Excerpt from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base News
The Air Force Research Laboratory is partnering with Wright State University to better understand stressors that affect pilots and the impacts they have on the mission and well-being of Airmen.
The two research partners recently signed a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement to advance the development of a multi-organ system model that will accurately identify the impact of stressors that can arise during the course of a mission. These can include anything from extreme physical exertion, high temperatures, excessive G-Force, pressure changes, low oxygen environments, or exposure to chemicals or particle contaminants.
Such stressors can occur during both normal and high-risk operational scenarios, potentially hindering performance and causing any number of physiological changes in flight personnel. Stress factors can result in molecular and biochemical alterations that can impact cognition, vision, and hearing, and cause premature fatigue. By developing a model that focuses on the interactions between these stressors and physiological factors, researchers will be better able to predict how changing pilots’ operating environments affects their overall health and welfare.
“Our primary objective is to develop scientific knowledge and innovative technologies to support advanced medical science and technology to sustain and restore Airman health and performance in multifaceted operational environments,” said Dr. Saber Hussain, AFRL 711th Human Performance Wing scientist and project lead. “This agreement gives us the tools we need to better achieve those goals.”
Through the agreement, AFRL gains access to a large laboratory space within the Wright State University Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology’s Medical Science Building. AFRL will have use of some of the school’s core facilities including the Proteomics and Preclinical Pharmacology labs, as well as the Pharmacology Translational Unit. The team will also have access to freezers, refrigerators, centrifuges and other supplies currently available in the research space.
Wright State, in turn, will gain a new avenue through which to offer enhanced professional development opportunities to students, as well as the potential to submit future joint proposals with AFRL that could result in additional funding.
