National Space Biomedical Research Institute

The National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI) is a NASA-funded consortium of institutions studying the health risks related to long-duration spaceflight and developing solutions to reduce those risks. The NSBRI was founded in 1997. NSBRI's 16,400-square-foot headquarters facility is located in the BioScience Research Collaborative in Houston, Texas. The Institute shares the facility with Baylor College of Medicine's Center for Space Medicine. The official opening was held March 19, 2012.

Currently, NSBRI has seven teams conducting research at more than 60 institutions around the United States. NASA announced in March 2012 a five-year extension of its cooperative agreement with NSBRI.

Research programs
In 2010 and 2011, NSBRI was the only U.S. organization to participate in the Mars-500 Project's 520-day mission simulations with an experiment that monitored the six crew members' rest-activity cycles, performance and psychological responses to determine the extent to which sleep loss, fatigue, stress, mood changes and conflicts occurred during the mission.

Research Teams

 * Cardiovascular Alterations
 * Human Factors and Performance
 * Musculoskeletal Alterations
 * Neurobehavioral and Psychosocial Factors
 * Radiation Effects
 * Sensorimotor Adaptation
 * Smart Medical Systems and Technology

Outreach
NSBRI also has a robust education and outreach program. The NSBRI Education and Outreach team won a Stellar Award from the Rotary National Award for Space Achievement Foundation in 2007 for "performance as a nationally recognized, top-tier program that is pioneering new models for exemplary teaching, training and public outreach in support of the Vision for Space Exploration."

Pioneer Awards
During the opening ceremonies, NSBRI President and CEO Dr. Jeffrey P. Sutton and NSBRI Chairman of the Board of Directors Dr. Bobby R. Alford presented U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison with the Pioneer Award, the Institute's highest honor, for her support of human spaceflight.

Consortium Members

 * Baylor College of Medicine
 * Brookhaven National Laboratory
 * Harvard Medical School
 * Johns Hopkins University
 * Massachusetts Institute of Technology
 * Morehouse School of Medicine
 * Mount Sinai School of Medicine
 * Rice University
 * Texas A&M University
 * University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
 * University of Pennsylvania Health System
 * University of Washington