In 2018, the National Stem Cell Foundation (NSCF) connected leading experts in the field of Parkinson’s disease (PD) and multiple sclerosis (MS) for a first-in-kind study of neurodegeneration on the International Space Station (ISS) that has now completed its sixth mission, garnering significant international attention and funding.
The project, a research collaboration between Dr. Jeanne Loring, founding Director of the Center for Regenerative Medicine and professor emeritus at Scripps Research, and Drs. Valentina Fossati and Scott Noggle at the New York Stem Cell Foundation (NYSCF) Research Institute, was the first to fly disease-specific cells to space.
Working across disciplines and institutions, the team developed human brain organoids derived from the cells of people with PD and primary progress MS (PPMS) that incorporate microglia, immune cells of the brain that play an important role in mediating inflammation and have recently been implicated in the development of PD, MS, and other neurodegenerative diseases.
In the unique microgravity environment of space, cell interactions can be observed in ways not possible on Earth, providing unprecedented insight into the development of diseases with profound societal and economic impact. These insights hold the promise of new drug discovery and breakthrough therapies for diseases that affect tens of millions worldwide. Our next flights will include organoids derived from the cells of people with Alzheimer’s disease (AD), explore genetic diversity to further expand our understanding of disease development, and drug challenge to identify new therapeutic molecules to prevent or treat these diseases. The opportunity to observe uninhibited cell interaction and gene expression in PD, PPMS, and now AD also has implications for the development of new cell and drug therapies for ALS, rare childhood disorders, and multiple other neurodegenerative diseases.
The research flew to the ISS for a sixth time on SpaceX-30 in March 2024 with spaceflight costs covered by a grant of up to $650,000 from the ISS National Lab (ISSNL) and the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS). In September 2023, we were the only awardee for a highly competitive $3.1M NASA InSPA grant to fund additional ground research and cover another three flights to the ISS through 2027. The NSCF Cosmic Brain Organoid study was one of only two missions highlighted by the ISSNL and NASA in advance of the SpaceX-30 launch.
This research has been funded by the National Stem Cell Foundation with support from an ISSNL/CASIS grant for SpaceX-30 flight costs. Our in-kind contributions from NASA to date exceed $8M.