COSPAR travel grant awarded to Zhang Yu

PhD student Zhang Yu from the Department of Natural Sciences will present his academic paper at the 40th COSPAR Conference in Moscow. Yu has been awarded one of the coveted travel grants to attend one of the world’s most important meetings on space science.

In his paper "The Impact of Simulated Microgravity on Purinergic Signaling in an Endothelial and Smooth Muscle Cell Co-Culture Model", Yu demonstrates that the interaction between endothelial cells and smooth muscle cells remains an important regulator of cell behaviour even under altered gravity conditions.

Background information

Astronauts suffer from a deconditioning of the cardiovascular system when they are exposed to microgravity during space missions. Endothelial cells and smooth muscle cells play an important part in a variety of vascular functions. Thus, current research focuses on the identification of the underlying mechanisms - in particular with respect to the potential for therapies and countermeasures.

COSPAR (Committee on Space Research) is the global umbrella organisation for scientific activities in the area of space research. The 40th COSPAR Conference will take place in Moscow from 2 to 10 August.

At Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University Zhang Yu is pursuing a PhD programme in Biology under the supervison of Prof. Dr Edda Tobiasch. In addition, he is enrolled in the Graduate School of the German Aerospace Center (DLR), Cologne.

Contact:

Prof. Dr. Edda Tobiasch Professor for Genetic Engineering and Cell Culture Tel: +49 2241 865 576 Fax: +49 2241 865 8576 E-Mail: edda.tobiasch@h-brs.de

Links:

Helmholtz Space Life Sciences Research School of DLR The 40th COSPAR Scientific Assembly