Brains in a Bar: Space Medicine 2023
With space technology becoming a rapidly growing research field in Pittsburgh, the Steel City is now being referred to as “Space City,” largely in part to local companies receiving millions of dollars in NASA funding and the announcement of the The Keystone Space and Defense Innovation District aimed at boosting the region’s economic development. So, what better time than to host an event for our Bridgeside community regarding such a prevalent topic?
Our Brains In A Bar: Space Medicine 2023 invited all space enthusiasts to deliberate with like-minded individuals over complimentary cocktails while discussing the future of medicine and health tech – but first they had to correctly answer a few questions in order to get exclusive speakeasy access!
As a community filled with innovators, researchers, and scientists, it came as no surprise that for those who accepted the mission, the majority of our population got the following two questions right:
What was the first United States mission to successfully land on the moon?
Ranger 42
Luna 13
Apollo 11 (correct answer)
Who was the first medical doctor to go into space for the United States?
Joseph Peter Kerwin (correct answer)
Alexander Yegorov
Yuri Gagarin
We also asked participants what healthcare areas they thought space technology could enhance:
Age-related bone loss
Anti-aging
Anti-gravity technologies
Arthritis and bio-research
Biomedical research
Bone disease drug development and prevention
Bone repair and loss
Cognitive performance enhancement
DNA damage and cellular regeneration
Emergency and disaster response
Geriatrics
Medical imaging
Neurology
Next-generation wearables
Nutrition
Osteology
Pharmaceutical development
Remote patient monitoring and diagnosing
Robotics
Telemedicine
Tele-surgery
Tissue repair
With this top of mind, on August 15 we invited select individuals to join us at Eliza: A Hot Metal Bistro to hear from host Martina Truche and discuss all things space, including the history of space innovation, upcoming trends, and even tourism.
Attendees enjoyed small bites and beverages while networking and then launched right into conversation, diving deeper into the following topics:
Bioprinting
Bioprinting, an extension of 3D printing, can be very beneficial in a zero-gravity environment. Without external forces, the two machines currently located on the International Space Station (ISS) are helping to advance the tissue engineering applications, meaning human colonization can be supported by providing critical needs of life and ecosystems without relying on cargos from Earth.
Aging
A perfect topic given our tenants at the Aging Institute, research on the effects of space travel and microgravity on the aging process has become increasingly important as humans spend longer durations in space. Additionally, research on aging in space can also have practical applications here on Earth. For instance, insights gained from space research can help develop treatments for age-related conditions and improve our understanding of the aging process.
Contributions
Pittsburgh has made significant contributions to space innovation, primarily through its strong presence in the aerospace and technology sectors. For example, Carnegie Mellon University is renowned for its robotics and artificial intelligence programs, both of which have direct application in space exploration.
Impact
Space innovation has a direct and tangible impact on our daily lives, enhancing various aspects of technology, healthcare, communication, and environmental sustainability on Earth. Things like telemedicine, GPS navigation, water purification, energy efficiency, satellite communications, biomedical research, improved weather forecasting, and more have come out of space innovations.
And with there being so many applications to space innovation, participants derived from a number of different fields and industries, including medical devices, therapeutics, diagnostics, engineering, research, and more!
In fact, this event expanded outside of our Bridgeside community and across the river, with Mary Hamby, VP of Research at Cognition Therapeutics, Inc. also in attendance that evening. Since the company targets key cellular response mechanisms to fight degenerative age-related diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinsons, we connected her with individuals at the Aging Institute and Noveome Biotherapeutics, Inc. who have a similar focus!
As the event concluded, it was exciting to see all of the attendees engaged and passionate about space medicine and future possibilities. In fact, majority of participants shared that they wanted to go to space.
Most importantly, we pride ourselves on helping to form new connections and bridge companies and academia together – both inside and outside of our building. After all, transforming the way challenging diseases and conditions are treated and discovering cutting-edge research on age-related disease therapies are just a few of the events we’ve hosted in the past to do just that.
For more upcoming events, check out our events calendar!