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Programme

The symposium's schedule will include in-person research sessions and panel discussions from invited speakers (listed below), and poster presentations as submitted by attendees. The symposium will start the evening on November 6, 2024, and end late afternoon on November 8, 2024. Note that all scheduled items will occur in-person in the Mustang Lounge (main floor of the University Community Centre) at Western University.

Day one

Day one: November 6, 2024

13:00 – 16:30                                            Special Event

Workshop on Health Risk Mitigation Measures During Space Missions

Organized and hosted by the Canadian Space Agency

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Contribute your insights and help drive the future of space health research by participating in this dynamic workshop organized and hosted by the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). The workshop aims at engaging members of the space health research community in shaping future strategies with the CSA.

 

The interactive sessions will focus on:

a) Exploring connections between past and current CSA-funded research and the development of health risk mitigation measures.

b) Identifying new or enhanced solutions for mitigating health risks in space.
c) Highlighting opportunities for future funding to support innovative mitigation strategies and their applications on Earth.

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Participation is free and can be either in-person (for those attending the symposium) or virtual (for people willing to attend online). Registration is required for both attendance in person or online by completing the form linked.  Participants attending the workshop online will receive an email from CSA prior to the event with information on the teleconference.

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16:30 – 17:30                                         SOCIAL RECEPTION

                                                                        (included with registration)

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17:30 – 18:30                                         KEYNOTE LECTURE

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Pascal Lee, Director, NASA Haughton-Mars Project. SETI Institute, Mars Institute, Kepler Space University & NASA Ames Research Center, USA.

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THE HUMAN EXPLORATION OF MARS
Challenges and Wonders of the First Human Journey to the Red Planet​​

19:00 – 21:00 

Visit to the Hume Cronyn Memorial Observatory

Western University

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Taking place during the Cronyn Observatory visit will be a book launch for the first novel by Dr. John Moores, titled "Daydreaming in the Solar System: Surfing Saturn's Rings, Golfing on the Moon, and Other Adventures in Space Exploration.” Learn more at: https://cronyn.uwo.ca/schedule/

Day two

Day two: November 7, 2024

08:00 – 09:00 

Registration & Light Breakfast (included with registration)

09:00 – 09:45 

Land Acknowledgment

Keith Thompson

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Opening Remarks

Alan Shepard, President and Vice-Chancellor, Western University

Penny Pexman, Vice-President Research, Western University

Sarah Gallagher, Director of the Institute for Earth and Space Exploration, Western University

Giuseppe Iaria, Founder and Research Chair of the Canadian Space Health Research Network

Lucy Ma, Communications Chair, Canadian Space Health Research Network

Roxanne Fournier, Industry Partnerships Chair, Canadian Space Health Research Network

Dave Williams - Former Canadian Astronaut

9:45 – 10:25 

Priorities and Opportunities for the Canadian Space Health Research Community

Mathieu Caron

Acting Director, Astronauts, Life Sciences and Space Medicine, Canadian Space Agency

10:30 – 12:00 

Panel Discussion One – Human Factors, Isolation, and Confinement 

Chair and moderator: Leena Tomi, Canadian Space Agency 

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Suzanne Bell*, Biomedical Research and Environmental Sciences Division - NASA JSC

“Behavioral health and performance for future space exploration” 

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Jelena Brcic, University of Fraser Valley, Canada

“Exploring individual stress reactions, coping, and team cohesion in extreme and unusual environments (EUE)” 

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Denise Geiskkovitch*, Department of Computing and Software, McMaster University, Canada
“Human-Robot Interaction for space: What we can learn from Earth studies” 

 

Michael Stolberg, Université du Québec à Montréal, Canada

“Blood flow restriction training: A new addition to the astronaut’s toolkit” 

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*Invited speaker

12:00 – 14:00 

Lunch Break (lunch provided and included with registration)

12:30 – 13:30 

Special Event for Trainees and Early Career Investigators (lunch provided)

From analogues to spaceflight: Building a career in space health research 

Chair and moderator: Roxanne Fournier, Schlegel-UW Research Institute for Aging,University of Waterloo, Canada 

 

Richard L. Hughson, Schlegel-UW Research Institute for Aging, University of Waterloo, Canada 

Giuseppe Iaria, Department of Psychology, Hotchkiss Brain Institute, and Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary, Canada.

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14:00 – 15:30 

Panel Discussion Two – Microgravity, Inactivity, and Human Health 

Chair and moderator: Alexander Chouker, University of Munich 

 

Dag Linnarsson, Karolinska Institute, Sweden

“Monitoring lung health in space with exhaled nitric oxide”

 

Tamara Franz-Odendaal, Mount Saint Vincent University, Canada

“An assessment of the effects of simulated microgravity on bone tissue in zebrafish”

 

Santiago Costantino, Université de Montréal, Canada 

“Ocular biomechanical responses to long-duration spaceflight”

 

Dan Winer, University of Toronto, Canada

“Single cell analysis identifies conserved features of immune dysfunction in simulated microgravity and spaceflight”

15:30 – 16:00

Coffee Break & Networking

16:00 – 17:30 

Poster Session 1 - download poster abstracts - presenters attending odd-numbered posters

Day three

Day Three: November 8, 2024

Anchor 1

09:00 – 10:00 

Light Breakfast (included with registration)

10:00 – 11:30 

Panel Discussion Three – Remote Community Care 
Chair and moderator: Pascal Lee, Director, NASA Haughton-Mars Project. SETI Institute, Mars Institute, Kepler Space University & NASA Ames Research Center, USA.
 
Chantelle Richmond*, Western University, Canada
"You are the people and places you come from: Sharing a relational way of knowing from the perspective of an Anishinaabe geographer"
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Myles Harris, University College London, United Kingdom 
“Health risks and prolonged field care during space exploration”
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Jose Guillermo Colli Alfaro, Western University, Canada 
“Soft wearable technologies for remote health applications in space”
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Carolyn McGregor, Ontario Tech University, Canada 
“Health monitoring in space using AI and big data analytics”
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*Invited speaker

11:30 – 13:30 

Lunch Break (lunch provided and included with registration)

12:00 – 13:00 

Special Event for Trainees and Early Career Investigators (lunch provided)
How to build a career in space radiation research 
Chair and moderator: Marcelo Vazquez, Canadian Nuclear Laboratories, Canada​
 

13:30 – 15:00 

Poster Session 2 - download poster abstracts - presenters attending even-numbered posters

15:00 – 15:30 

Coffee Break & Networking

15:30 – 17:00 

Panel Discussion Four - Astronaut Health and Radiation 
Chair and moderator: Marcelo Vazquez, Canadian Nuclear Laboratories, Canada
 
Marcelo Vazquez, Canadian Nuclear Laboratories, Canada
“Space radiation risks”
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Leena Tomi*, Canadian Space Agency
“Radiation protection standards and guidelines for Canadian astronauts”
 
Richard Hughson, University of Waterloo 
“Cardiovascular risks induced by chronic low dose exposures to space radiation”
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Richard Richardson, Canadian Nuclear Laboratories 
“Effects of space radiation on ocular tissues”
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*Invited speaker​

17:00 – 17:30 

Awards, Announcements, and Closing Remarks 

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