Funding provides launch pad for development of healthy astronaut fare
June 9, 2008
A Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) grant will enable UOIT associate professor Dr. Julia Green-Johnson and her team to continue research into soy-based foods for space travel and life right here on Earth.
New funding from the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada's (NSERC) collaborative research and development program will enable UOIT Faculty of Science associate professor and immunologist Dr. Julia Green-Johnson to continue her research into the development of soy-based foods that could help astronauts cope with nutritional and health challenges presented by their time in space.
Dr. Green-Johnson is partnering with Lallemand Inc., a private Canadian company, and the Canadian Space Agency, with the team's project, Meeting Health Challenges in Space Through Nutrition, by means of a grant of $108,400 that will fund three additional years of research by graduate students in UOIT's Applied Bioscience MSc program and other members of her research team.
On long space flights, astronauts face a number of health-related issues, including immune dysfunction, shifts in intestinal flora, increased risk of osteoporosis through bone demineralization, and the potential for increased cancer risk due to radiation exposure. Dr. Green-Johnson says a fermented soy food, similar to a soy-based yogurt, could mitigate several of these health challenges by stimulating the immune system, strengthening the skeletal system and providing probiotics, a kind of bacterium that helps maintain good health in the digestive tract.
"We plan to build on our current work with probiotics and soy by investigating the actions and applications of a fermented soy-based food in microgravity conditions, with a focus on fermentation and bioactivity," said Dr. Green-Johnson. "This food would meet the key flight requirements of contributing to nutrition while helping to enhance mission success by addressing several mission-related health issues."
Dr. Green-Johnson adds that the potential health benefits of this functional food product could easily extend into the general population, thus developing a new food niche for the Canadian soy and biocultures industry.
The NSERC grant is another example of UOIT's strong national reputation for research excellence. UOIT researchers have earned millions of dollars in awards and grants, including prestigious Canada Research Chairs.
New funding from the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada's (NSERC) collaborative research and development program will enable UOIT Faculty of Science associate professor and immunologist Dr. Julia Green-Johnson to continue her research into the development of soy-based foods that could help astronauts cope with nutritional and health challenges presented by their time in space.
Dr. Green-Johnson is partnering with Lallemand Inc., a private Canadian company, and the Canadian Space Agency, with the team's project, Meeting Health Challenges in Space Through Nutrition, by means of a grant of $108,400 that will fund three additional years of research by graduate students in UOIT's Applied Bioscience MSc program and other members of her research team.
On long space flights, astronauts face a number of health-related issues, including immune dysfunction, shifts in intestinal flora, increased risk of osteoporosis through bone demineralization, and the potential for increased cancer risk due to radiation exposure. Dr. Green-Johnson says a fermented soy food, similar to a soy-based yogurt, could mitigate several of these health challenges by stimulating the immune system, strengthening the skeletal system and providing probiotics, a kind of bacterium that helps maintain good health in the digestive tract.
"We plan to build on our current work with probiotics and soy by investigating the actions and applications of a fermented soy-based food in microgravity conditions, with a focus on fermentation and bioactivity," said Dr. Green-Johnson. "This food would meet the key flight requirements of contributing to nutrition while helping to enhance mission success by addressing several mission-related health issues."
Dr. Green-Johnson adds that the potential health benefits of this functional food product could easily extend into the general population, thus developing a new food niche for the Canadian soy and biocultures industry.
The NSERC grant is another example of UOIT's strong national reputation for research excellence. UOIT researchers have earned millions of dollars in awards and grants, including prestigious Canada Research Chairs.
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