DSLS Newsletter
UNIVERSITIES SPACE RESEARCH ASSOCIATION
October 2010
New DSLS Team Member: Yongfeng Li, PhD
Dr. Li, who joined
DSLS on Sep 1,
received his PhD in
mathematics from Georgia Institute of
Technology. His thesis focused on the
mathematical modeling and analysis of
nonlinear oscillations in the chemical
reaction system by invariant manifold
theorems.
Dr. Li then was a Postdoctoral Associate in the Institute for Mathematics and
Its Applications at the University of
Minnesota. There he studied intracellular signal transduction by modeling
open signaling cascade, in which the
number of phosphorylationdephosphorylation cycles plays an
important role.
Now at USRA, he
works in Dr. Francis
Cucinotta's group to
conduct research and in
silico modeling of the
effects of space radiation exposure on human health, focusing on
degenerative diseases
Yongfeng Li, PhD
such as Alzheimer's
and heart disease.
Dr. Li’s research interest is applied nonlinear dynamical systems. He currently
has his office at USRA Houston and can
be reached at 281-483-2144 or at
li@dsls.usra.edu.
Please join us in welcoming Yongfeng to
the team!
Honors, Awards, Accomplishments
Lori Ploutz-Snyder received the
NASA JSC Group Achievement Award
for the Functional Task Test Team.
Alexander Dunlap
chaired a full day scientific session at the
COSPAR Scientific
Assembly in Bremen,
Germany.
Alexander Dunlap, DVM
Marguerite Sognier
and her collaborators received a Technology Brief Award for “Microwave
Tissue Welding for Wound Closure”,
MSC-24238-1.
Shaowen Hu participated in the three week long
NASA Space Radiation
Summer School 2010 at
Shaowen Hu, PhD
Brookhaven National
Laboratory in Upton, NY.
Rob Ploutz-Snyder was
invited to deliver a Webinar as part of the Association for Institutional Research’s Professional
Rob Ploutz-Snyder, PhD
Development Webinar
Series, titled “Analysis of Variance
(ANOVA) - A Powerful Statistical Tool
for a Variety of IR Applications”.
Ianik Plante received a
SIT Travel Award for the
56th Annual Meeting of
the Radiation Research
Society which was held in
Maui. Ianik was nominated for the prix Jean-Pierre Ianik Plante, MD PhD
Caille by the Universite
de Sherbrooke for his PhD thesis. This
award recognizes excellence, innovation
and involvement.
DSLS intern Galen Kreutzberg, mentored by Lealem Mulugeta, spent her summer
working on the Digital
Astronaut Project, updating the user guide
and documenting the
HumMod code. For her
Intern Galen Kreutzberg,
outstanding contribumentor Lealem Mulugeta,
and DSLS Director
tions to the project, she
Adrian LeBlanc, PhD.
was awarded a Certificate of Excellence and an Amazon gift
card on the last day of her internship.
Grants Awarded
Honors ….
Wound Closure,
Batki SL, Ploutz-Snyder R. SubMSC-24238-1.
award #BAT1327 NCIRE Grant No
R01DA16764; Rob will serve as
Houston C,
Biostatistician assisting Dr. Batki
Sognier M, “Twith the preparation of research
STEM Center
Marguerite Sognier, PhD
funding proposals to NIH InstituCycle 2,” fundtions including NIAAA and NIDA. ed by Texas Education Agency.
Extension of previously funded collaborative work, with new funding. Sognier MA, Houston CW; notified
that they received a competitive
Fernhall B, Ploutz-Snyder R. Sub- President’s Cabinet Award to proaward #10-003 Department of Hu- vide and further develman Services Grant: Cardiovascular op an outreach proFunction Following Prolonged Fire gram, Biomedical and
Fighting: Documenting Changes,
Health Careers SumPredicting Risk, and Improving
mer Academy, funded
Function”.
by UTMB. This includes both an online
Arndt D, Byerly D, Sognier M,
component and hands
Ngo P, Phan P, Dusl J, and Carl J
received a Technology Brief Award on, immersion experifor “Microwave Tissue Welding for ences.
Jessica Scott, PhD
Megumi Hada received notification
that she has been
selected as the winner of the 2010
Terasima Award.
Megumi will receive Megumi Hada, PhD
her award from the
Japan Radiation Research Society
in an award ceremony to be held
in Kyoto on October 21st.
Jeff Ryder finished
the 2010 Ironman in
Coeur D'Alene, ID,
in 14 hours, 51
minutes, 51 seconds!
Earlier this year,
Jeff Ryder, PhD
Jessica Scott finished 3rd in her age group in the
Olympic Gateway to the Bay 2010
Triathlon in Kemah!
Grant Proposals Submitted
Foster P, Conkin J, “The Role of O2 and CO2 on Vigilance and Decision-Making”, submitted Step-1 proposal in response to NRA NNJ10ZSA003N, Research and Technology Development to Support Crew Health and Performance in Space Exploration Missions.
Gaza R, Roed Y, Zhou D, “DOSIS distribution inside the International Space Station –
3D,” in collaboration with ESA/DLR, has been selected for definition phase.
Johnny Conkin, PhD
Seidler R, Mulavara A, “Spaceflight Effects on Neurocognitive Performance: Extent, Longevity, and Neural Bases,” submitted Step-1 proposal.
Peters B, Mulavara A, “Real-time measures of visual motor performance and methods to accelerate adaptation of the visual motor system,” submitted Step-1 proposal.
Mulugeta L, Trevathan M, Myers JG, Platts SH, Skytland NG, “Development of a High Fidelity 3D Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) Simulation Game for Education in Life SciAjit Mulavara, PhD
ences,” submitted letter of intent to the Institute of Education Services,
Education Research Grants – Education Technology (CFDA Number: 84.305A).
Mulugeta L, Trevathan M, Myers JG, Platts SH, Skytland NG, “Development and Implementation of a High Fidelity 3D Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) Simulation Game
for Informal Life Science Education,” submitted preliminary proposal to the National
Lealem Mulugeta, MS
Science Foundation, Informal Science Education (NSF 10-565).
Patel Z, Reduced Gravity Education Flight Program: “Fully-Autonomous Apparatus Development for 3D Cell
Culture in Microgravity”, submitted in response to call for Systems Engineering Educational Discovery
Continued on page 3
(SEED) project proposals for undergraduate student mentoring.
O C T O B E R 20 1 0
Page 2
Grant Proposals Submitted (continued from Page 2)
Ploutz-Snyder L, Rasmussen B, Smith SM, Scott J, Ploutz-Snyder R, Zwart S, “Maintenance
of cardiovascular, muscle and bone health with a combined exercise and nutrition program”, submitted Step-1 proposal.
Ploutz-Snyder L, Scott J, Ploutz-Snyder R, Everett M, English K, Martin D, “Comprehensive
Morphological and Functional Muscle Assessment for Long-Duration Spaceflight”, submitted
Step-1 proposal.
Lori Ploutz-Snyder, PhD
Scott-Pandorf M, Newby N, Edwards WB, Ploutz-Snyder L, Sibonga J, Sinaki M,
“Multiscale modeling to determine in-vivo bone strains and muscular forces for the assessment of exercise
countermeasures to mitigate bone and muscle losses”, submitted Step-1 proposal.
Byerly D, Arndt D, Sognier M, Dusl J, “Closed Loop Life Support: Microwave Based Water Processing
Technology,” submitted for funding, NASA ISS Utilization.
Westby C, Platts S, Shi S, Ploutz-Snyder R, Wu H, “Regulation of Vascular Endothelial
Function following Long-Term Exposure to Fractionated Low-Dose Space-Like Irradiation with Modeled Microgravity,” Step-1 proposal submitted in response to the NSBRI
call for NRA NNJ10ZSA003N.
Platts S, Westby C, “Evaluation of Commercial Compression Garments to Prevent PostChris Westby, PhD
Spaceflight Orthostatic Intolerance,” submitted for funding through NASA.
Platts S, Westby C, “Efficacy of Jobst Compression Garments to Prevent Orthostatic Intolerance for up to Three Days Following 14 Days of Bed Rest,” submitted for funding through
NASA.
Wood SJ, Mulavara A, “Optimization of Sensory Aid Feedback for Enhancing Visual Motor
Performance,” submitted Step-1 proposal.
Scott Wood, PhD
Makishima T, Wood SJ, “Vestibular function analysis in mice,” Mentored Clinical Scientist
Research Career Development Award (KO8), submitted to the National Institutes of Health.
Zanello S, Kulkarni A, Foster W, Lee A, Ploutz-Snyder R, submitted “Rodent
hind limb suspension as model of age-related retinal diseases,” in response to NIH
PA-10-064, Small Grant Research Program.
Smith SM, Zwart SR, Tisdale MJ, Shackelford L, Ploutz-Snyder L,
“Eicosapentaenoic Acid: A Nutritional Countermeasure for Space Flight-Induced
Susi Zanello, PhD
Sara Zwart, PhD
Bone Loss”, submitted Step-1 proposal.
Happy Birthday!
The following DSLS employees will be celebrating their birthday soon:
October 16
October 31
November 3
November 19
November 23
November 25
O C T O B E R 20 1 0
Ianik Plante
Yongfeng Li
Frank Sulzman
Claudio Carra
Chris Westby
Roni Cromwell
Page 3
SPOTLIGHT ON: Minli Wang, MD!
Then I moved to
Germany, and
obtained my
Medical Doctor
degree in Radiation Biology at
Duisburg-Essen
Minli Wang, MD
University, majoring in cellular response to DNA
* Tell us briefly about yourself and damage induced by ionizing radiation, under the supervision of Prof.
your family.
George Iliakis. I was selected for
I come from a happy and “noisy”
participation in NASA's Space Rafamily, and my dad always comdiation Summer School in 2007,
plains that the loud four-girl talk
where I had my first touch of the
distracts him from watching politi- space radiation program. Besides
cal news. Although he is in the mi- fun and learning I made many
nority in our family, we still love
good friends there, some of them I
him a lot—as much as we love
am currently working with. After 3
each other. I left home when I was years of postdoctoral training in
15 to go to high school in a differ- the same institute I worked one
ent city, then farther and farther
year in the Radiation Oncology
away from home, for college,
Department at Emory University
graduate school, etc. After I
(Georgia), studying the function of
PARP-1 in the removal of
clustered DNA damage in
CNS in response to space
HZE radiation. I moved to
Houston in March, starting
my job in the radiation research group at JSC.
Minli Wang, MD works for the
JSC Space Radiation Project,
which aims to achieve human exploration and development of
space without exceeding an acceptable level of risk from exposure to space radiation. Recently,
Minli was interviewed for this edition’s Spotlight Article.
* What are you presently
working on at JSC?
I am currently working on
the project of TGF beta
pathway in response to ionizing radiation, especially
Minli Wang, MD, and her family.
low dose High LET radiaPhotos Courtesy of Dr. Wang.
tion, studying the roles of
received the medical doctor degree the Smads and activating transcripand completed the master degree
tion factor 2 (ATF2) proteins as
in the Gastroenterology departthe potential major contributors to
ment of Beijing’s Tongren Hospi- cross-talk between the TGF beta
tal, I worked as a physician in the
and ATM pathways, with Dr.
Emergency Center in the same
Francis Cucinotta and Dr. Megumi
hospital.
Hada.
O C T O B E R 20 1 0
* What is really
important to
you regarding
your work at
JSC?
The most important for me is that I
got chance to continue my career in
radiation research area, and JSC
gets me one step closer to “space”.
I also get a chance to attend conferences and talk with many top scientists in this field. I have met many
good colleagues and friends in JSC
too.
* What are your goals for this
year?
The top goal of
this year is to get
together with my
family, having
been apart for
two years. I also
hope my previous work can be
completed and
submitted for
publications. My
third goal is to
get a clearer understanding of
the role of TGFbeta pathway involved in space radiation damage response. Lastly,
my goal is to double the yield of the
homegrown tomatoes in my back
yard.
Thank you so much for being our
Spotlight Scientist for this edition
of the DSLS newsletter, Minli!
Page 4
New Publications by DSLS Scientists
George K, Chappell
LJ, Cucinotta FA
(2010) Persistence of
space radiation induced cytogenetic
damage in the blood
Lori Chappell, MS
lymphocytes of astronauts. Mutation Research/Genetic
Toxicology and Environmental Mutagenesis, 701(1), 75-79.
Pilmanis AA, Webb JT, Balldin UI,
Conkin J, Fischer JR (2010) Air
break during preoxygenation and
risk of altitude decompression sickness. Aviat Space Environ Med
81:944-950.
methadone maintenance (MMT)
and non-MMT patients. Journal
of Addictive Diseases, 29(3) 359369.
Thompson R, Paterson I, Chow K,
Cheng-Baron J,
Scott JM, Esch BT,
Ennis D, Haykowsky
M (2010) Characterization of the relationship between
systolic shear strain
Jessica Scott, PhD
and early diastolic
shear strain rates: Insights into
torsional recoil. Am J Physiol
Heart Circ Physiol 299(3):H898Hada M, Gersey B,
907.
Saganti PB, Wilkins R,
Weil BR,
Cucinotta FA, Wu H
Mestek ML,
(2010) mBAND analyWestby
sis of chromosome abCM, Van
errations in human epiChris Westby, PhD
Guilder GP,
thelial cells induced
Megumi Hada, PhD
Greiner JJ, Stauffer BL, DeSouza
by γ-rays and secondary neutrons of low dose rate. Muta. CA. (2010) Short sleep duration
Res: Genetic Toxicology and Envi- is associated with enhanced endoronmental Mutagenesis 701(1) 67- thelin-1 vasoconstrictor tone. Can
J Physiol Pharmacol. 2010
74.
Cook SB, Brown KA, Aug;88(8):777-81.
DeRuisseau KC,
Zhou D (2010) Invited book
Kanaley JA, Ploutzchapter “Methods Using CR-39
Snyder LL (2010)
Plastic Nuclear
Skeletal muscle adap- Track Detectors in
tations following
Radiation Research” in Maksim
Lori Ploutz-Snyder, PhD blood flow restricted training during
Sidorov & Oleg
30 days of muscular unloading. J
Ivanov (eds.): Nuclear Track DeAppl Physiol 109: 341-349.
Dazhuang Zhou, PhD
tectors: Design,
Batki S, Canfield
Methods and ApKM, Smyth E,
plications. ISBN: 978-1-60876Ploutz-Snyder RJ
826-4, Nova Science Publishers
(2010) Hepatitis C
Inc., New York.
treatment eligibility
and comorbit mediZhou D (2010) Invited expert
cal illness in
Rob Ploutz-Snyder, PhD
commentary “On Methods Using
O C T O B E R 20 1 0
CR-39 Plastic Nuclear Track Detectors in Physics Research” in
Maksim Sidorov & Oleg Ivanov
(eds.): Nuclear Track Detectors:
Design, Methods and Applications.
ISBN: 978-1-60876-826-4, Nova
Science Publishers Inc., New York.
Accepted for
Publication
Cucinotta FA, Hu S,
Schwadron NA,
Kozarev K, Townsend LW, Kim M-H
Y (2010) Space Radi- Shaowen Hu, PhD
ation Risk Limits and
Earth-Moon-Mars Environmental
Models. Space Weather (in press).
Kim M-H Y, De Angelis G,
Cucinotta FA (2010) Probabilistic
Assessment of Radiation Risk for
Astronauts in Space
Missions. Acta Astronautica,(August,
2010).
Townsend LW,
PourArsalan M,
Myung Kim, PhD
Cucinotta FA, Kim
MY, Schwadron NA
(2010). Transmission of Galactic
Cosmic Rays Through Mars Atmosphere. Space Weather (July
2010).
Spiering BA, Lee SMC, Mulavara
AP, Bentley JR, Buxton RE, Lawrence EL, Sinka J, Guilliams ME,
Ploutz-Snyder LL, Bloomberg JJ
(2010) Test battery designed to
quickly and safely access diverse
indices of neuromuscular function
following unweighting. Journal of
Strength and Conditioning Research (July 2010). Cont on page 6
Page 5
Papers Accepted for Publication (cont. from Page 5)
Batki SL Canfield
KM, PloutzSnyder RJ (2010)
Psychiatric and substance use disorders
among methaRob Ploutz-Snyder, PhD
done maintenance patients
with chronic Hepatitis C infection:
Effects on eligibility for Hepatatis
C treatment. American Journal on
Addictions (June 2010).
Batki S, Canfield KM, PloutzSnyder RJ (2010) Psychiatric and
substance use disorders among
methadone maintenance patients
with chronic hepatitis C infection:
effects on eligibility for hepatitis C
treatment. American Journal on
Addictions (July 2010).
Ponomarev AL,
Sundaresan A,
Vazquez ME, Guida
P, Kim A, Cucinotta
FA (2010) A model
of the effects of
heavy ion radiation Artem Ponomarev, PhD
on human tissue.
Advances in Space Research (in
press). http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/
j.asr.2010.08.014
Jessica Scott, PhD
Jones LW, Scott JM,
Battaglini CM, Peppercorn J (2010) Exercise therapy in the
management of solid
tumors. Current
Treatment Options in
Oncology (June
2010).
Recent Scientific Presentations
American College of Sports
Medicine Annual Meeting,
Baltimore, MD
Cook SB, Brown KA, Smith SM,
Ploutz-Snyder LL, “Evaluation of
bone markers during unilateral lower limb suspension and blood flow
restricted exercise.” Oral talk presented by Cook.
Franklin RM, Ploutz-Snyder LL,
Szeverenyi NM, Kanaley JA, “The
effects of an acute resistance exercise bout on IMCL content in obese
younger and older women.” Oral
talk presented by Franklin.
Ploutz-Snyder LL, “Exercise
countermeasures for the maintenance of fitness during long duration spaceflight.” Oral talk presented by JM Scott.
Spiering BA,
Lee SMC,
Mulavara AP,
Bentley JR,
Buxton RE,
Lawrence EL,
Ajit Mulavara, PhD
Sinka J,
Guilliams ME, Ploutz-Snyder
LL, Bloomberg JJ, “Reliability of
a test battery designed for quickly
and safely assessing diverse indices of neuromuscular function.”
Oral talk presented by Spiering.
Hackney KJ, Cook SB, PloutzSnyder LL, “Resistance exercise
and nutrition in muscle hypertrophy
following disuse muscle atrophy: A Westby CM, Phillips TR, Stenger MB, Platts SH, “Head-down
pilot study.” Poster presented by
bedrest alters venous compliance
Hackney.
and venoconstriction to pheO C T O B E R 20 1 0
Mestek ML,
Weil BR,
Greiner JJ,
Westby CM,
Desouza CA,
Chris Westby, PhD
Stauffer BL
(2010) Osteopenia and endothelin1-mediated vasoconstrictor tone in
postmenopausal women. Bone (in
press, 2010).
Expense Report News
All expense reports for FY10 travel
must be turned in NO LATER
THAN Oct. 14. For those traveling
early in October, travel expense
reports submitted in those first two
weeks will be held from processing
until October 18. This is to allow
all of the FY10 travel to be
processed correctly.
nylephrine in healthy men.” Poster
presented by Westby.
33rd Annual Meeting of the
Research Society on Alcoholism,
San Antonio, TX
Batki SL, Dimmock JA, PloutzSnyder RJ, Meszaros SZ, Leontieva L, Cavallerano M, “Extendedrelease injectable naltrexone treatment for alcohol dependence in patients with serious mental illness.”
Poster presented by Batki.
Szombathyne-Meszaros Z, Dimmock JA, Ploutz-Snyder R, Batki
SA, “Oral natrexone treatment for
alcohol dependence in schizophrenia is not effective for smoking cessation.” Poster presented by Szombathyne-Meszaros.
Cont. on Page 7
Page 6
Recent Scientific Presentations (Cont. from Page 6)
Life in Space for Life on Earth,
31st Annual International Gravitational Physiology Meeting,
Trieste, Italy
Cromwell R, Platts S,
Yarbough P, Buccello
-Stout R, “Feasibility
study of a Lunar analog
bed rest model.” Oral
talk presented by
Cromwell.
Dietrich W, Cucinotta FA,
“Radiation Dose Assessments of
Solar Particle Events with Spectral Representation at High Energies for the Improvement of Radiation Protection.” Oral presentation by Kim.
XXVI Bárány Society Meeting,
Reykjavik, Iceland
Exercise Physiology Meetings
Scott J, invited talk, “Review of
American College of Sports Medicine Conference,” July 12, 2010,
NASA JSC.
Scott J, invited talk, “Ultrasound:
More than just the heart,” July 26,
2010, NASA JSC.
DSLS Professional Development
Black FO, Paloski W, Metter J,
Courses, USRA Houston
Feiveson A, Wood SJ. LongitudiPloutz-Snyder R, “Ordinary Least
Clarke AH, Wood SJ, Schoenfeld
nal study of normal subject posSquares Regression,” SMAR
U, “The OTOLITH Experiment –
tural control: age, gender and
(Statistical Methods and Applications
assessment of otolith function dur- vestibular dysfunction.
Review), June 2 & 23, Sep 29, 2010,
ing spaceflight re-adaptation.” Oral
Serrador JM,
USRA Houston.
talk presented by Clarke.
Geraghty MC, DeeDSLS Brown Bag Seminar,
Clément G, Wood SJ, “Motion per- gan BM, Wood SJ.
USRA Houston
ception and manual control perfor- Enhancing vestibular
mance during passive tilt and trans- function by imperOtto C, “Breaking Down
lation following space flight.” Oral ceptible levels of
Scott Wood, PhD the Mars Communication
talk presented by Clément.
electrical stimulaBarrier: Asynchronous
tion.
Guidance of a Non38th COSPAR Scientific
Surgeon Crew Medical
Scientific Committee on
Assembly, Bremen, Germany
Officer Performing a
Antarctic Research Open
Hada M, Zhang Y, Cucinotta FA,
Laparoscopic Appendec- Christian Otto, MD
Science Meeting & Expert
Wu H, “Distribution of Chromotomy,” June 24, 2010.
Group on Human Biology &
some Breakpoints in Human EpiMedicine in Antarctica,
thelial Cells Exposed to Low- and
Westby C, “Spaceflight: UnderstandBuenos Aires, Argentina
High-LET Radition.” Solicited
ing the impact on vascular function,”
Otto CA. An outbreak of Influpresentation by Wu.
September 23, 2010.
enza
A
Virus
at
the
AmundsenKim M-HY, Cucinotta FA,
Scott South Pole Station. Poster
New Travel Rules!
“Probabilistic Assessment of Canand
oral
presentations.
cer Risk from Solar Particle
Effective November 1, 2010, the
Events.” Solicited presentation by
National Strength and
Transportation Security AdminConditioning Association,
Kim.
istration (TSA) under the “Secure
Orlando, FL
Kim M-HY, Hu S,
Flight” will prescreen passenger
Nounu H, Cucinotta
Ploutz-Snyder L,
data prior to departure. Airlines
FA, “Overview of
“Plasticity of Skelmust now submit all passenger info
Graphical User Interetal Muscle at the
to the TSA 72 hours in advance of
face for ARRBOD
Extremes: Spaceflight. Be prepared to give the trav(Acute Radiation
flight to Elite Perel agent the following data when
Risk and BRYNTRN Myung Kim, PhD
formance”, Gary
making reservations: first and last
Organ Dose ProjecA. Dudley Memo- Lori Ploutz-Snyder, PhD name as they appear on your govrial Lecture.
tion).” Oral presentation by Kim.
ernment ID, date of birth, and
gender.
Kim M-HY, Atwell W, Tyka AJ,
Roni Cromwell, PhD
Page 7
Education and Public Outreach
Roni Cromwell led a
tour of the Flight Analogs Research Unit at
UTMB for the NSBRI
Summer Interns.
Ramona Gaza men- Roni Cromwell, PhD
tored Manjinder
Kaur, Prairie View A&M University undergraduate student, throughout her 10-week summer internship
in the Space Radiation Dosimetry
Laboratory.
Myung Kim makes weekly contributions to the Earth-Moon-Mars
Radiation Exposure Module
(EMMREM) community.
Larry Kuznetz gave
a series of lectures at
the New York University Polytechnic Institute and co- instructed
at the Summer EduLarry Kuznetz, PhD cation Outreach program with NASA astronaut Dr.
Charles Camarda. EPSP had previously agreed to provide hands-on
design instruction assistance and
guidance to 50 advanced high
school students in this program with
an emphasis on heat transfer, anthropomorphics, and laboratory experiments. The lecture series culminated with a final presentation on
August 19th given to 300 guests
including university and high school
administrators. It was also carried
live via WebEx to NASA JSC.
Larry also mentors Tom Miller,
graduate student at University of
Southwest Alabama, regarding an
improved 2-dimensional human
body thermal model.
Jancy McPhee is developing the
Youth Art Competition associated
with the Humans in Space Symposium. She is soliciting contest judges
from all over the world
and especially needs
more in the categories
of musical composition
and video. Go to http://
Jancy McPhee, PhD
www.dsls.usra.edu/
meetings/IAA/artContest/ for more
information!
Ajit Mulavara mentored summer
intern Erin Heap.
Lealem Mulugeta
mentored summer
intern Demarcus
Briers and participated in a NASA
PAO interview for
Lealem Mulugeta, MSc an education and
outreach video.
Christian Otto was interviewed on
National Public Radio for the segment “Fake Mars Mission: ‘Real
World Meets Space Travel” on June
3, 2010. http://www.npr.org/
templates/player/mediaPlayer.html?
action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=12736
8225&m=127398069
Christian also presented “AudioVisual Sensory Stimulation Augmentation in the Exploration Environment: Innocentive Challenge”, at
the NASA JSC External Bar Camp.
Zarana Patel, together with her High
School Aerospace
Scholars team, continued planning their
“Work on Mars” session at JSC, which
Zarana Patel, PhD
focuses on laboratories and tools, spacesuit requirements, and rovers and robots. Zarana also assisted Janice Huff with
the mentoring of two summer interns in the Space Radiation laboratory.
Ianik Plante reviewed a grant
proposal for NASA Research
and Education Support Services
and a manuscript of a special
issue of the journal Radiation
Protection Dosimetry.
Lori Ploutz-Snyder served as
Math and Science Virtual Camp
Advisor for “Exercising in
Space” as part of
the NASA/Texas
Instruments Pilot
“Mission: Math
& Science Virtual Camp.” Lori
advised and developed research Lori Ploutz-Snyder, PhD
with PhD students Kyle Hackney and Meghan Everett, and mentored
Cindy Jones, an elementary
school PE teacher who visited
JSC for three days to get ideas
for incorporating NASA “space
exercise” into her PE curriculum. She further presented a lecture for all Space Life Sciences
summer students and interns of
the SLS Summer Institute and
met with Courtney Barringer,
UTMB PhD student in Rehab
Sciences, who is interested in
conducting her dissertation research under Lori’s supervision.
Lori gave several interviews to
national news organizations
with NASA’s response to Bob
Fitts’ recent muscle research.
Over 100 news articles, resulting from 3 interviews, were
covered by USA Today, CBS,
Fox News, Space.com, etc.
Rob Ploutz-Snyder served as
statistical reviewer for two articles in Medicine & Science in
Sports & Exercise.
Cont. on Page 9
Page 8
Education and Public Outreach (cont. from Page 8)
Yvonne Roed
worked with summer intern Manjinder Kaur, Prairie
View A&M University undergradYvonne Roed, MS
uate student, on
measurements of
Thermoluminescence Detectors
from the Proton-Ichiban 2 experiment.
Jeff Ryder demonstrated the FTT
muscle performance testing hardware, functional
task course, and
weighted suit musJeff Ryder, PhD
cle deconditioning
analog to Cindy Jones, visiting
elementary school physical education teacher who is integrating science and engineering from NASA
exercise countermeasures into her
physical education classes. Jeff
also reviewed a manuscript for
Medicine and Science in Sport and
Exercise.
Jessica Scott continued to mentor
an NSBRI intern on MRI muscle
and ultrasound muscle analysis
and reviewed an article for the
Journal of Physiology.
Marguerite Sognier
presented a STEM
training workshop
for teachers at the
Galveston County
Regional Collaborative, and a talk
Marguerite Sognier, PhD
about “Human Physiological
Changes in Spaceflight” at the Biomedical and Health Careers
Academy.
Chris Westby reviewed an article
for the Journal of Applied Physiology.
Scott Wood mentored Guan Lu
Zhang, International Space University Masters
Program, Meghan
Appelbaum, UnScott Wood, PhD
dergraduate Student Research Program, and
Tomoko Makishama MD PhD,
UTMB, NIH K08 Mentored Clinical Scientist Award. Both GuanLu and Meghan completed their
summer internships and gave exit
presentations in August.
Patrice Yarbough
presented a tour of
the UTMB/JSC
Flight Analog Research Unit to the
NSBRI Summer
Patrice Yarbough, PhD Interns and to
guest teacher Cindy Jones, recipient of the National
Teacher Excellence Award.
Susi Zanello mentored Texas
A&M University summer student
Kevin Shimkus.
Sara Zwart mentored University of
Houston intern Jennifer Furman, completed a manuscript
review for the Journal of Nutrition,
and supported research for nutrition
recommendations to avoid refeeding syndrome for the Chilean miners who were trapped for 17 days
before they were found.
In the News
A British filmmaker has painstakingly synchronized footage recorded
during the Apollo 11 moon landing
in 1969 with its corresponding audio. Go to
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/
science-video/7900351/Apollo-11moon-landing-film-has-soundrestored.html to see and hear it
again!
Photo Courtesy of NASA
Check out the brandnew online
searchable publications database
for the Space Radiation Program
Element at http://
spaceradiation.usra.edu/
resDatabase/!
Many thanks to Kay Nute, Sandra
Cherry and David Kwee for a job
well done!
Sara Zwart, PhD
The DSLS Newsletter is published on a bi-monthly basis.
Dagmar Morgan—Editor
Division of Space Life Sciences
Universities Space Research Association, 3600 Bay Area Boulevard, Houston, TX 77058
DSLS Newsletter
U N I V E R S I T I E S
S P A C E
R E S E A R C H
A S S O C I A T I O N
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