CDMRP-Funded Research May Soon be Flying in Space

FORT DETRICK, Md. – The Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs is encouraging applicants to consider conducting biomedical research in space through partnerships with the International Space Station National Laboratory. The unique characteristics of the microgravity environment afforded by research in space lay the foundation for the next generation of research and innovation.

Dr. Kristy Lidie, CDMRP’s deputy director for program management, recently joined representatives from science and medicine agencies throughout the federal government for a daylong Microgravity Science Summit in Washington, DC, hosted by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy in partnership with NASA’s Space Operations Mission Directorate. The goal of the summit was to form a federal coalition to develop the next generation of microgravity science and research. The summit provided attendees with insight into research currently being conducted on the International Space Station and how research conducted in microgravity can benefit human diseases and conditions.

Microgravity, popularly called zero gravity, offers biomedical researchers the opportunity to create experiments that more closely mimic the conditions found in living organisms.

“When you’re trying to grow tissues on Earth, you’re limited as to how those cells grow,” explains Dr. Judi Sgambato, the program manager of CDMRP’s Glioblastoma Research Program, or GBMRP. “The cell culture environment is usually static, and the cells grow on a flat surface. But humans are not static, two-dimensional beings. Microgravity allows cells to grow in much more complex three-dimensional structures and interact with each other in ways that they’re not able to do as easily on Earth. That allows the formation of more complex models that more closely mimic human physiology, which may help us better understand healthy and diseased conditions.”

The opportunity for CDMRP to participate in the summit came about through a connection with a prominent member of the space research community. Last year, Sgambato sent out a request for information to the scientific community seeking feedback on gaps in current research into glioblastoma, a highly aggressive form of brain cancer. Dr. Donna Roberts, the deputy chief scientist at the International Space Station National Laboratory – who is herself an expert on the brain – saw Sgambato’s request and realized that it offered the potential for a unique collaboration not only with the GBMRP, but with CDMRP as a whole.

As a result of discussions with Roberts and the ISSNL, GBMRP’s fiscal year 2024 funding opportunity announcement included information on how researchers can partner with the ISSNL to have their experiments conducted in Earth orbit. CDMRP expects that other research programs will soon begin incorporating similar language in their funding announcements as well.

“Conducting experiments in space is very different from how you would conduct them in a university laboratory,” says Lidie. “The ISSNL will help researchers design an experimental apparatus that’s suitably light and small for transport to and use on the International Space Station, and work with the astronaut who will be conducting the experiments in orbit.”

Several companies that design and build equipment for space experiments attended the summit as well, allowing Lidie and Sgambato to see the types of tools and containers that someday could be used to house CDMRP funded research.

The theme of the OSTP summit was “Building a Coalition for the Next Generation of Microgravity Research.” In addition to biomedical research, presentations during the summit discussed the potential for large-scale orbital manufacturing, advanced stem cell research, wildfire surveillance and management and semiconductor crystal production. During the summit, NASA discussed the release of its Low Earth Orbit Microgravity Strategy, which lays out a roadmap for building on commercial and international partnerships to expand research capabilities and develop technologies necessary for deep space exploration.

“CDMRP supports research into many different types of cancer and neurological conditions that could benefit from space-based research,” says Sgambato. “The same applies to our arthritis and orthopedics research programs. The development of complex 3D cellular models that are only possible in microgravity allow us the opportunity to ask questions ranging from our understanding of basic biology to precisely targeted drug screening. It will allow researchers to ask complex questions and hopefully get some meaningful answers that will lead to innovative solutions for these diseases and conditions.”