This grant is responsive to the NASA behavioral health and performance GAP (BMED5) to find.individual characteristics that predict successful adaptation and performance in an isolated,.confined, and…

Rush University Medical Center, a Chicago-based academic medical center and non-profit research organization, was awarded a $769,596 research grant by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) on October 23, 2019, with a completion date of September 30, 2025. The grant supports research addressing NASA's Behavioral Health and Performance Gap (BMED) and Sleep Gap initiatives, which aim to identify individual characteristics that predict successful adaptation and performance during isolated, confined, and extreme environments, particularly for long-duration space missions. The project will develop biomarkers to distinguish crew members who are resilient versus susceptible to adverse neurobehavioral effects caused by high performance demands and sleep loss, enabling NASA to optimize and individualize countermeasures for autonomous deep-space exploration missions.

The research deliverable consists of a set of diverse biomarkers that can identify individual susceptibilities and resiliencies to sleep loss and circadian rhythm disruption, supporting the development of personalized countermeasure regimens for long-duration missions. Rush University Medical Center's expertise in biomedical research and clinical investigations makes it well-suited to conduct this work. The award includes no set-aside designation, indicating it was awarded through open competition. Beyond space exploration applications, the biomarkers developed under this grant will have significant utility for Earth-based occupations involving similar high-stress and sleep-deprivation stressors, such as military operations, emergency medicine, and other demanding professional fields.

This grant is responsive to the NASA behavioral health and performance GAP (BMED5) to find.individual characteristics that predict successful adaptation and performance in an isolated,.confined, and extreme environment, especially for long duration missions. The project also.relates to HRP sleep GAP 4 to identify indicators of individual susceptibilities and resiliencies to.sleep loss and circadian rhythm disruption, to aid with individualized countermeasure regimens,.for autonomous, long duration, and/or distance exploration missions. The proposal is also.responsive to bmed 1 and bmed 2, and sleep GAP 2 and sleep GAP 9. The project's research will.deliver a countermeasure (set of diverse biomarkers) for distinguishing those who are more.resilient versus those who are more susceptible to the adverse neurobehavioral effects of high performance demands and sleep loss stressors. If valid markers of such susceptibility can be.found, IT will be possible to optimize and individualize crew resources and mitigate stress and.other behavioral health and performance risks autonomously during long-duration space flight.this information would also be of use on earth in applied occupations that demand similar risks.and stressors.