AI Insight
NASA's Translational Research Institute for Space Health (TRISH) has selected two postdoctoral fellows to begin research projects in May 2025. Dr. Baiyang Liu (Columbia University) will work on engineering a diazotrophic and nutritionally optimized Spirulina strain to support food systems during extended space missions, while Dr. Dylan Pham (Texas A&M University) will investigate how simulated microgravity and aging affect ocular artery and neural retina function. These projects are part of the TRISH Postdoctoral Fellowship Program, which funds independent research aimed at reducing spaceflight-related health risks.
Why it matters
Addressing nutrition and vision deterioration are two critical challenges for long-duration human spaceflight, including future Artemis Moon missions and eventual Mars exploration. Findings from these projects may also yield applications for improving human health on Earth, particularly in areas such as sustainable food production and age-related eye disease.
Understand the Science
The NASA-funded Translational Research Institute for Space Health (TRISH) has selected two early‑career scientists for its next class of postdoctoral fellows. The new fellows will begin their projects in May, focusing on space food systems and astronaut eye health.
The TRISH Postdoctoral Fellowship Program supports independent research that advances biomedical, behavioral, and technological approaches relevant to human space exploration. The selected projects should aim to reduce spaceflight-related health risks and improve human health on Earth.
The selected fellows are:
Dr. Baiyang Liu
Institution: Columbia University in New York City
Project: Developing a Diazotrophic and Nutritionally Optimized Spirulina Strain for Extended Space Missions
Mentor: Dr. Harris Wang
Dr. Dylan Pham
Institution: Texas A&M University in College Station
Project: Impact of Simulated Microgravity and Aging on Ocular Artery and Neural Retina Function
Mentor: Dr. Travis Hein
“Our postdoctoral fellows bring new ideas, technical expertise, and energy to some of the most complex challenges in human spaceflight,” said Dr. Dorit Donoviel, executive director of TRISH and associate professor at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. “By investing in the next generation, we are building the capability required to achieve a sustained presence on the Moon and extend human exploration deeper into space.”
A virtual institute, TRISH is empowered by NASA’s Human Research Program to help solve challenges of human deep space exploration. It pursues and funds research to deliver scientific and technological solutions that advance space health and help humans thrive wherever they explore, in space or on Earth.
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NASA’s Human Research Program
NASA’s Human Research Program pursues methods and technologies to support safe, productive human space travel. Through science conducted in laboratories, ground-based analogs, commercial missions, the International Space Station and Artemis missions, the program scrutinizes how spaceflight affects human bodies and behaviors. Such research drives the program’s quest to innovate ways that keep astronauts healthy and mission ready as human space exploration expands to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.
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Source: NASA Selects Next Class of Space Health Postdoctoral Fellows