June 24, 2025
U荔枝视频 researchers use a transdisciplinary approach to study health in space
You may have heard about Astro Fly, the research project to harness fruit fly genetics to study the effects of microgravity on human health.
, Dr. , PhD, Senior Associate Dean (Research), Cumming School of Medicine, Dr. , PhD, of the Faculty of Arts, and Tejdeep Jaswal, BSc鈥23, Faculty of Arts, recently won a Consolidating , awarded by the . These grants enable existing transdisciplinary teams to deepen their activities and connections, positioning them well for future funding applications.
Since meeting two years ago through Justin Ma-Phan, BHSc鈥24, their connection took flight. They established the project, won the Initiating grant, presented their work at a symposium, and won the Consolidating grant, which propelled them toward more extensive grant applications.
And their passion for this project is undeniable.
Iaria says that transdisciplinary research has inspired him intellectually, sharing, 鈥淭hese projects are extremely important and rejuvenating. When you are a scientist and you have been in your research field for a while...you get comfortable. So, working in a transdisciplinary project, you get exposed to something completely new again with new challenges. We got into science because we love learning, so starting from scratch again is amazing.鈥
Grewal adds, 鈥淭ransdisciplinary projects create a new spark, a spark of interest, in a way of thinking of research that neither of us would have come to alone.鈥
With this additional transdisciplinary funding, the team intends to purchase a new piece of equipment to simulate microgravity.
Grewal says that they can really start thinking about this as a long-term program of research, saying, 鈥淭his piece of equipment offers a more refined way to study and simulate microgravity here on Earth. We can now extend our work to study how microgravity and exposure influence the fly鈥檚 entire ability to respond and adapt and live with these stresses that are relevant to space flight and things we experience here on Earth.鈥
Health in space is relevant on Earth as it relates to many health issues.
Iaria explains, 鈥淚ssues experienced in microgravity are somehow similar to some conditions on Earth, for example, inactivity. Our sedentary lifestyle can create a lot of health problems.鈥
What鈥檚 next for the team? They credit the Connector Grants for opening the door to other opportunities, facilitating their ability to push the project forward towards external funding.
Iaria says, 鈥淭his funding can help a truly transdisciplinary project become a research program because it鈥檚 new territory and there are so many questions and so many interesting perspectives that come from the project itself.鈥
When asked why transdisciplinary scholarship is important, Jaswal, in the Grewal lab, shares, 鈥淚t鈥檚 a really unique experience, being able to collaborate between two different fields and integrating different scientific perspectives. For me, it鈥檚 important because I can think of things in different ways, which opens up new ways for developing and answering questions, which I think is really important for scientific progress.鈥
Grewal builds on that notion, saying, 鈥淭ransdisciplinary research really comes down to connecting two disciplines that have their own foundational principles by which they operate and generate new knowledge, and putting them together to generate brand new principles, and develop a new way of thinking to attack really important questions.鈥
New matching funds for Consolidating Transdisciplinary Connector Grants
Starting with the June 1, 2025, intake, the , awarded by the Cumming School of Medicine and Alberta Health Services, will offer additional support to successful Consolidating Transdisciplinary Connector Grant projects that meet the .
This will support researchers building on and deepening existing transdisciplinary activities and connections performing clinical research, regardless of faculty.
On Consolidating grant applications, teams can now indicate if they are eligible for additional funding by stating if their research is focused on the conduct of clinical research and to briefly outline how their project meets the . These applications will then be forwarded to the Clinical Research Fund office for review.
Get involved
Interested in the transdisciplinary community on campus? to engage and connect with others involved or interested in the initiative.