Translating Basic Research to Astronaut Health in Space: NASA Ames Rodent Specimen Biobanking for the Human Research Program

Abstract As an extension of NASA Ames’ long history and sustaining international collaboration for sharing tissues acquired from one-off spaceflight experiments, we have recently established a new mobile operation for acquiring small animal biospecimens from ongoing ground-based studies supported by the NASA Human Research Program (HRP) organized at Johnson Space Center (JSC). Goals of Ames’ Biospecimen Sharing Programs (BSPs) are to: (1) advance understanding of physiological responses and adaptations to the space environment utilizing animal models in support of fundamental space and gravitational biology research, and to promote human health in space and on Earth, (2) provide a repository of high-quality, well-preserved, and carefully archived and maintained biospecimens by applying modern approaches and established best practices in the biobanking field, and (3) establish a database for gathering broad and comprehensive scientific information corresponding to these samples, including cutting edge techniques for tracking and archiving of structural, descriptive, and administrative metadata. This program, modeled after contemporary human and animal biobanking initiatives, is yielding a rich archive of quality specimens that can be used to address a broad range of current and future scientific questions relevant to NASA Life Sciences, Exploration Medicine, and beyond.