaceflight. Precision Clinical Medicine. 2024 Apr 8;7(1):pbae007.

16. Mathyk, B, Imudia AN, Quaas AM, Halicigil C, Karouia, F, Avci P, Nelson NG, Guzeloglu-Kayisli O, Denbo, M, Sanders LM, Scott RT, Basar M, Guevara-Cerdán AP, Strug M, Monseur B, Kayisli UA, Szewczyk N, Mason CE, Young SL, Tasoglu S, Costes SV, Beheshti A. Understanding how space travel affects the female reproductive system to the Moon and beyond. npj Women’s Health. 2024. Jun 11 2;(1).

17. Seylani A, Galsinh AS, Tasoula A, I AR, Camera A, Calleja-Agius J, Borg J, Goel C, Kim J, Clark KB, Das S, Arif S, Boerrigter M, Coffey C, Szewczyk N, Mason CE, Manoli M, Karouia F, Schwertz H, Beheshti A, Tulodziecki D. Ethical considerations for the age of non-governmental space exploration. Nature Communications. 2024 Jun 11;15(1):4774.

18. McDonald JT, Kim J, Farmerie L, Johnson ML, Trovao NS, Arif S, Siew K, Tsoy S, Bram Y, Park J, Overbey E, Ryon K, Haltom J, Singh U, Enguita FJ, Zaksas V, Guarnieri JW, Topper M, Wallace DC, Meydan C, Baylin S, Meller R, Muratani M, Porterfield DM, Kaufman B, Mori MA, Walsh SB, Sigaudo-Roussel D, Mebarek S, Bottini M, Marquette CA, Wurtele ES, Schwartz RE, Galeano D, Mason CE, Grabham P, Beheshti A. Space radiation damage rescued by inhibition of key spaceflight associated miRNAs. Nature Communications. 2024 Jun 11;15(1):4825.

19. Sanders LM, Grigorev KA, Scott RT, Saravia-Butler AM, Polo SL, Gilbert R, Overbey EG, Kim J, Mason CE, Costes SV. Inspiration4 data access through the NASA Open Science Data Repository. NPJ Microgravity. 2024 May 14;10(1):56.

20. Mathyk BA, Tabetah M, Karim R, Zaksas V, Kim J, Anu RI, Muratani M, Tasoula A, Singh RS, Chen YK, Overbey E, Park J, Cope H, Fazelinia H, Povero D, Borg J, Klotz RV, Yu M, Young SL, Mason CE, Szewczyk N, St Clair RM, Karouia F, Beheshti A. Spaceflight induces changes in gene expression profiles linked to insulin and estrogen. Communications Biology. 2024 Jun 11;7(1):692. doi: 10.1038/s42003-023-05213-2. PMID: 38862620; PMCID: PMC11166981.

21. Borg J, Loy C, Kim J, Buhagiar A, Chin C, Damle N, De Vlaminck I, Felice A, Liu T, Matei I, Meydan C, Muratani M, Mzava O, Overbey E, Ryon KA, Smith SM, Tierney BT, Trudel G, Zwart SR, Beheshti A, Mason CE, Borg J. Spatiotemporal expression and control of haemoglobin in space. Nature Communications. 2024 Jun 11;15(1):4927. doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-49289-8. PMID: 38862545; PMCID: PMC11166948.

22. Cope H, Elsborg J, Demharter S, McDonald JT, Wernecke C, Parthasarathy H, Unadkat H, Chatrathi M, Claudio J, Reinsch S, Avci P, Zwart SR, Smith SM, Heer M, Muratani M, Meydan C, Overbey E, Kim J, Chin CR, Park J, Schisler JC, Mason CE, Szewczyk NJ, Willis CRG, Salam A, Beheshti A. Transcriptomics analysis reveals molecular alterations underpinning spaceflight dermatology. Commun Med (Lond). 2024 Jun 11;4(1):106. doi: 10.1038/s43856-024-00532-9. PMID: 38862781; PMCID: PMC11166967.

23. Camera A, Tabetah M, Castañeda V, Kim J, Galsinh AS, Haro-Vinueza A, Salinas I, Seylani A, Arif S, Das S, Mori MA, Carano A, de Oliveira LC, Muratani M, Barker R, Zaksas V, Goel C, Dimokidis E, Taylor DM, Jeong J, Overbey E, Meydan C, Porterfield DM, Díaz JE, Caicedo A, Schisler JC, Laiakis EC, Mason CE, Kim MS, Karouia F, Szewczyk NJ, Beheshti A. Aging and putative frailty biomarkers are altered by spaceflight. Scientific Reports. 2024 Jun 11;14(1):13098. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-57948-5. PMID: 38862573; PMCID: PMC11166946.

24. Etlin S, Rose J, Bielski L, Walter C, Kleinman AS, Mason CE. The human microbiome in space: parallels between Earth-based dysbiosis, implications for long-duration spaceflight, and possible mitigation strategies. Clinical Microbiology Reviews. 2024 Sep 12;37(3):e0016322. doi: 10.1128/cmr.00163-22. Epub 2024 Aug 13. PMID: 39136453; PMCID: PMC11391694.

This work was also featured on the cover of Nature in August 2024:

Overbey EG, Kim J, Tierney BT, Park J, Houerbi N, Lucaci AG, Garcia Medina S, Bailey SM, Granstein R, Furman D, Melnick AM, Costes SV, Shirah B, Yu M, Menon AS, Mateus J, Meydan C, Mason CE. "Cover of the journal NATURE for article, 'The Space Omics and Medical Atlas (SOMA) and international astronaut biobank.'" Nature. 2024 Aug;632(8027):1145-54. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07639-y

This special issue featured much of the work of this grant and comparisons to human spaceflight data.

Bibliography: Description: (Last Updated: 05/29/2025) 

Show Cumulative Bibliography
 
Articles in Peer-reviewed Journals Sanders LM, Scott RT, Yang JH, Qutub AA, Garcia Martin H, Berrios DC, Hastings JJA, Rask J, Mackintosh G, Hoarfrost AL, Chalk S, Kalantari J, Khezeli K, Antonsen EL, Babdor J, Barker R, Baranzini SE, Beheshti A, Delgado-Aparicio GM, Glicksberg BS, Greene CS, Haendel M, Hamid AA, Heller P, Jamieson D, Jarvis KJ, Komarova SV, Komorowski M, Kothiyal P, Mahabal A, Manor U, Mason CE, Matar M, Mias GI, Miller J, Myers JG, Nelson C, Oribello J, Park S-m, Parsons-Wingerter P, Prabhu RK, Reynolds RJ, Saravia-Butler A, Saria S, Sawyer A, Singh NK, Snyder M, Soboczenski F, Soman K, Theriot CA, Van Valen D, Venkateswaran K, Warren L, Worthey L, Zitnik M, Costes SV. "Biological research and self-driving labs in deep space supported by artificial intelligence." Nat Mach Intell. 2023 Mar 23;5:208-19. Review. https://doi.org/10.1038/s42256-023-00618-4 , Mar-2023
Articles in Peer-reviewed Journals Scott RT, Sanders LM, Antonsen EL, Hastings JJA, Park S-m, Mackintosh G, Reynolds RJ, Hoarfrost AL, Sawyer A, Greene CS, Glicksberg BS, Theriot CA, Berrios DC, Miller J, Babdor J, Barker R, Baranzini SE, Beheshti A, Chalk S, Delgado-Aparicio GM, Haendel M, Hamid AA, Heller P, Jamieson D, Jarvis KJ, Kalantari J, Khezeli K, Komarova SV, Komorowski M, Kothiyal P, Mahabal A, Manor U, Garcia Martin H, Mason CE, Matar M, Mias GI, Myers JG, Nelson C, Oribello J, Parsons-Wingerter P, Prabhu RK, Qutub AA, Rask J, Saravia-Butler A, Saria S, Singh NK, Snyder M, Soboczenski F, Soman K, Van Valen D, Venkateswaran K, Warren L, Worthey L, Yang JH, Zitnik M, Costes SV. "Biomonitoring and precision health in deep space supported by artificial intelligence. " Nat Mach Intell. 2023 Mar 23;5:196-207. Review. https://doi.org/10.1038/s42256-023-00617-5 , Mar-2023
Articles in Peer-reviewed Journals Overbey EG, Kim J, Tierney BT, Park J, Houerbi N, Lucaci AG, Garcia Medina S, Damle N, Najjar D, Grigorev K, Afshin EE, Ryon KA, Sienkiewicz K, Patras L, Klotz R, Ortiz V, MacKay M, Schweickart A, Chin CR, Sierra MA, Valenzuela MF, Dantas E, Nelson TM, Cekanaviciute E, Deards G, Foox J, Narayanan SA, Schmidt CM, Schmidt MA, Schmidt JC, Mullane S, Tigchelaar SS, Levitte S, Westover C, Bhattacharya C, Lucotti S, Wain Hirschberg J, Proszynski J, Burke M, Kleinman AS, Butler DJ, Loy C, Mzava O, Lenz J, Paul D, Mozsary C, Sanders LM, Taylor LE, Patel CO, Khan SA, Suhail Mohamad M, Byhaqui SGA, Aslam B, Gajadhar AS, Williamson L, Tandel P, Yang Q, Chu J, Benz RW, Siddiqui A, Hornburg D, Blease K, Moreno J, Boddicker A, Zhao J, Lajoie B, Scott RT, Gilbert RR, Lai Polo SH, Altomare A, Kruglyak S, Levy S, Ariyapala I, Beer J, Zhang B, Hudson BM, Rininger A, Church SE, Beheshti A, Church GM, Smith SM, Crucian BE, Zwart SR, Matei I, Lyden DC, Garrett-Bakelman F, Krumsiek J, Chen Q, Miller D, Shuga J, Williams S, Nemec C, Trudel G, Pelchat M, Laneuville O, De Vlaminck I, Gross S, Bolton KL, Bailey SM, Granstein R, Furman D, Melnick AM, Costes SV, Shirah B, Yu M, Menon AS, Mateus J, Meydan C, Mason CE. "The Space Omics and Medical Atlas (SOMA) and international astronaut biobank." Nature. 2024 Aug;632(8027):1145-54. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-07639-y ; PMID: 38862028; PMCID: PMC11357981 , Aug-2024
Articles in Peer-reviewed Journals Mason CE, Green J, Adamopoulos KI, Afshin EE, Baechle JJ, Basner M, Bailey SM, Bielski L, Borg J, Borg J, Broddrick JT, Burke M, Caicedo A, Castañeda V, Chatterjee S, Chin CR, Church G, Costes SV, De Vlaminck I, Desai RI, Dhir R, Diaz JE, Etlin SM, Feinstein Z, Furman D, Garcia-Medina JS, Garrett-Bakelman F, Giacomello S, Gupta A, Hassanin A, Houerbi N, Irby I, Javorsky E, Jirak P, Jones CW, Kamal KY, Kangas BD, Karouia F, Kim J, Kim JH, Kleinman AS, Lam T, Lawler JM, Lee JA, Limoli CL, Lucaci A, MacKay M, McDonald JT, Melnick AM, Meydan C, Mieczkowski J, Muratani M, Najjar D, Othman MA, Overbey EG, Paar V, Park J, Paul AM, Perdyan A, Proszynski J, Reynolds RJ, Ronca AE, Rubins K, Ryon KA, Sanders LM, Glowe PS, Shevde Y, Schmidt MA, Scott RT, Shirah B, Sienkiewicz K, Sierra MA, Siew K, Theriot CA, Tierney BT, Venkateswaran K, Hirschberg JW, Walsh SB, Walter C, Winer DA, Yu M, Zea L, Mateus J, Beheshti A. "A second space age spanning omics, platforms, and medicine across orbits." Nature. 2024 Aug;632(8027):995-1008. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-07586-8 ; PMID: 38862027 , Aug-2024
Articles in Peer-reviewed Journals Jones CW, Overbey EG, Lacombe J, Ecker AJ, Meydan C, Ryon K, Tierney B, Damle N, MacKay M, Afshin EE, Foox J, Park J, Nelson TM, Suhail Mohamad M, Byhaqui SGA, Aslam B, Tali UA, Nisa L, Menon PV, Patel CO, Khan SA, Ebert DJ, Everson A, Schubert MC, Ali NN, Sarma MS, Kim J, Houerbi N, Grigorev K, Garcia Medina JS, Summers AJ, Gu J, Altin JA, Fattahi A, Hirzallah MI, Wu JH, Stahn AC, Beheshti A, Klotz R, Ortiz V, Yu M, Patras L, Matei I, Lyden D, Melnick A, Banerjee N, Mullane S, Kleinman AS, Loesche M, Menon AS, Donoviel DB, Urquieta E, Mateus J, Sargsyan AE, Shelhamer M, Zenhausern F, Bershad EM, Basner M, Mason CE. "Molecular and physiological changes in the SpaceX Inspiration4 civilian crew." Nature. 2024 Aug 29;632(8027):1155-64. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-07648-x ; PMID: 38862026; PMCID: PMC11357997 , Aug-2024
Articles in Peer-reviewed Journals Kim J, Tierney BT, Overbey EG, Dantas E, Fuentealba M, Park J, Narayanan SA, Wu F, Najjar D, Chin CR, Meydan C, Loy C, Mathyk B, Klotz R, Ortiz V, Nguyen K, Ryon KA, Damle N, Houerbi N, Patras LI, Schanzer N, Hutchinson GA, Foox J, Bhattacharya C, Mackay M, Afshin EE, Hirschberg JW, Kleinman AS, Schmidt JC, Schmidt CM, Schmidt MA, Beheshti A, Matei I, Lyden D, Mullane S, Asadi A, Lenz JS, Mzava O, Yu M, Ganesan S, De Vlaminck I, Melnick AM, Barisic D, Winer DA, Zwart SR, Crucian BE, Smith SM, Mateus J, Furman D, Mason CE. "Single-cell multi-ome and immune profiles of the Inspiration4 crew reveal conserved, cell-type, and sex-specific responses to spaceflight." Nat Commun. 2024 Jun 11;15:4954. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-49211-2 ; PMID: 38862516; PMCID: PMC11166952 , Jun-2024
Articles in Peer-reviewed Journals Tierney BT, Kim J, Overbey EG, Ryon KA, Foox J, Sierra MA, Bhattacharya C, Damle N, Najjar D, Park J, Garcia Medina JS, Houerbi N, Meydan C, Wain Hirschberg J, Qiu J, Kleinman AS, Al-Ghalith GA, MacKay M, Afshin EE, Dhir R, Borg J, Gatt C, Brereton N, Readhead BP, Beyaz S, Venkateswaran KJ, Wiseman K, Moreno J, Boddicker AM, Zhao J, Lajoie BR, Scott RT, Altomare A, Kruglyak S, Levy S, Church GM, Mason CE. "Longitudinal multi-omics analysis of host microbiome architecture and immune responses during short-term spaceflight." Nat Microbiol. 2024 Jul;9(7):1661-75. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41564-024-01635-8 ; PMID: 38862604; PMCID: PMC11222149 , Jul-2024
Articles in Peer-reviewed Journals Park J, Overbey EG, Narayanan SA, Kim J, Tierney BT, Damle N, Najjar D, Ryon KA, Proszynski J, Kleinman A, Hirschberg JW, MacKay M, Afshin EE, Granstein R, Gurvitch J, Hudson BM, Rininger A, Mullane S, Church SE, Meydan C, Church G, Beheshti A, Mateus J, Mason CE. "Spatial multi-omics of human skin reveals KRAS and inflammatory responses to spaceflight." Nat Commun. 2024 Jun 11;15:4773. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-48625-2 ; PMID: 38862494; PMCID: PMC11166909 , Jun-2024
Articles in Peer-reviewed Journals Overbey EG, Ryon K, Kim J, Tierney BT, Klotz R, Ortiz V, Mullane S, Schmidt JC, MacKay M, Damle N, Najjar D, Matei I, Patras L, Garcia Medina JS, Kleinman AS, Wain Hirschberg J, Proszynski J, Narayanan SA, Schmidt CM, Afshin EE, Innes L, Saldarriaga MM, Schmidt MA, Granstein RD, Shirah B, Yu M, Lyden D, Mateus J, Mason CE. "Collection of biospecimens from the Inspiration4 mission establishes the standards for the Space Omics and Medical Atlas (SOMA)." Nat Commun. 2024 Jun 11;15:4964. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-48806-z ; PMID: 38862509; PMCID: PMC11166662 , Jun-2024
Articles in Peer-reviewed Journals Houerbi N, Kim J, Overbey EG, Batra R, Schweickart A, Patras L, Lucotti S, Ryon KA, Najjar D, Meydan C, Damle N, Chin C, Narayanan SA, Guarnieri JW, Widjaja G, Beheshti A, Tobias G, Vatter F, Hirschberg JW, Kleinman A, Afshin EE, MacKay M, Chen Q, Miller D, Gajadhar AS, Williamson L, Tandel P, Yang Q, Chu J, Benz R, Siddiqui A, Hornburg D, Gross S, Shirah B, Krumsiek J, Mateus J, Mao X, Matei I, Mason CE. "Secretome profiling reveals acute changes in oxidative stress, brain homeostasis, and coagulation following short-duration spaceflight." Nat Commun. 2024 Jun 11;15:4862. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-48841-w ; PMID: 38862464; PMCID: PMC11166969 , Jun-2024
Articles in Peer-reviewed Journals Rutter LA, MacKay MJ, Cope H, Szewczyk NJ, Kim J, Overbey E, Tierney BT, Muratani M, Lamm B, Bezdan D, Paul AM, Schmidt MA, Church GM, Giacomello S, Mason CE. "Protective alleles and precision healthcare in crewed spaceflight." Nat Commun. 2024 Jul 22;15:6158. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-49423-6 ; PMID: 39039045; PMCID: PMC11263583 , Jul-2024
Articles in Peer-reviewed Journals Rutter LA, Cope H, MacKay MJ, Herranz R, Das S, Ponomarev SA, Costes SV, Paul AM, Barker R, Taylor DM, Bezdan D, Szewczyk NJ, Muratani M, Mason CE, Giacomello S. "Astronaut omics and the impact of space on the human body at scale." Nat Commun. 2024 Jun 11;15:4952. Review. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-47237-0 ; PMID: 38862505; PMCID: PMC11166943 , Jun-2024
Articles in Peer-reviewed Journals Wu F, Du H, Overbey E, Kim J, Makhijani P, Martin N, Lerner CA, Nguyen K, Baechle J, Valentino TR, Fuentealba M, Bartleson JM, Halaweh H, Winer S, Meydan C, Garrett-Bakelman F, Sayed N, Melov S, Muratani M, Gerencser AA, Kasler HG, Beheshti A, Mason CE, Furman D, Winer DA. "Single-cell analysis identifies conserved features of immune dysfunction in simulated microgravity and spaceflight." Nat Commun. 2024 Jun 11;15:4795. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-42013-y ; PMID: 38862487; PMCID: PMC11166937 , Jun-2024
Articles in Peer-reviewed Journals Grigorev K, Nelson TM, Overbey EG, Houerbi N, Kim J, Najjar D, Damle N, Afshin EE, Ryon KA, Thierry-Mieg J, Thierry-Mieg D, Melnick AM, Mateus J, Mason CE. "Direct RNA sequencing of astronaut blood reveals spaceflight-associated m6A increases and hematopoietic transcriptional responses." Nat Commun. 2024 Jun 11;15:4950. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-48929-3 ; PMID: 38862496; PMCID: PMC11166648 , Jun-2024
Articles in Peer-reviewed Journals Garcia-Medina JS, Sienkiewicz K, Narayanan SA, Overbey EG, Grigorev K, Ryon KA, Burke M, Proszynski J, Tierney B, Schmidt CM, Mencia-Trinchant N, Klotz R, Ortiz V, Foox J, Chin C, Najjar D, Matei I, Chan I, Cruchaga C, Kleinman A, Kim J, Lucaci A, Loy C, Mzava O, De Vlaminck I, Singaraju A, Taylor LE, Schmidt JC, Schmidt MA, Blease K, Moreno J, Boddicker A, Zhao J, Lajoie B, Altomare A, Kruglyak S, Levy S, Yu M, Hassane DC, Bailey SM, Bolton K, Mateus J, Mason CE. "Genome and clonal hematopoiesis stability contrasts with immune, cfDNA, mitochondrial, and telomere length changes during short duration spaceflight." Precis Clin Med. 2024 Apr 8;7(1). https://doi.org/10.1093/pcmedi/pbae007 ; PubMed PMID: 38634106; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC11022651 , Apr-2024
Articles in Peer-reviewed Journals Mathyk, B, Imudia AN, Quaas AM, Halicigil C, Karouia, F, Avci P, Nelson NG, Guzeloglu-Kayisli O, Denbo, M, Sanders LM, Scott RT, Basar M, Guevara-Cerdán AP, Strug M, Monseur B, Kayisli UA, Szewczyk N, Mason CE, Young SL, Tasoglu S, Costes SV, Beheshti A. "Understanding how space travel affects the female reproductive system to the Moon and beyond." npj Women's Health. 2024 Jun 11;2:20. Review. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44294-024-00009-z , Jun-2024
Articles in Peer-reviewed Journals Seylani A, Galsinh AS, Tasoula A, I AR, Camera A, Calleja-Agius J, Borg J, Goel C, Kim J, Clark KB, Das S, Arif S, Boerrigter M, Coffey C, Szewczyk N, Mason CE, Manoli M, Karouia F, Schwertz H, Beheshti A, Tulodziecki D. "Ethical considerations for the age of non-governmental space exploration." Nat Commun. 2024 Jun 11;15:4774. Review. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-44357-x ; PMID: 38862473; PMCID: PMC11166968 , Jun-2024
Articles in Peer-reviewed Journals McDonald JT, Kim J, Farmerie L, Johnson ML, Trovao NS, Arif S, Siew K, Tsoy S, Bram Y, Park J, Overbey E, Ryon K, Haltom J, Singh U, Enguita FJ, Zaksas V, Guarnieri JW, Topper M, Wallace DC, Meydan C, Baylin S, Meller R, Muratani M, Porterfield DM, Kaufman B, Mori MA, Walsh SB, Sigaudo-Roussel D, Mebarek S, Bottini M, Marquette CA, Wurtele ES, Schwartz RE, Galeano D, Mason CE, Grabham P, Beheshti A. "Space radiation damage rescued by inhibition of key spaceflight associated miRNAs." Nat Commun. 2024 Jun 11;15(1):4825. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-48920-y ; PMID: 38862542; PMCID: PMC11166944 , Jun-2024
Articles in Peer-reviewed Journals Sanders LM, Grigorev KA, Scott RT, Saravia-Butler AM, Polo SL, Gilbert R, Overbey EG, Kim J, Mason CE, Costes SV. "Inspiration4 data access through the NASA Open Science Data Repository." npj Microgravity. 2024 May 14;10:56. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41526-024-00393-5 ; PMID: 38744887; PMCID: PMC11094041 , May-2024
Articles in Peer-reviewed Journals 20. Mathyk BA, Tabetah M, Karim R, Zaksas V, Kim J, Anu RI, Muratani M, Tasoula A, Singh RS, Chen YK, Overbey E, Park J, Cope H, Fazelinia H, Povero D, Borg J, Klotz RV, Yu M, Young SL, Mason CE, Szewczyk N, St Clair RM, Karouia F, Beheshti A. "Spaceflight induces changes in gene expression profiles linked to insulin and estrogen." Commun Biol. 2024 Jun 11;7:692. https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-023-05213-2 ; PMID: 38862620; PMCID: PMC1116698 , Jun-2024
Articles in Peer-reviewed Journals Borg J, Loy C, Kim J, Buhagiar A, Chin C, Damle N, De Vlaminck I, Felice A, Liu T, Matei I, Meydan C, Muratani M, Mzava O, Overbey E, Ryon KA, Smith SM, Tierney BT, Trudel G, Zwart SR, Beheshti A, Mason CE, Borg J. "Spatiotemporal expression and control of haemoglobin in space." Nat Commun. 2024 Jun 11;15:4927. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-49289-8 ; PMID: 38862545; PMCID: PMC11166948 , Jun-2024
Articles in Peer-reviewed Journals Cope H, Elsborg J, Demharter S, McDonald JT, Wernecke C, Parthasarathy H, Unadkat H, Chatrathi M, Claudio J, Reinsch S, Avci P, Zwart SR, Smith SM, Heer M, Muratani M, Meydan C, Overbey E, Kim J, Chin CR, Park J, Schisler JC, Mason CE, Szewczyk NJ, Willis CRG, Salam A, Beheshti A. "Transcriptomics analysis reveals molecular alterations underpinning spaceflight dermatology." Commun Med (Lond). 2024 Jun 11;4(1):106. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43856-024-00532-9 ; PMID: 38862781; PMCID: PMC11166967 , Jun-2024
Articles in Peer-reviewed Journals Camera A, Tabetah M, Castañeda V, Kim J, Galsinh AS, Haro-Vinueza A, Salinas I, Seylani A, Arif S, Das S, Mori MA, Carano A, de Oliveira LC, Muratani M, Barker R, Zaksas V, Goel C, Dimokidis E, Taylor DM, Jeong J, Overbey E, Meydan C, Porterfield DM, Díaz JE, Caicedo A, Schisler JC, Laiakis EC, Mason CE, Kim MS, Karouia F, Szewczyk NJ, Beheshti A. "Aging and putative frailty biomarkers are altered by spaceflight." Sci Rep. 2024 Jun 11;14:13098. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-57948-5 ; PMID: 38862573; PMCID: PMC11166946 , Jun-2024
Articles in Peer-reviewed Journals Etlin S, Rose J, Bielski L, Walter C, Kleinman AS, Mason CE. "The human microbiome in space: Parallels between Earth-based dysbiosis, implications for long-duration spaceflight, and possible mitigation strategies." Clinical Microbiology Reviews. 2024 Sep 12;37(3):e0016322. https://doi.org/10.1128/cmr.00163-22 ; PMID: 39136453; PMCID: PMC11391694 , Sep-2024
Articles in Peer-reviewed Journals Corti G, Kim J, Enguita FJ, Guarnieri JW, Grossman LI, Costes SV, Fuentealba M, Scott RT, Magrini A, Sanders LM, Singh K, Sen CK, Juran CM, Paul AM, Furman D, Calleja-Agius J, Mason CE, Galeano D, Bottini M, Beheshti A. "To boldly go where no microRNAs have gone before: Spaceflight impact on risk for small-for-gestational-age infants." Commun Biol. 2024 Oct 5;7(1):1268. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39369042 ; PMID: 39369042; PMCID: PMC11455966 , Oct-2024
Articles in Peer-reviewed Journals Siew K, Nestler KA, Nelson C, D'Ambrosio V, Zhong C, Li Z, Grillo A, Wan ER, Patel V, Overbey E, Kim J, Yun S, Vaughan MB, Cheshire C, Cubitt L, Broni-Tabi J, Al-Jaber MY, Boyko V, Meydan C, Barker P, Arif S, Afsari F, Allen N, Al-Maadheed M, Altinok S, Bah N, Border S, Brown AL, Burling K, Cheng-Campbell M, Colón LM, Degoricija L, Figg N, Finch R, Foox J, Faridi P, French A, Gebre S, Gordon P, Houerbi N, Valipour Kahrood H, Kiffer FC, Klosinska AS, Kubik A, Lee HC, Li Y, Lucarelli N, Marullo AL, Matei I, McCann CM, Mimar S, Naglah A, Nicod J, O'Shaughnessy KM, Oliveira LC, Oswalt L, Patras LI, Lai Polo SH, Rodríguez-Lopez M, Roufosse C, Sadeghi-Alavijeh O, Sanchez-Hodge R, Paul AS, Schittenhelm RB, Schweickart A, Scott RT, Choy Lim Kam Sian TC, da Silveira WA, Slawinski H, Snell D, Sosa J, Saravia-Butler AM, Tabetah M, Tanuwidjaya E, Walker-Samuel S, Yang X, Yasmin, Zhang H, Godovac-Zimmermann J, Sarder P, Sanders LM, Costes SV, Campbell RAA, Karouia F, Mohamed-Alis V, Rodriques S, Lynham S, Steele JR, Baranzini S, Fazelinia H, Dai Z, Uruno A, Shiba D, Yamamoto M, E ACA, Blaber E, Schisler JC, Eisch AJ, Muratani M, Zwart SR, Smith SM, Galazka JM, Mason CE, Beheshti A, Walsh SB. "Cosmic kidney disease: An integrated pan-omic, physiological and morphological study into spaceflight-induced renal dysfunction." Nat Commun. 2024 Jun 11;15:4923. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-49212-1 ; PMID: 38862484 PMCID: PMC11167060 , Jun-2024
Articles in Peer-reviewed Journals Tierney BT, Singh NK, Simpson AC, Hujer AM, Bonomo RA, Mason CE, Venkateswaran K. "Multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter pittii is adapting to and exhibiting potential succession aboard the International Space Station." Microbiome. 2022 Dec 12;10:210. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40168-022-01358-0 ; PMID: 36503581; PMCID: PMC9743659 , Dec-2022
Articles in Peer-reviewed Journals Leo P, de Melo Texeira M, Chander AM, Singh NK, Simpson AC, Yurkov A, Karouia F, Stajich JE, Mason CE, Venkateswaran K. "Genomic characterization and radiation tolerance of Naganishia kalamii sp. nov. and Cystobasidium onofrii sp. nov. from Mars 2020 mission assembly facilities." IMA Fungus. 2023 Aug 11;14:15. https://doi.org/10.1186/s43008-023-00119-4 ; PMID: 37568226 PMCID: PMC10422843 , Aug-2023
Articles in Peer-reviewed Journals Garcias-Bonet N, Roik A, Tierney B, García FC, Villela HDM, Dungan AM, Quigley KM, Sweet M, Berg G, Gram L, Bourne DG, Ushijima B, Sogin M, Hoj L, Duarte G, Hirt H, Smalla K, Rosado AS, Carvalho S, Thurber RV, Ziegler M, Mason CE, van Oppen MJH, Voolstra CR, Peixoto RS. "Horizon scanning the application of probiotics for wildlife." Trends Microbiol. 2024 Mar;32(3):252-69. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tim.2023.08.012 ; PMID: 37758552 , Mar-2024
Articles in Peer-reviewed Journals Mason CE, Sierra MA, Feng HJ, Bailey SM. "Telomeres and aging: On and off the planet!" Biogerontology. 2024 Apr 6;25(2):313-27. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10522-024-10098-7 ; PMID: 38581556; PMCID: PMC10998805 , Apr-2024
Articles in Peer-reviewed Journals Al-Turki TM, Maranon DG, Nelson CB, Lewis AM, Luxton JJ, Taylor LE, Altina N, Wu F, Du H, Kim J, Damle N, Overbey E, Meydan C, Grigorev K, Winer DA, Furman D, Mason CE, Bailey SM. "Telomeric RNA (TERRA) increases in response to spaceflight and high-altitude climbing." Commun Biol. 2024 Jun 11;7:698. https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-024-06014-x ; PMID: 38862827; PMCID: PMC11167063 , Jun-2024
Journal/Magazine covers Overbey EG, Kim J, Tierney BT, Park J, Houerbi N, Lucaci AG, Garcia Medina S, Bailey SM, Granstein R, Furman D, Melnick AM, Costes SV, Shirah B, Yu M, Menon AS, Mateus J, Meydan C, Mason CE. "Cover of the journal NATURE for article, 'The Space Omics and Medical Atlas (SOMA) and international astronaut biobank.'" Nature. 2024 Aug;632(8027):1145-54. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07639-y , Aug-2024
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Project Title:  Spatiotemporal Mapping of the Impact of Spaceflight on the Heart and Brain Reduce
Images: icon  Fiscal Year: FY 2024 
Division: Space Biology 
Research Discipline/Element:
Space Biology: Cell & Molecular Biology   | Animal Biology: Vertebrate  
 Start Date: 12/01/2021  
End Date: 11/30/2024  
Task Last Updated: 11/07/2023 		 Download Task Book report in PDF pdf
Principal Investigator/Affiliation:   Mason, Christopher  Ph.D. / Weill Medical College of Cornell University 
Address:  1305 York Ave, Room Y13-04, Box 140 
 
New York , NY 10021-5663 		 Email: chm2042@med.cornell.edu 
Phone: 203-668-1448  
Congressional District: 12 
Web:  
 Organization Type: UNIVERSITY 
Organization Name: Weill Medical College of Cornell University 
Joint Agency:  
Comments:  
Co-Investigator(s)
Affiliation: 
Costes, Sylvain  Ph.D. NASA Ames Research Center 
Galazka, Jonathan  Ph.D. NASA Ames Research Center 
Giacomello, Stefania  Ph.D. Kungliga Tekniska Hogskolan 
Key Personnel Changes / Previous PI: NA
Project Information: Grant/Contract No. 80NSSC22K0254 
Responsible Center: NASA ARC 
Grant Monitor: Griko, Yuri  
Center Contact: 650-604-0519 
Yuri.V.Griko@nasa.gov 
Unique ID: 14857  		Solicitation / Funding Source: 2020 Space Biology NNH20ZDA001N-SB E.12. Flight/Ground Research 
Grant/Contract No.: 80NSSC22K0254 
Project Type: Ground 
Flight Program:   		No. of Post Docs: 1 
No. of PhD Candidates: 2 
No. of Master's Candidates: 0 
No. of Bachelor's Candidates: 0  		No. of PhD Degrees: 1 
No. of Master's Degrees: 1 
No. of Bachelor's Degrees: 1 
Space Biology Element: (1) Cell & Molecular Biology
(2) Animal Biology: Vertebrate
Space Biology Cross-Element Discipline: None
Space Biology Special Category: None
Task Description: To prepare for future human exploration missions far from Earth, NASA’s Space Biology Program is seeking to build a better understanding of the effects of spaceflight and zero gravity on the biology of microorganisms, plants, and animals in spacecraft, the International Space Station (ISS), and also in ground-based analog experiments. The National Research Council recommended that NASA undergo studies to elucidate the effects of short and long duration spaceflight on the biology of all three categories of organisms. Technological advances in next-generation sequencing (NGS), spatial transcriptomics, and proteomics (spatial omics), several of which we describe below, create an unprecedented opportunity for in-depth molecular studies applicable to the purposes of NASA’s Space Biology Program. This provides scientists, engineers, and clinicians a more comprehensive view of the functional dynamics of organisms as they evolve and respond to unique or highly selective environments including the ISS.

Spaceflight causes changes in cell signaling pathways that are better understood only by increasing the analysis resolution level. In this project, we will deploy new technologies, i.e. spatial transcriptomics, single-nucleus RNA-sequencing, multi-omic spatial mapping (human and microbial), and systems biology algorithms to discover new insights relevant to the impact of spaceflight on human health. These data and methods will shed light on the complex biosystem dynamics that spaceflight causes in humans. We will be able to clearly dissect the gene expression changes occurring at the single-cell level, analyze how these changes affect the cell-cell genetic and physical interactions, and begin the first-ever in vivo human-microbial interaction maps from spaceflight. To do so we will conduct rigorous and cutting-edge omics analysis using two complementary platforms (10x Genomics Visium and Nanostring’s GeoMx) with six main rodent organs collected throughout several past spaceflight missions and their corresponding ground controls. Our integrated biology approach will allow us to understand physiological, anatomic, and molecular mechanisms of adaptation and response in animals to spaceflight.

For our organism-wide study we will leverage the extensive amount of samples collected throughout several Rodent Research (RR) missions which are accessible through the Life Sciences Data Repository (LSDA). Several of these specimens have already been allocated for Dr. Mason through LSDA. Our study will represent the first-of-its-kind in space biology and will provide foundational discoveries that will allow us to understand not only how astronaut conditions can be improved during spaceflight, but also how the changes induced by spaceflight can be translated into modern medicine to improve human health on Earth. Moreover, we will apply several statistical and machine learning techniques in order to predict changes induced by spaceflight at the organism level for future long-term missions.

Research Impact/Earth Benefits: We will be able to clearly dissect the gene expression changes occurring at the single-cell level, analyze how these changes affect the cell-cell genetic and physical interactions, and begin the first-ever in vivo human-microbial interaction maps from spaceflight. To do so we will conduct rigorous and cutting-edge omics analysis using two complementary platforms (10x Genomics Visium and Nanostring’s GeoMx) with six main rodent organs collected throughout several past spaceflight missions and their corresponding ground controls. Our integrated biology approach will allow us to understand physiological, anatomic, and molecular mechanisms of adaptation and response in animals to spaceflight.

Task Progress & Bibliography Information FY2024 
Task Progress: In the past year, we have focused efforts on curating and testing banked tissues for processing with spatial and single-cell methods. Specifically, we have focused on the retinal tissues (acquired and tested), liver, brain, femur, heart, and duodenum. We have dissected test samples from donor mice in our laboratory, analyzed the data from Visium and GeoMx, and also we have run four samples through single-nucleus RNA-seq (snRNA-seq) using the 10xGenomics Chromium controller and assay.

So far, we have: 1) Generated the first GeoMx profiles of the mouse retina tissues, and now generating additional replicates. 2) Continued sample selection and quality control (QC), including the RNA Integrity Number (RIN) and cell count matrices for tissues. 3) Tested snRNA-seq on retina tissues, and have updated our Seurat annotations and database for the analysis.

Bibliography: Description: (Last Updated: 05/29/2025) 

Show Cumulative Bibliography
 
Articles in Peer-reviewed Journals Cope H, Willis CR, MacKay MJ, Rutter LA, Toh LS, Williams PM, Herranz R, Borg J, Bezdan D, Giacomello S, Muratani M. "Routine omics collection is a golden opportunity for European human research in space and analog environments." Patterns. 2022 Oct 14;3(10):100550. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.patter.2022.100550 , Oct-2022
Articles in Peer-reviewed Journals Overbey EG, Das S, Cope H, Madrigal P, Andrusivova Z, Frapard S, Klotz R, Bezdan D, Gupta A, Scott RT, Park J. "Challenges and considerations for single-cell and spatially resolved transcriptomics sample collection during spaceflight. " Cell Rep Methods. 2022 Nov 21;2(11):100325. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crmeth.2022.100325 , Nov-2022
Articles in Peer-reviewed Journals Park J, Kim J, Lewy T, Rice CM, Elemento O, Rendeiro AF, Mason CE. "Spatial omics technologies at multimodal and single cell/subcellular level." Genome Biol. 2022 Dec 13;23(1):256. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13059-022-02824-6 , Dec-2022
Articles in Peer-reviewed Journals Simpson AC, Eedara VVR, Singh NK, Damle N, Parker CW, Karouia F, Mason CE, Venkateswaran K. "Comparative genomic analysis of Cohnella hashimotonis sp. nov. isolated from the International Space Station." Front Microbiol. 2023 Jun 15;14:1166013. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2023.1166013 ; PMID: 37396358; PMCID: PMC10308117 , Jun-2023
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Project Title:  Spatiotemporal Mapping of the Impact of Spaceflight on the Heart and Brain Reduce
Images: icon  Fiscal Year: FY 2023 
Division: Space Biology 
Research Discipline/Element:
Space Biology: Cell & Molecular Biology   | Animal Biology: Vertebrate  
 Start Date: 12/01/2021  
End Date: 11/30/2024  
Task Last Updated: 10/28/2022 		 Download Task Book report in PDF pdf
Principal Investigator/Affiliation:   Mason, Christopher  Ph.D. / Weill Medical College of Cornell University 
Address:  1305 York Ave, Room Y13-04, Box 140 
 
New York , NY 10021-5663 		 Email: chm2042@med.cornell.edu 
Phone: 203-668-1448  
Congressional District: 12 
Web:  
 Organization Type: UNIVERSITY 
Organization Name: Weill Medical College of Cornell University 
Joint Agency:  
Comments:  
Co-Investigator(s)
Affiliation: 
Costes, Sylvain  Ph.D. NASA Ames Research Center 
Galazka, Jonathan  Ph.D. NASA Ames Research Center 
Giacomello, Stefania  Ph.D. Kungliga Tekniska Hogskolan 
Key Personnel Changes / Previous PI: NA
Project Information: Grant/Contract No. 80NSSC22K0254 
Responsible Center: NASA ARC 
Grant Monitor: Griko, Yuri  
Center Contact: 650-604-0519 
Yuri.V.Griko@nasa.gov 
Unique ID: 14857  		Solicitation / Funding Source: 2020 Space Biology NNH20ZDA001N-SB E.12. Flight/Ground Research 
Grant/Contract No.: 80NSSC22K0254 
Project Type: Ground 
Flight Program:   		No. of Post Docs: 1 
No. of PhD Candidates: 2 
No. of Master's Candidates: 0 
No. of Bachelor's Candidates: 0  		No. of PhD Degrees: 1 
No. of Master's Degrees: 1 
No. of Bachelor's Degrees: 1 
Space Biology Element: (1) Cell & Molecular Biology
(2) Animal Biology: Vertebrate
Space Biology Cross-Element Discipline: None
Space Biology Special Category: None
Task Description: To prepare for future human exploration missions far from Earth, NASA’s Space Biology Program is seeking to build a better understanding of the effects of spaceflight and zero gravity on the biology of microorganisms, plants, and animals in spacecraft, the International Space Station (ISS), and also in ground-based analog experiments. The National Research Council recommended that NASA undergo studies to elucidate the effects of short and long duration spaceflight on the biology of all three categories of organisms. Technological advances in next-generation sequencing (NGS), spatial transcriptomics, and proteomics (spatial omics), several of which we describe below, create an unprecedented opportunity for in-depth molecular studies applicable to the purposes of NASA’s Space Biology Program. This provides scientists, engineers, and clinicians a more comprehensive view of the functional dynamics of organisms as they evolve and respond to unique or highly selective environments including the ISS.

Spaceflight causes changes in cell signaling pathways that are better understood only by increasing the analysis resolution level. In this project, we will deploy new technologies, i.e. spatial transcriptomics, single-nucleus RNA-sequencing, multi-omic spatial mapping (human and microbial), and systems biology algorithms to discover new insights relevant to the impact of spaceflight on human health. These data and methods will shed light on the complex biosystem dynamics that spaceflight causes in humans. We will be able to clearly dissect the gene expression changes occurring at the single-cell level, analyze how these changes affect the cell-cell genetic and physical interactions, and begin the first-ever in vivo human-microbial interaction maps from spaceflight. To do so we will conduct rigorous and cutting-edge omics analysis using two complementary platforms (10x Genomics Visium and Nanostring’s GeoMx) with six main rodent organs collected throughout several past spaceflight missions and their corresponding ground controls. Our integrated biology approach will allow us to understand physiological, anatomic, and molecular mechanisms of adaptation and response in animals to spaceflight.

For our organism-wide study we will leverage the extensive amount of samples collected throughout several Rodent Research (RR) missions which are accessible through the Life Sciences Data Repository (LSDA). Several of these specimens have already been allocated for Dr. Mason through LSDA. Our study will represent the first-of-its-kind in space biology and will provide foundational discoveries that will allow us to understand not only how astronaut conditions can be improved during spaceflight, but also how the changes induced by spaceflight can be translated into modern medicine to improve human health on Earth. Moreover, we will apply several statistical and machine learning techniques in order to predict changes induced by spaceflight at the organism level for future long-term missions.

Research Impact/Earth Benefits: We will be able to clearly dissect the gene expression changes occurring at the single-cell level, analyze how these changes affect the cell-cell genetic and physical interactions, and begin the first-ever in vivo human-microbial interaction maps from spaceflight. To do so we will conduct rigorous and cutting-edge omics analysis using two complementary platforms (10x Genomics Visium and Nanostring’s GeoMx) with six main rodent organs collected throughout several past spaceflight missions and their corresponding ground controls. Our integrated biology approach will allow us to understand physiological, anatomic, and molecular mechanisms of adaptation and response in animals to spaceflight.

Task Progress & Bibliography Information FY2023 
Task Progress: Overall progress and work to date:

In the past year, we have focused efforts on curating and testing banked tissues for processing with spatial and single-cell methods. Specifically, we have focused on the retinal tissues (acquired and tested), liver, brain, femur, heart, and duodenum. We have dissected test samples from donor mice in our laboratory, and processed on Visium, and also we have run one sample through single-nucleus RNA-seq (snRNA-seq) using the 10xGenomics Chromium controller and assay.

So far, we have: 1) Completed sample selection and quality control (QC), including the RNA Integrity Number (RIN) and cell count matrices; 2) Ran two Visium tests and continued data processing optimization; 3) Tested single nucleus RNA sequencing (snRNA-seq) on retina tissues, and finished the sequencing; 4) Tested the new SpaTial Enhanced REsolution Omics sequencing (STEREO-seq) spatial biology tool, to use as an orthogonal method if needed.

Of note, we have also established a collaboration with NanoString Technologies (NanoString) to optimize the processing of samples for the GeoMx Digital Spatial Profiler system, and we have also placed an order to acquire the latest instrument that has the highest resolution for profiling tissues, call the CosMx, which is slated for delivery in Q4 2022 at Weill Cornell Medicine.

We have one paper that used the methods described in our grant for spatial biology profiling in COVID-19 patients:

Park J, Foox J, Hether T, Danko DC, Warren S, Kim Y, Reeves J, Butler DJ, Mozsary C, Rosiene J, Shaiber A, Afshin EE, MacKay M, Rendeiro AF, Bram Y, Chandar V, Geiger H, Craney A, Velu P, Melnick AM, Hajirasouliha I, Beheshti A, Taylor D, Saravia-Butler A, Singh U, Wurtele ES, Schisler J, Fennessey S, Corvelo A, Zody MC, Germer S, Salvatore S, Levy S, Wu S, Tatonetti NP, Shapira S, Salvatore M, Westblade LF, Cushing M, Rennert H, Kriegel AJ, Elemento O, Imielinski M, Rice CM, Borczuk AC, Meydan C, Schwartz RE, Mason CE. System-wide transcriptome damage and tissue identity loss in COVID-19 patients. Cell Reports Med. 2022 Feb 15;3(2):100522. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xcrm.2022.100522

We have two other papers in review about the Spatial Tissue analysis algorithms, which we expect to be published in 2023.

Also, I have been serving on the National Academies of Science (NAS) Decadal Survery Panel on Research in Space for NASA, where many of the tools and methods described in our grant are being added to the NAS report that will be sent to Congress: https://www.nationalacademies.org/our-work/decadal-survey-on-life-and-physical-sciences-research-in-space-2023-2032

Bibliography: Description: (Last Updated: 05/29/2025) 

Show Cumulative Bibliography
 
Articles in Peer-reviewed Journals Park J, Foox J, Hether T, Danko DC, Warren S, Kim Y, Reeves J, Butler DJ, Mozsary C, Rosiene J, Shaiber A, Afshin EE, MacKay M, Rendeiro AF, Bram Y, Chandar V, Geiger H, Craney A, Velu P, Melnick AM, Hajirasouliha I, Beheshti A, Taylor D, Saravia-Butler A, Singh U, Wurtele ES, Schisler J, Fennessey S, Corvelo A, Zody MC, Germer S, Salvatore S, Levy S, Wu S, Tatonetti NP, Shapira S, Salvatore M, Westblade LF, Cushing M, Rennert H, Kriegel AJ, Elemento O, Imielinski M, Rice CM, Borczuk AC, Meydan C, Schwartz RE, Mason CE. "System-wide transcriptome damage and tissue identity loss in COVID-19 patients." Cell Reports Med. 2022 Feb 15;3(2):100522. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xcrm.2022.100522 , Feb-2022
Articles in Peer-reviewed Journals Saravia-Butler AM, Schisler JC, Taylor D, Beheshti A, Butler D, Meydan C, Foox J, Hernandez K, Mozsary C, Mason CE, Meller R. "Host transcriptional responses in nasal swabs identifies potential SARS-CoV-2 infection in PCR negative patients. " iScience. 2022 Oct 7;105310. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2022.105310 ; PMID: 36246576; PMCID: PMC9540688 , Oct-2022
Articles in Peer-reviewed Journals Cope H, Willis CRG, MacKay MJ, Rutter LA, Toh LS, Williams PM, Herranz R, Borg J, Bezdan D, Giacomello S, Muratani M, Mason CE, Etheridge T, Szewczyk NJ. "Routine omics collection is a golden opportunity for European human research in space and analog environments." Patterns. 2022 Oct 14;3(10):100550. Review. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.patter.2022.100550 ; PMID: 36277820; PMCID: PMC9583032 , Oct-2022
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Project Title:  Spatiotemporal Mapping of the Impact of Spaceflight on the Heart and Brain Reduce
Images: icon  Fiscal Year: FY 2022 
Division: Space Biology 
Research Discipline/Element:
Space Biology: Cell & Molecular Biology   | Animal Biology: Vertebrate  
 Start Date: 12/01/2021  
End Date: 11/30/2024  
Task Last Updated: 02/24/2022 		 Download Task Book report in PDF pdf
Principal Investigator/Affiliation:   Mason, Christopher  Ph.D. / Weill Medical College of Cornell University 
Address:  1305 York Ave, Room Y13-04, Box 140 
 
New York , NY 10021-5663 		 Email: chm2042@med.cornell.edu 
Phone: 203-668-1448  
Congressional District: 12 
Web:  
 Organization Type: UNIVERSITY 
Organization Name: Weill Medical College of Cornell University 
Joint Agency:  
Comments:  
Co-Investigator(s)
Affiliation: 
Costes, Sylvain  Ph.D. NASA Ames Research Center 
Galazka, Jonathan  Ph.D. NASA Ames Research Center 
Giacomello, Stefania  Ph.D. Kungliga Tekniska Hogskolan 
Project Information: Grant/Contract No. 80NSSC22K0254 
Responsible Center: NASA ARC 
Grant Monitor: Griko, Yuri  
Center Contact: 650-604-0519 
Yuri.V.Griko@nasa.gov 
Unique ID: 14857  		Solicitation / Funding Source: 2020 Space Biology NNH20ZDA001N-SB E.12. Flight/Ground Research 
Grant/Contract No.: 80NSSC22K0254 
Project Type: Ground 
Flight Program:   		No. of Post Docs:  
No. of PhD Candidates:  
No. of Master's Candidates:  
No. of Bachelor's Candidates:   		No. of PhD Degrees:  
No. of Master's Degrees:  
No. of Bachelor's Degrees:  
Space Biology Element: (1) Cell & Molecular Biology
(2) Animal Biology: Vertebrate
Space Biology Cross-Element Discipline: None
Space Biology Special Category: None
Task Description: To prepare for future human exploration missions far from Earth, NASA’s Space Biology Program is seeking to build a better understanding of the effects of spaceflight and zero gravity on the biology of microorganisms, plants, and animals in spacecraft, the International Space Station (ISS), and also in ground-based analog experiments. The National Research Council recommended that NASA undergo studies to elucidate the effects of short and long duration spaceflight on the biology of all three categories of organisms. Technological advances in next-generation sequencing (NGS), spatial transcriptomics, and proteomics (spatial omics), several of which we describe below, create an unprecedented opportunity for in-depth molecular studies applicable to the purposes of NASA’s Space Biology Program. This provides scientists, engineers, and clinicians a more comprehensive view of the functional dynamics of organisms as they evolve and respond to unique or highly selective environments including the ISS.

Spaceflight causes changes in cell signaling pathways that are better understood only by increasing the analysis resolution level. In this project, we will deploy new technologies, i.e. spatial transcriptomics, single-nucleus RNA-sequencing, multi-omic spatial mapping (human and microbial), and systems biology algorithms to discover new insights relevant to the impact of spaceflight on human health. These data and methods will shed light on the complex biosystem dynamics that spaceflight causes in humans. We will be able to clearly dissect the gene expression changes occurring at the single-cell level, analyze how these changes affect the cell-cell genetic and physical interactions, and begin the first-ever in vivo human-microbial interaction maps from spaceflight. To do so we will conduct rigorous and cutting-edge omics analysis using two complementary platforms (10x Genomics Visium and Nanostring’s GeoMx) with six main rodent organs collected throughout several past spaceflight missions and their corresponding ground controls. Our integrated biology approach will allow us to understand physiological, anatomic, and molecular mechanisms of adaptation and response in animals to spaceflight.

For our organism-wide study we will leverage the extensive amount of samples collected throughout several Rodent Research (RR) missions which are accessible through the Life Sciences Data Repository (LSDA). Several of these specimens have already been allocated for Dr. Mason through LSDA. Our study will represent the first-of-its-kind in space biology and will provide foundational discoveries that will allow us to understand not only how astronaut conditions can be improved during spaceflight, but also how the changes induced by spaceflight can be translated into modern medicine to improve human health on Earth. Moreover, we will apply several statistical and machine learning techniques in order to predict changes induced by spaceflight at the organism level for future long-term missions.

Research Impact/Earth Benefits:

Task Progress & Bibliography Information FY2022 
Task Progress: New project for FY2022.

Bibliography: Description: (Last Updated: 05/29/2025) 

Show Cumulative Bibliography
 
 None in FY 2022
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