EVMS scientists advising South Korea on space medicine research
Two senior EVMS scientists who have spent decades studying how to protect astronauts in the harsh environs of space are now advising the South Korean government as it works to build its own space medicine program.
Larry Sanford, PhD, Professor of Pathology and Anatomy and Director of the EVMS Center for Integrative Neuroscience and Inflammatory Diseases (CINID), and Richard Britten, PhD, Professor of Radiation Oncology and a member of the CINID Executive Committee, recently spent a week in South Korea at the invitation of the Korean Space Medicine Program.
This was the pair’s second visit to South Korea since they began their collaboration with the country’s space medicine research program in 2017.
“It’s a nation starting its own space program and we’re in on the ground floor,” Dr. Sanford says.
During their stay, Drs. Sanford and Britten took part in the first Korea-US Space Health Symposium, toured space research sites and observed experiments at the Korean Multi-purpose Accelerator Complex, a branch of the Korean Atomic Energy Research Institute. They also met with government officials in the Korean Ministry, including the Director of the Korean National Institute of Health.
The EVMS scientists are known internationally in the field of space research.
Dr. Britten is an expert in studying the effects of galactic space radiation – a constant threat to astronauts, particularly during an extended flight beyond the Earth’s orbit. NASA has supported his research over the last 16 years. At the space symposium, Dr. Britten spoke on “Possible CNS research opportunities for Korean Space Medicine Program.”
Dr. Sanford’s research is supported by NASA to better understand the neurophysiology of sleep and stress in space. He spoke at the symposium on “Missions risks and astronaut health and performance: Challenges in understanding the effects of spaceflight stress.”
The two first came to the attention of South Korean space medicine officials through Hargsoon Yoon, PhD, a member of the CINID team and a professor of engineering at Norfolk State University. A Korean native, Dr. Yoon introduced the EVMS scientists to Dr. Kyu-Sung Kim, Director of the Inha University Research Institute for Aerospace Medicine, who at the time was developing what is now the Korean Space Medicine Program.
“[Dr. Kim] came over on a fact-finding mission and was looking for advice on what he should do for moving forward to develop a space medicine program,” Dr. Britten says. Dr. Kim ended up incorporating some of the ideas Drs. Sanford and Britten shared as their collaboration developed.
Long term, Dr. Britten says, the EVMS/Korean relationship will include shared research – perhaps on a South Korean space flight – and potentially externships for interested U.S. and Korean medical students.
Two Korean scientists will be training in Dr. Britten’s laboratory in 2024.