The National Aeronautics and Space Administration Human Research Program (NASA HRP) has issued a request for information (RFI) to aid in the development of future system biology directions for radiation research programs.
NASA HRP supports investigation into understanding and quantifying health impacts of space radiation with the goal of ensuring that crewmembers can live and work in space, including locations beyond Low Earth Orbit, without exceeding acceptable radiation health risks.
A substantial body of data has been accumulated from radiobiological research conducted at particle accelerators. During the same period, significant breakthroughs in biology have provided new insights into the mechanisms by which cells, tissues, and organisms respond to radiation.
The state of the art is at a stage where integration of the various threads of research may profitably be attempted. This requires new approaches, whereby the advances in radiobiology can be made accessible to systems biologists, and the methods of systems biology can be exploited by radiobiologists, with the aim of developing a theory of radiation response capable of extrapolating current knowledge to provide accurate predictions of radiation risk in space.
Input to this RFI will be considered by NASA in developing recommendations for future radiation systems biology research. These recommendations may form the basis for future NASA Research Announcements (NRAs).
The full RFI and submission instructions are available under Solicitation Number: NNJ14ZSA002L. The response deadline is September 2, 2014.
