We are going to space! Well, not (yet) literally, but we are starting a new research line on space biology.
A new space race is in full development. Although space exploration and inhabitation confront us with critical ethical challenges, they also offer opportunities for human civilisation and new science.
Brunel has received the Yuri GmbH Random Positioning Microgravity, which will help us to test biological processes in (time-averaged) simulated microgravity. Here is the first test in my lab.
Our lab’s specific interests are:
- To study the effects of microgravity on cell signalling and epigenetics, with a particular focus on pharmacological responses and cancer
- To innovate technological solutions, including tools and materials, dedicated to studying biology in microgravity within ground-based facilities or in space.
- To foster a mission-oriented interdisciplinary approach with realistic plans to benefit society
Meanwhile, we are already helping other laboratories we pre-flight tests and already having an impact in the support of British space research within the biomedical area.
Funding
UKRI STFC. A collaboration between Kayser Space and Brunel University of London, with Dr Sibylle Ermler as a lead PI. Also, together with Dr Ruth Mackay and Prof. Emmanouil Karteris, we received £30k pump-priming funding to test new microfluidic devices for use in microgravity conditions.
Brunel University of London. My lab is a key partner of a Brunel-wide network (B-STAR) of PIs interested in interdisciplinary work related to space travel. This network is funded by Brunel University of London interdisciplinary pump-priming, that made available about 100k in small projects and to procure the RPM 2.0 (see figure). We are now engaged with several academic and industrial partners to fund ground-based and ISS-based experiments. Collectively, we are working to innovate technologies for food and energy provision during space travel and habitation, and to understand how biological systems respond to low-gravity conditions. We are also innovating technologies to disrupt ground-based facilities for simulated microgravity to achieve that. Indeed, our 3D printers are hot, manufacturing bespoke random-positioning machines designed to address specific biological questions and vessels that can host our samples on these RPMs. During this stage, we are extensively collaborating with other laboratories to prepare biological experiments.