Dr. Afshin Beheshti is a leading expert in space biology, currently serving as a Professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, where he is the Director of the Space Biomedicine Program and is the Associate Director at the McGowan Institute of Regenerative Medicine. His research focuses on the effects of the space environment on human health, particularly the roles of microRNAs and mitochondrial function, and on developing countermeasures against space radiation and microgravity. At the Space Biomedicine Program, he is spearheading initiatives to explore space health issues, develop strategies to protect astronauts during long-duration missions, and create outreach and education programs to advance space biology research. Previously at NASA Ames Research Center, he contributed to the GeneLab project and secured multiple grants from NASA and the Department of Defense to support his innovative research. Dr. Beheshti also played a lead role in the Space Omics and Medical Atlas (SOMA), collaborating with Dr. Chris Mason, from Weill Cornell Medicine, to coordinate the largest-ever collection of space biology papers, which was featured in the August 2024 issue of Nature (Nature August 2024). His work has earned him numerous accolades, including the NASA Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal and the International Space Station Research & Development Award for Compelling Results in Biology, highlighting his significant contributions to the field of space biomedicine.
