Sarah Zwart, senior scientist and associate manager of nutritional biochemistry, will present “Nutritional Biochemistry of Spaceflight” via Zoom on Monday at the Center for Health Professions. This presentation was the final event for Solarpalooza.
Sarah Zwart, senior scientist and deputy manager of nutritional biochemistry at NASA Johnson Space Center, hosted a virtual Zoom presentation titled “Nutritional Biochemistry for Spaceflight” at the Center for Health Specialties on Monday. This event was the last one open to the public. solarpalooza.
Zwart earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Notre Dame and a Ph.D. She received her PhD in nutrition from the University of Florida.
“I completed my postdoctoral research through the National Research Council in the Nutritional Biochemistry Laboratory at NASA Johnson Space Center,” Zwart said. “About a year into that position, I was hired to work in the lab, and he has now been in the lab for about 20 years.”
Zwart said she became interested in biochemistry when she studied biology and learned about vitamins as cofactors and their role in biological processes. She said she knew nutrition was something she wanted to pursue in her career one summer when she worked as a campus counselor at Camp Riley near Indianapolis, Indiana.
“One week, we had a group of campers with neural tube defects, a condition that occurs when the neural tube does not close properly during fetal development,” Zwart said. “When I learned about this condition and how a single B vitamin, folic acid, could reduce the risk, I wanted to learn more about nutrition.”
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Gain experience by participating in internships and volunteer activities. The only way to know if you like a particular field is to immerse yourself in it. ”
— Sara Zwart, NASA Senior Scientist and Deputy Manager of Nutritional Biochemistry
Zwart said he has been interested in the space program since he was in elementary school.
“I remember giving my ‘hero’ speech in 7th grade.th I dressed up as Christa McAuliffe, the first teacher to go into space,” Zwart said.
She said she previously thought only engineers could work at NASA, but NASA has many life science fields.
“The summer before I enrolled in graduate school to study nutrition, I learned that NASA had a Nutritional Biochemistry Institute and knew it was exactly where I wanted to be,” Zwart said. Ta.
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I learned to be flexible and open to new possibilities. ”
— Sara Zwart, NASA Senior Scientist and Deputy Manager of Nutritional Biochemistry
Zwart said her graduate school path wasn’t exactly what she expected when she enrolled.
““Some of the bumps in the road were big at the time and seemed like they were trying to push me off the track, but they only helped me in the long run,” Zwart said. “I learned to be flexible and open to new possibilities. I learned that when a door closes in one area, another may open.”
A typical day for Zwart includes analyzing data, writing manuscripts or proposals, communicating with colleagues, helping manage lab activities, providing internal reports to NASA, preparing internal and external reviews, and preparing presentations. Includes preparation, attendance at meetings, and assistance with method development and troubleshooting.laboratory
“Sometimes, less typically, we brief astronauts on nutritional issues for future missions, or experiments we want them to participate in and their results,” Zwart said. “We recently had the pleasure of debriefing with the crew of Artemis 2, the first spacecraft to enter lunar orbit for the first time in more than 50 years.”
Zwart said nutrition research in space exploration began during the Gemini mission and will continue as humans participate in spaceflight.
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When I learned more about this condition and how a single B vitamin, folic acid, can reduce the risk, I wanted to learn more about nutrition. ”
— Sara Zwart, NASA Senior Scientist and Deputy Manager of Nutritional Biochemistry
“Years of research that began with the simple question of whether humans could eat in space has now turned to larger questions such as optimizing human performance on space missions and reducing the negative effects of spaceflight on the body. It’s spreading to. It reduces the risk of disease,” Zwart said.
About 13 years ago, astronauts returning from long-term space missions with ocular changes such as optic disc edema were also found to have elevated levels of metabolites in certain biochemical pathways, she said. This pathway is called the one-carbon metabolic pathway because it is responsible for the transfer of one-carbon units from various donors to acceptors. The process is how DNA methylation occurs, how certain amino acids are produced, and how DNA is made. This pathway is rich in B vitamins and requires folate, vitamins B6, B12, and riboflavin.
“We’re currently doing some research on this topic, and astronauts with genetic differences that affect that pathway are at higher risk of experiencing spaceflight-associated neuro-ocular syndrome (SANS).” That’s what we found,” Zwart said. “We are currently testing a B vitamin strategy to reduce SANS. Last month, our first participating astronauts landed, and two of us landed.n.d. and 3rd The crew is now on the International Space Station! ”
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I learned that when a door in one area is closed, another area can open. ”
— Sara Zwart, NASA Senior Scientist and Deputy Manager of Nutritional Biochemistry
Zwart said the helpful advice she’s learned throughout her career is to immerse yourself in a field that interests you and don’t be afraid to apply for jobs that don’t meet your requirements.
“Experience is far more valuable than anything you can learn in a book,” she said. “Gain experience by doing things like internships and volunteer work. The only way to know if you like a particular field is to immerse yourself in it.”
