Kanokporn (Noy) Rithidech, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Research Pathology, is conducting research that may result in scientists better understanding the cancer risks that may be encountered by astronauts when they are exposed to space radiation, mainly heavy ions and protons. Dr. Rithidech received a four-year $1.4 million grant from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to advance this research.

Kanokporn (Noy) Rithidech, Ph.D.

NASA has supported a number of scientific investigations nationwide that use animal models to assess genomic instability based on exposure to various forms of space radiation. Dr. Rithidech’s research is novel in that it is the first investigation of its kind to use an in vivo model to determine the dose-rate effects of protons by conducting both cellular and molecular analyses. High-energy protons and heavy ions are the most prevalent and perhaps most dangerous forms of radiation that astronauts are exposed to in space travel.

Dr. Rithidech uses multi-color fluorescence in situ hybridization (mFISH) to determine the frequencies of chromosomal damage in bone marrow cells of mice exposed to protons at doses and dose rates that are comparable to those that astronauts encounter in space. mFISH is a high resolution technology to uniquely paint and simultaneously detect damages in each individual pair of chromosomes of the whole genome in individual cells.

"This method is robust and sensitive, and it enables us to examine the entire mouse genome and conduct studies to map out genomic instability caused by the radiation exposure,” says Dr. Rithidech. “The approach is highly relevant to assessing cancer risks, and we anticipate that our results will lead to information that is vital to NASA effectively addressing critical questions about cancer risk associated with space exploration.”

“Dr. Rithidech’s research will be broadly relevant and a valuable resource to many other investigators throughout the University,” says Kenneth R. Shroyer, M.D., Ph.D., Chair of Pathology. Dr. Shroyer adds that use of the mFISH technology may also help facilitate the discovery of genetic changes in other cancers that are unrelated to ionizing radiation.

Dr. Rithidech is collaborating with researchers at top institutions nationwide to conduct multiple in vivo models. Her collaborators include: Sandy Simon, Ph.D., Professor of Pathology and Biochemistry at Stony Brook University; Carl Anderson, Ph.D., Senior Scientist and Chairman of Biology, Brookhaven National Laboratory; Douglas Spitz, Ph.D., Professor, Radiation Oncology, University of Iowa; and Elbert Whorton, Ph.D., Professor of Biostatistics and Molecular Epidemiology, University of Texas Medical Branch.