News

Groundbreaking Cancer Research in Space

Advances in cancer stem cell research and space travel will change how Moores Cancer Center identifies and explores cancer

April 1, 2022 – Moores Cancer Center at UC San Diego Health is joining forces with Ax1 of Axiom Space, the first all-private space mission to the International Space Station to send cancer cell organoids into space for stem cell exploration. Liftoff is scheduled for April 6, 2022 at 12:05 p.m. EDT from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. The crew will launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and travel to and from the space station in a Dragon spacecraft.

As part of the mission, the Ax-1 crew will study cell samples under a high-resolution microscope to determine cell cycle activity in cancer growth. Using a human cancer stem cell nanobioreactor model (a vessel that accelerates cell growth conditions) and cancer stem cell reporter system, the investigation will leverage the accelerated aging aspects of the microgravity environment to evaluate early pre-cancer and cancer changes in tumor organoids. This cellular biology project is focused on identifying biomarkers for early detection and supports future aims of cancer stem cell research on the ISS.

Principal Investigator is Catriona Jamieson, M.D., Ph.D., Deputy Director of Moores Cancer Center and Director of Sanford Stem Cell Clinical Center, and co-investigaor/collaborator is Luisa Ladel, Ph.D. Immediately following the launch, Dr. Jamieson will be speaking at the American Association of Cancer Research Annual Meeting (AACR) on April 9, 2022 in New Orleans, Louisiana on Precancer Discovery Science.

To watch the livestream, join us at: axiomspace.com/ax1.

For more in-depth background on the research mission from NASA, visit: Modeling Tumor Organoids in LEO (Ax-1) (nasa.gov).

Catriona Jamieson, M.D., Ph.D.

Luisa Ladel, Ph.D.

Axiom Mission Patch