Novosibirsk State University will develop projects in the field of space medicine in partnership with the Space Biology and Medical Research Center - MicroG (Brazil). During a visit to NSU by MicroG Director Professor Tais Russomano, the two parties agreed to conduct research in the field of microgravity, the creation of a Summer School for all those interested in space, and a joint training program related to telemedicine.
Thais Russomano is a physician specializing in space medicine, Director and Founder of the University's interdisciplinary research unit MicroG, Founder and Director of InnovaSpace, and a consultant on space biology and medicine. Russomano came to Novosibirsk with her colleague David Reggio, a strategic adviser for studying life in space. The purpose of their visit to NSU was a desire to discuss the possibilities of interaction between science and education. The sphere of interests involves everything connected to space, space technologies and medicine in space.
“The cosmos has no boundaries, it belongs to everyone. And that's why we are talking about interaction. We must cooperate and develop this science together. That's why we are here today.” said David Reggio.
During their visit, the foreign scientists agreed on the implementation of several joint projects with NSU.
One of the projects involves the development of a Master's Program in the organization of health care that includes telemedicine. The program is being developed by the NSU Institute of Medicine and Psychology and will be conducted in two languages, Russian and English. It will be launched jointly with partner universities Aachen (Germany) and Southern California (USA). Aware of the high level of the Brazilian healthcare system, NSU invited their colleagues from Brazil to join the project.
Another educational project is an International Summer School that is dedicated to space medicine and biology. The uniqueness of the program is an interdisciplinary approach, involving a wide range of issues from physiology in space conditions to cosmic democracy. Deputy Director of the NSU Institute of Philosophy and Law Nikita Golovko commented on the task of the humanities in this large-scale project, “ We see our role in the program as carrying out research related to both the image of our future (this is a philosophical problem) and the issues of legal support for human activities in space. Legal issues are a big problem since the very expansion of man into space has not yet begun, but it will begin soon and we must be ready for this."
Leading experts from Novosibirsk State University, scientific institutes in the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, as well as from research centers and universities around the world will be involved in conducting the lecture courses. The broad range of topics and the high level of speakers suggests that the program will be of interest to both students and professionals. The school is scheduled to begin in 2018.
In addition, NSU plans to significantly expand scientific and technological cooperation with Brazilian scientists in several scientific areas including developing wearable photo diagnostic sensors, creating a platform for microsatellites, and providing a full-fledged diet in space. Scientists also intend to study in more detail processes that occur in microgravity. Thais Russomano has been dealing with microgravity problems for many years with her colleagues in Brazil. In Novosibirsk, she saw the possibility of working together on these studies, “I was fortunate to meet with teachers, students, and scientists. I visited the Laboratory and saw that these people have good knowledge, good experience and, most importantly, they want to work in this sphere."
Dr. Tais Russomano is a Professor, the first female physician specializing in space medicine in Latin America, and an adviser to the Mars-1 Project. Her research includes work on the study of space motion sickness, microgravity, hypogravity and modeling of hypergravity, and the use of devices for negative pressure on the lower half of the body. Thais Russomano graduated with a Master’s Degree in Aerospace Medicine at Wright State University (USA, Ohio), received her Ph.D. in Space Physiology at King's College, London and received training at NASA.
