IT is well know that extended spaceflight causes significant skeletal muscle atrophy in astronauts. However, the mechanisms that drive this process are not well understood. Previous experiments have…

This federal contract award, valued at $200,000.00, was issued by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to The Ohio State University under a Cooperative Agreement. The objective is to conduct research on the mechanisms driving skeletal muscle atrophy in astronauts during extended spaceflight. The team, composed of undergraduate students from The Ohio State University and Emory University, will design, build, and test hardware to fly miniaturized tissue-engineered skeletal muscle constructs on a suborbital reusable launch vehicle. They will measure real-time passive and active force production, as well as gene expression changes, in the muscle tissues compared to ground controls. This research aims to improve the understanding of how muscle senses and responds to the microgravity environment. The contract has no set-aside designation, and The Ohio State University is the prime contractor without any major subcontractors identified.

IT is well know that extended spaceflight causes significant skeletal muscle atrophy in astronauts. However, the mechanisms that drive this process are not well understood. Previous experiments have shown that spaceflight leads to atrophy in isolated tissue engineered skeletal muscle. We do not know how muscle tissues sense the microgravity environment leading to the muscle atrophy. We propose flying miniaturized tissue-engineered skeletal muscle constructs on a suborbital reusable launch vehicle and measuring real-time passive and active force production. Additionally, these tissues will be fixed with RNA later at the end of the microgravity period to determine the differential expression of key genes when compared to ground controls. The team win design, build, and test the necessary hardware for the experiment. We will also optimize the tissue-engineering process. After the flight, the tissues will be processed in our laboratories for functional and gene expression analysis. The team is composed of an enthusiastic group of undergraduate students from multiple disciplines at the ohio state university and emory university. There will be regular meetings with a formal mentorship program, in place. Faculty members from various disciplines will also serve as advisors and mentors for the group. Students will have the opportunity to serve as project or section leaders and IT is anticipated that some of the students will commit to summer internships and/or get course credit as part of an independent study or capstone project. We also propose a formal educational outreach program, targeting k-12 students. Finally, we will also actively engage our public relations office to maximize the exposure of the team's activities and research.