Oct 27, 2009

Grey Hautaluoma/Ashley Edwards Headquarters, Washington 202-358-0668/1756 grey hautaluoma-1@nasa gov ashley edwards-1@nasa gov

William Jeffs Johnson Space Center, Houston 281-483-5111 william p jeffs@nasa gov

RELEASE: 09-249

NASA AWARDS SPACE RADIOBIOLOGY RESEARCH GRANTS

WASHINGTON -- NASA is funding 12 proposals from nine states to investigate questions about the effects of space radiation on human explorers The selected proposals from researchers in Alabama, California, Colorado, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon, Texas, Virginia and Washington have a total value of approximately $13 7 million

The ground-based studies will address the impact of space radiation on astronaut health Research areas will include risk predictions for cancer and models for potential damage to the central nervous system and the heart

"The proposals funded this year using systems biology and state-of-the-art cell and molecular biology approaches will lead to improved understanding and identification of approaches to mitigate the risks to astronauts living in space," said Francis A Cucinotta, chief scientist for the Human Research Program Space Radiation Program Element at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston

The Human Research Program provides knowledge and technologies to improve human health during space exploration and identifies possible countermeasures for known problems The program quantifies crew health and performance risks during spaceflight and develops strategies that mission planners and system developers can use to monitor and mitigate health risks

The 12 projects were selected from proposals that were reviewed by scientific and technical experts from academia and government laboratories A complete list of the selected principal investigators, organizations and proposals is available at:

http://www nasa gov/exploration/acd/human html

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