The Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) collaboration with Western University is an exciting development in the field of space exploration and radiation research. While the Artemis II mission, which included Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen, has broken records and captured the world's attention, the implications of this journey extend far beyond the headlines. The farther humans venture from Earth, the more critical it becomes to understand the biological risks associated with space radiation exposure. This is where the CNL and Western's innovative research come into play.
The collaboration focuses on developing technology small enough to fit in the palm of a hand, which has the potential to revolutionize our understanding of radiation's impact on the human body. At the heart of this effort is Professor Tamie Poepping, who is advancing organ-on-chip and organoid-on-chip systems. These tiny chambers, no larger than a postage stamp, replicate the complexity of human tissue, allowing researchers to observe how cells and organs react under stress.
Poepping's lab specializes in controlling fluid at near-cellular scales, enabling researchers to isolate variables and monitor tissue behavior in real time. This precision is crucial for understanding how organs respond to extreme environments, such as those experienced by astronauts in deep space. The lab's work is particularly fascinating, as it was inspired by the complexity of the Chernobyl disaster, which is a stark reminder of the challenges posed by radiation exposure.
Working alongside Poepping is Professor Eugene Wong, who studies how humans, organs, tissues, and cells respond to radiotherapy. Wong's long-term goal is to better understand both acute and delayed tissue damage in cancer patients and those in extreme environments, such as astronauts in deep space and engineers working with nuclear reactors. Wong's connection to this research stretches back decades, as he worked under Western's Professor Emeritus Jerry Battista, whose pioneering work helped shape the modern understanding of radiation exposure in space travel.
Battista's work emphasized that radiation exposure is a dynamic process with effects that vary across time, space, and biological structure. This understanding is crucial for developing accurate models of radiation exposure and its impact on the human body. Wong is now extending this work into new environments, such as deep space, and is exploring the potential of sending miniature versions of human organs and organoids into space to monitor radiation exposure in real time.
However, understanding radiation damage also requires understanding the variability of biology itself. This is where Christopher Pin, a professor in the departments of physiology, pharmacology, oncology, and pediatrics at Western's Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, comes in. Pin studies why patients with similar cancers can respond very differently to the same treatments, and his lab grows organoids to study these differences directly.
Pin's work has revealed that even within the same cancer type, responses to radiation and chemotherapy can vary dramatically. Traditional models often fail to replicate the complexity of the human body with enough precision, making organoid systems a more realistic and simplified biological model. When paired with Poepping's engineering systems and Wong's radiation expertise, these models create a platform capable of answering questions researchers previously couldn't study in real time.
At CNL, researchers are adapting these systems for radiobiology experiments related to emergency response and triage scenarios and space radiation exposure. The development of organ- or organoid-on-chip technology allows them to study the biological effects of different types of radiation using Earth-based laboratories or in space. Rather than measuring only whether cells survive radiation exposure, researchers can now observe intermediate biological responses, such as metabolites, cytokines, and stress markers, which reveal how damage unfolds and how tissue attempts to recover.
This collaboration, partially supported by NSERC and Western's Institute for Earth and Space Exploration, will engage trainees in research placements funded by collaborative grants at CNL in Chalk River, Ontario, this summer. The implications of this work extend far beyond space travel, with potential applications in cancer treatment and nuclear safety. As we continue to push the boundaries of space exploration, the CNL and Western's research will play a crucial role in ensuring the safety and well-being of astronauts and others working in extreme environments.
