In-Space Biomanufacturing for Human Health Innovation Hub University of Florida
The InSpa Bio Hub was established through the University of Florida’s strategic funding initiative to align researchers across the university to conduct biomanufacturing experiments and reveal the significant effects of space conditions on biological systems and their engineered outputs.
InSpa Bio Hub IN THE NEWS
UF, Micro-gRx, and Ronawk collaborate on translational research in advanced tissue engineering aboard the International Space Station
The National Science Foundation and the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space have awarded $830,000 to the University of Florida, Micro-gRx, and Ronawk to launch an innovative tissue engineering experiment into space.

Video Recap: Biomanufacturing in Space Symposium 2024
Watch a video recapping the inaugural Biomanufacturing in Space Symposium at the University of Florida on Sept. 19.

From lab to low-Earth orbit: UF symposium explores biomanufacturing’s future in space
At the University of Florida’s inaugural Biomanufacturing in Space Symposium, scientists and space-industry experts convened to review a pivotal decade of space research and chart the course for the future of space industries.

Florida universities launch joint effort to boost space manufacturing
The Center for Science, Technology, and Advanced Research in Space will lead workforce development programs to train the next generation of space workers.

First round of UF Space Mission Institute funding awarded to UF College of Pharmacy researchers
Drs. Maddalena Parafati and Siobhan Malany received funding to study how space travel affects liver organoids.


project areas
Microbial Space Synthetic Biology Engineering bacterium to produce biologically relevant nutrients | Advancing therapeutic biomanufacturing in space using yeast-based systems
Space Nanomedicines Bioproduction of Extracellular vesicles for tissue regeneration and repair | Biomonitoring of Extracellular vesicles for space medicine applications
Tissue Engineering for Disease Modeling / Countermeasure Development Bioengineering muscle tissue as microscale models of musculoskeletal disease | Tissue engineered vascularized systems for cardiovascular health
Funded PROJECTS
Principal Investigator: Dr. Josephine Allen, Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering
The impact of altered hemodynamics in simulated microgravity on vascular endothelial cells
The goal of this proposal is to reveal mechanistic insight into the effect of spaceflight on cardiovascular physiology and endothelial cell function from the molecular, cellular, and genetic-level perspectives to support investigation into targeted therapeutics to benefit flight crew and terrestrial cardiovascular health.
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Dr. Elizabeth Barton, UF College of Health and Human Performance
Harnessing load sensor signaling in skeletal muscle to preserve functional mass in anti-gravity
Skeletal muscle has the remarkable ability to adapt to changes in workload. The goal of this pilot project is to evaluate the impact of loss of mechanical load that occurs during spaceflight, on signaling pathways in the presence and absence of muscle sensors. We will take advantage of mouse models lacking the muscle sensor complex and human tissue chip models derived from patients with loss of function mutations leading to muscle dystrophy to determine the stability of the load sensors in the absence of load mimicking anti-gravity. These studies provide validated terrestrial and space-based tissue-on-chip disease and human performance models.
Principal Investigator: Dr. Jamie Foster, UF/IFAS
Engineering a microgravity-induced bacterial outer membrane vesicle shuttle system to deliver targeted molecules during host-microbe interactions
Microbes are critical for the health of all animals. One of the major mechanisms by which microbes communicate with their hosts is through the production of outer membrane vesicles (OMVs). OMVs have been shown to serve as an important delivery mechanism to regulate host-microbe interactions. Perturbations to these interactions, such as spaceflight and simulated microgravity, can increase OMV production and shedding. The overall goal of this project is to engineer a mutualistic bacterium with a microgravity sensor system linked to the production of a biologically relevant or needed nutrient that will be delivered to host epithelial tissues.
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Dr. Mei He, UF COllege of pharmacy
Biomanufacturing and investigating extracellular vesicles for next generation space nanomedicine
Biomanufacturing space nanomedicine will be a new paradigm in the field of space health. This proposal will harness the research strengths from space tissue chip and extracellular vesicle therapeutics to study muscle tissue and their culture derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) under micro-gravity, ultimately to derive space enabling bio-production of therapeutic EVs with tissue regeneration, repair, and restoration.
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Dr. Yousong Ding, UF College of Pharmacy
Advancing Therapeutic Biomanufacturing in Space Using Engineered Yeast
The long-term objective of this collaborative project is to pioneer yeast-based biomanufacturing systems to produce critical therapeutics in the unique environment of space. Astronauts face numerous health risks including space radiation, prolonged isolation, and microgravity. The development of on-demand, resource-efficient production methods for therapeutic agents is imperative to mitigate these risks. This pilot project seeks to program yeast cells to produce melatonin and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), addressing sleep deficiency and diabetogenic changes prevalent in astronauts. This project represents a transformative step toward ensuring the health and well-being of astronauts through the controllable production of vital therapeutics in space, advancing both space exploration and biomanufacturing frontiers.
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Dr. Thomas Schmittgen, UF COLLEGE OF PHARMACY
EV transcriptomics at single vesicle resolution from rare samples: Applications to space medicine
Changes in the biological composition of biofluids such as blood and urine during space flights have been documented for decades. However, only recently has changes in the extracellular vesicle (EV) components of biofluids been studied in individuals undergoing space flight. EVs are nanosized vesicles shed from cells that contain a variety of cargo that is shuttled to and interacts with distant cells in the body. While the stability and diverse content of EVs make them ideal biomarkers, the vast heterogeneity in vesicle structure, composition, content and function limits our understanding of their role in biology and disease. To address this challenge and to study the heterogeneity in individual EV RNA cargo from mice exposed to microgravity, we propose to perform whole transcriptomic sequencing on rare micro liter sample volumes of plasma and low mg tissue samples from mice who either underwent space flight or were exposed to microgravity under experimental conditions.
Funding ROADMAP
Initial Investment $1.5 million from UF’s strategic funding initiative plus $50,000 from the UF College of Pharmacy and $50,000 from the UF Genetics Institute distributed over three years.
Phase I Growth Model Funding will be used to advance multiple collaborative projects to pre-competitive funding stage; The principal investigators will be well-positioned to generate funding through Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) B-Sure, the Cancer Moonshot initiative, the National Center for Advancing Translational Science (NCATS) tissue chips in space, International Space Station National Lab (ISSNL) multi-phase Inspace production and technology demonstration grants, as well as industry sponsorship.
Phase II Growth Model The biomanufacturing human health market is expected to reach $600M+ by 2030 (of the $1 trillion expected of the space economy). The rapid increase in private sector investment and competition has opened the demand for in-space manufacturing and a key area is in health and human performance, biological-based products and regenerative medicine. Over the next 3-5 years, we expect public-private collaboration will create a self-sustaining center.
In SPA Bio Hub DIRECTOR
Associate Professor, UF College of Pharmacy
Siobhan Malany, Ph.D.
Email: smalany@ufl.edu

Co-Principal investigators
professor, HERBERT WERTHEIM COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
Josephine Allen, Ph.D.
Professor, HERBERT WERTHEIM COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
Thomas Angelini, Ph.D.
Professor, UF College of Health and Human Performance
Elizabeth Barton, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, UF College of Pharmacy
Yousong Ding, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, UF College of Pharmacy
Julio Duarte, Pharm.D., Ph.D.
Professor, UF/IFAS
Jamie Foster, Ph.D., M.S.
associate professor, uf college of pharmacy
Mei He, Ph.D.
PROFESSOR, HERBERT WERTHEIM COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
Yong Huang, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, HERBERT WERTHEIM COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
Amor Menezes, Ph.D., M.S.E.
Research Assistant Professor, UF College of Pharmacy
Maddalena Parafati, Ph.D.
Chair Of Pharmaceutics And The V. Ravi Chandran Professor Of Pharmaceutical Sciences, UF College of Pharmacy
Thomas Schmittgen, Ph.D.
Affiliate MEMBERS
chair of pharmacodynamics in the uf college of pharmacy and director of the uf genetics institute
Thomas Burris, Ph.D.
Associate Dean for Research and the Frank A. Duckworth Eminent Scholar Chair in the UF College of Pharmacy
Jatinder Lamba, Ph.D., M.Sc.
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