Faces of Technology
Studying Cells in Space
Siobhan Malany has experienced the difference just one conversation can make .
Inspired by her father , a physicist , and brother , a rocket scientist , Malany wanted to be a scientist for as long as she can remember . She earned degrees in chemistry and completed postdoctoral research in pharmacology before starting a career in drug discovery . Then , just one year after Malany joined Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute ( SBP ) in Lake Nona Medical City , one conversation would open the door to new avenues for research that she had never imagined .
“ In 2011 , I talked to a physicist researching crystal growth on the International Space Station and he shared more about opportunities for conducting experiments in space ,” she explained .
As a result , Malany explored opportunities to marry her work at SBP with emerging commercial and research activities on the Space Coast . The environment was ideal .
“ I didn ’ t think I would do space research ,” she said . “ That was purely location and timing .”
Malany launched her first investigation to the International Space Station ’ s U . S . National Laboratory in 2012 to study how biological molecules interact . Malany realized experiments mainly performed on rodents and humans showed that microgravity accelerates muscle and bone degeneration . She was curious to understand if human cells exposed to microgravity conditions for weeks may also undergo accelerated degeneration , causing effects similar to the muscle atrophy astronauts experience in space . When Malany received additional funding from Space Florida through the Florida-Israel Innovation Partnership Program , she realized the project deserved a more focused effort . That ’ s when micro-gRx was born .
The SBP spinoff company and its research partner , SpacePharma , are developing “ labon-a-chip ” technology , a fully automated cell-culturing platform that enables the study of live human cells in space to provide better
Siobhan Malany , Ph . D .
President and Chief Scientific Officer micro-gRx | www . micro-grx . com
Director , Translational Biology
Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute www . sbpdiscovery . org
Education : B . S . in Chemistry , Augustana College Ph . D . in Bioorganic Chemistry , University of Iowa
Postdoctoral Fellow , Pharmacology , University of California , San Diego
Postdoctoral Humboldt Research Fellow , Neuropharmacology , Max Plank Institute for Brain Research
Company : Micro-gRx is a biotechnology startup that is developing lab-on-a-chip technology to conduct research in space . The company utilizes microgravity conditions which may accelerate changes in cell growth similar to what occurs in the aging and disease process for testing potential new drug candidates .
disease models for preclinical drug testing . An award from the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space will help Malany launch the platform for the first time in 2018 . On board will be human muscle cells biopsied by Florida Hospital – SBP Translational Research Institute for Metabolism and Diabetes .
Her goal is to take measurements during orbit using the lab-on-a chip which contains a built-in microscope and fluorometer . The aged cells will be preserved for use in further studies on earth to investigate gene changes that can potentially design therapies that fight muscle weakness and aging .
florida . HIGH . TECH 2017 55