OSDR Chats with Dr Afshin Beheshti on a Recent Publication on miRNAs

Welcome to “OSDR Chats,” an interview series featuring authors of OSDR-enabled publications. Researchers share highlights and insights into their work, emphasizing the valuable roles played by Open Science Data Repository (OSDR) and the Analysis Working Groups (AWGs) in their research. This newest interview features Dr Afshin Beheshti, Blue Marble Affiliate Research Scientist of the University of Pittsburgh as he shares insights on his publication “Space radiation damage rescued by inhibition of key spaceflight associated miRNAs”.

Human space exploration comes with inherent physiological risks. In earlier research, Dr Beheshti’s team identified specific microRNAs that are linked to the harmful effects of space radiation, which could help in creating treatments to protect astronauts. In this study using several datasets from the Open Science Data Repository, Dr Beheshti and colleagues tested the efficacy of those treatments in reducing damage from simulated space radiation in lab-grown cells. They found that these treatments reduced inflammation and DNA damage while improving cell function, and similar genetic changes were observed in astronauts, suggesting that this approach could confer protection against the effects of radiation during space missions.

OSDR recently spoke to Dr Beheshti to hear about the highlights of this publication and about how OSDR and AWGs enabled this publication.

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