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NASA Space Radiation Summer School (NSRSS)
PurposeThe purpose of this intensive summer school is to attract the highest quality students and young researchers from the fields of molecular biology and genetics, and to train graduate students and young investigators supported by current NASA funded PI’s to pursue research careers in space radiobiology, and to aid established investigators who are changing research directions. The course offers a unique physical and intellectual environment not duplicated in the nation's universities, medical schools or research institutes. Background and ScopeThe course focuses on current space radiation health problems. The course offers a series of formal lectures by leaders in the field followed by critical discussions, laboratory research experience and informal seminars over a three-week period. The teaching faculty comprises senior scientists in the field. Some of the faculty give lectures and lead discussions on individual topics, others serve as instructors and lead research laboratory modules in the course, and others do both. The ultimate goal of the training is to provide a comprehensive coverage of the paradigms, problems, and technologies of modern space radiobiology, cast within a framework of NASA Space Radiation Health Strategy and Critical Path Roadmap. The Summer School brings together biological and physical scientists, both in the faculty and the student body, to work together on cutting edge of problems in space radiobiology. We aim for an environment that is more like a summer school in interdisciplinary science than a conventional graduate course. The school design promotes learning by practice, with a particular emphasis on stimulating experimental creativity and interdisciplinary approaches. Biology-oriented students leave the course able to understand fundamental principles in physics, space radiation environment and the use of beams provided by particle accelerators (NSRL), and physics-oriented science students leave understanding the language of biology and with experience in working on cutting-edge biological problems related to space radioprotection.
Students participate in three research threads, physics, cell-molecular biology, and animal studies organized around lectures and laboratory activities, that run through the whole course. Each of these threads makes extensive use of tissue culture, microscopy, biochemistry, and animal studies. These threads lead to learning and research opportunities. The courses and curricula teach fundamental concepts in space radiobiology and skills in the use of particle accelerators (NSRL) with the application of state-of-the-art methods, in order to train new researchers in the field. Current spacecraft do not have sufficient shielding to protect from dangerous rays on longer distance or long-term space journeys. Studies at NSRL focus on how this radiation can damage the central nervous system and other bodily systems — as well as how the intense rays promote the development of cancer. NSRL researchers are also looking at ways to protect against these dangers — through shielding and other strategies to minimize the risk to space travelers. The summer program brings together biological and physical scientists to work jointly on leading problems in space radiobiology. Students participate in both classroom activities and scientific experiments, working side-by-side with top space scientists from research organizations such as NASA, Brookhaven Lab, Loma Linda University, Johns Hopkins University, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Columbia University. Experimental creativity and interdisciplinary approaches are emphasized. Following completion of the program, participants will be qualified to perform experiments at NSRL. NSRL is a $34-million facility that was built by the staff of Brookhaven Lab with funding from NASA with the cooperation of the Office of Nuclear Physics within the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science. Operational since 2003, NSRL is one of the few places in the world that can simulate the harsh cosmic and solar radiation found in space. The facility is part of Brookhaven's Collider-Accelerator complex, which is maintained by the DOE Office of Science's nuclear physics program and receives incremental operations and maintenance funding from NASA. It employs beams of heavy ions extracted from Brookhaven's Booster accelerator that are the best in the U.S. for studying the effects of radiation on living organisms. Scientists from more than 20 research institutions from throughout the U.S. and abroad work year-round at NSRL, supported mainly by NASA funding, to learn about the possible risks to space explorers exposed to deep-space radiation. See images from the Space Radiation Summer School here.
Last Modified: February 1, 2008 |
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As astronauts spend more time in space, scientists need to better understand
the dangers space travelers face from deep-space radiation — and how to best
shield them against these risks. The NASA Summer Student Program at the U.S.
Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory helps to provide a
“pipeline” of researchers to tackle this challenge. The program is co-sponsored
by Brookhaven Lab, Loma Linda University Medical Center, and Universities Space
Research Association, a consortium of universities, research organizations, and
governmental groups involved in space research.
