Impact of Radiation and Microgravity on Heart-on-a-Chip

Project Member(s): Tipper, J.

Funding or Partner Organisation: Australian Institute of Nuclear Science & Engineering (AINSE Residential Student Scholarship)
Australian Institute of Nuclear Science & Engineering (AINSE Residential Student Scholarship)

Start year: 2020

Summary: Deep space exploration is a new environment that humans could be exposed to in the future, where health risks associated with long-term exposure to microgravity and space radiation needs to be assessed. The cardiovascular system is known to be sensitive to radiation, therefore, cardiovascular disease needs to be considered when examining the impact of deep space exploration. Furthermore, the risk of cardiovascular disease is also enhanced through factors independent of radiation, including that of the reduced gravitational loading that occurs in microgravity. Cardiovascular disease is one of the most devastating health problems in the modern world, with heart failure and hypertension impacting a rising percentage of the aging population. A greater understanding of the cardiovascular system in these extreme environments, may unlock new insights into the understanding of cardiovascular diseases.

Publications:

Basirun, C, Ferlazzo, ML, Howell, NR, Liu, G-J, Middleton, RJ, Martinac, B, Narayanan, SA, Poole, K, Gentile, C & Chou, J 2021, 'Microgravity × Radiation: A Space Mechanobiology Approach Toward Cardiovascular Function and Disease', Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology, vol. 9, p. 750775.
View/Download from: Publisher's site

FOR Codes: Cell development, proliferation and death, Cell Development, Proliferation and Death, Expanding Knowledge in the Biological Sciences

Acknowledgement of Country

UTS acknowledges the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, the Boorooberongal people of the Dharug Nation, the Bidiagal people and the Gamaygal people, upon whose ancestral lands our university stands. We would also like to pay respect to the Elders both past and present, acknowledging them as the traditional custodians of knowledge for these lands.