Space shuttle mission requires UofL biochemist Eugenia Wang to exercise flexibility

University of Louisville biochemist Eugenia Wang, Ph.D., has learned how to be flexible.

For weeks, she helped lay the groundwork for an experiment to fly cells aboard the space shuttle Endeavor to see how they react to stress. But until the shuttle lifted off the evening of Aug. 8, she didn't know exactly when the experiment would begin. And she still doesn't know when - or where - it will end.

But there is one thing she knows about working with NASA.

"It's almost impossible to predict the moment when the spacecraft will actually go up," she said. "I've learned to wait until I actually feel the earth shake."

Wang left for Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Aug. 3 to start pre-flight preparations for the experiment. The original Aug. 9 launch date for STS-118, an 11- to 14-day mission that was to be the 22nd U.S. shuttle trip to the International Space Station, was then changed to Aug. 7. A few days before launch, it was moved again, to Aug. 8.

"It's supposed to be 'go' or 'no go' at T-minus 72 (three days in advance), but a lot can happen after that," she said. "Weather is also a big factor. Mother Nature is the one calling the shots."

Wang is collaborating with Honolulu-based company Hawaii Chitopure to assess the wound-healing properties of a new antibacterial agent derived from shellfish. The agent, chitosan, has shown early promise in fighting bacterial infections and could eventually become a viable alternative to antibiotics.

The shuttle experiment may offer new insight into how space flight weakens the immune system and whether the new agent can offset its effects, she said. Astronauts commonly are exposed to radiation, low gravity and other sources of physical stress during space flight. If scientists can learn how the body's cells react in such situations, their findings may lead to new treatments for a wide range of health problems on Earth.

"The entire experiment is automated and self-contained," Wang said. "All the astronauts have to do to get it going is push one button."

Wang, who directs UofL's Gheens Center on Aging, has done research for NASA since 1999, when she took part in a mission on space shuttle Columbia that produced genetic data on the process of inflammation.

The results of the latest experiment are still being analyzed.