Engineering Biology for Space Health: An Innovative Research Roadmap

EBRC is collaborating with the NASA Translational Research Institute for Space Health (TRISH) to facilitate and lead the production and publication of a technical research roadmap for space health. The roadmap will describe goals and milestones for new tools and technologies that can improve human health and well-being during space exploration missions and help solve societal challenges here on Earth, including providing food and water access and sustainability, expanding equitable precision medicine, and enabling and ensuring resources to support life and control the local environment, particularly when those resources are limited. The roadmap will be created through the contributions of academic, industry, and government leaders, experts, exceptional trainees, and diverse stakeholders representing the convergence of engineering biology, cell and molecular biology, biomedicine, materials, aerospace, and social science fields. The resulting roadmap will be used to spur innovation and collaboration and as a tool for TRISH and NASA to guide programmatic and investment decisions.

We began drafting the roadmap in December 2023 and are closing in on the final stages of the iterative drafting and revision process (June-July), before we undertake a comprehensive review (August). The roadmap will be published in early-October 2024.

Should you have any questions about the process, purpose and audience of the roadmap, or EBRC, do not hesitate to contact us at roadmapping@ebrc.org!

Review and Revision

Update — August 7, 2024

We are currently in a period of review and revision of the roadmap. If you are interested in contributing, please reach out to roadmapping@ebrc.org by August 21, 2024. All reviews and revisions must be completed by August 28, 2024.

Review and revision will address:

• Big Picture – In the Breakthrough Capabilities, have we captured the opportunities for engineering biology to impact or advance the health and wellbeing of humans in space (transit and habitation) and in austere environments here on Earth?
• Nuance – Have we captured all the necessary engineering biology Milestones toward achieving the Breakthrough Capability? Are they placed at the appropriate timepoints (or can we be more ambitious)?
• Context – Does the Current State-of-the-Art capture what we can do today and where the challenges and bottlenecks currently lay? Are there any terms to add to the Glossary? Any references to add? In the next month, we will also be adding introductory material for each theme and encourage your review of that as it becomes available.

Virtual Mini-Workshops [Completed]

As we finalize the draft roadmap, we have some holes where we need some additional work and expertise. Mini, virtual workshops focused on a specific topic, with the goal of reviewing and revising existing material and filling any perceived gaps in the technical content.

• Food & Nutrition
  Friday, June 21, 2024, 1:00-3:00 PM Eastern | 10:00-12:00 PM Pacific
  Wednesday, July 10, 2024, 12:00-2:00 PM Eastern | 9:00-11:00 AM Pacific
  Focus topics include: macronutrient production, producing cellular/cultured meat, palatability (i.e., taste and flavor), and preservation and stability.
• Plant Engineering
  Friday, July 12, 2024, 2:00-4:00 PM Eastern | 11:00-1:00 PM Pacific
  Tuesday, July 23, 2024, 12:00-2:00 PM Eastern | 9:00-11:00 AM Pacific
  Focus topics include: engineering plants for high-nutrient density foods, pharmaceutical and medical biologics production, and for purifying air and water, possibly all in one plant!
• Health & Medicine
  Tuesday, July 9, 2024, 3:00-5:00 PM Eastern | 12:00-2:00 PM Pacific
  Wednesday, July 24, 2024, 12:00-2:00 PM Eastern | 9:00-11:00 AM Pacific
  Focus topics include: human cell and tissue engineering and engineering biology for rapid response to illness and injury.

In-Person Writing Workshops [Completed]

To create the roadmap, EBRC hosted three, in-person writing workshops. We encourage participation from anyone with expertise or training in engineering biology and related fields and interest in applying that knowledge to imagining and identifying technologies and innovations for the health and well-being of off-Earth travel. Space for participants at these in-person workshops is limited; to request an invitation, please send a brief email to roadmapping@ebrc.org.

In-person Writing Workshops:

• December 14-15, 2023 | La Jolla, California
• March 4-5 | Houston, TX
• May 14-15, 2024 | Georgia Tech, Atlanta, GA *workshop immediately precedes the 2024 EBRC Annual Meeting*

Project Leadership

This Engineering Biology for Space Health roadmap is being led by:

Adam Arkin (UC Berkeley), Jennifer Fogarty (TRISH), Karmella Haynes (Emory Univ.), Kate Adamala (Univ. of Minnesota), Mark Blenner (Univ. of Delaware), Michael Köpke (LanzaTech), Nicole Buan (Univ. of Nebraska-Lincoln), Rihana Bokhari (TRISH), Steve Mayo (CalTech), Tae Seok Moon (Washington Univ. in St. Louis), and Emily Aurand (EBRC).

This project is supported by the Translational Research Institute through NASA NNX16AO69A, project number INN0013.