Afshin Beheshti

Respiratory viral infections awaken metastatic breast cancer cells in lungs - Nature Mouse models show that respiratory infections from viruses such as influenza and SARS-CoV-2 can trigger metastasis of dormant breast cancer cells in the lungs, a finding supported by epidemiological d...

Just co-authored a new Nature study led by James DeGregori showing that SARS-CoV-2 can awaken dormant cancer cells, triggering aggressive metastasis via IL-6-driven inflammation. COVID-19 may spark a wave of cancer relapses. Vaccines & IL-6 blockers could help.
🔗 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

🚀 Space Health Research Day – July 7 University of Pittsburgh
Join Kate Rubins, Chris Mason @saraseager.bsky.social, John Shoffner & leaders in space health & longevity.

Discover how space research transforms medicine for Earth & beyond.

🔗 pi.tt/space-biomed...

#SpaceHealth #SpaceBiomedicine

From my recent time at the PA Capitol building discussing Space Research with @lgaustindavis.bsky.social and others:

www.pittwire.pitt.edu/accolades-ho...

YouTube video by NASA GeneLab OSDR Success Story: Dr Afshin Beheshti and Dr Chris Mason

This was a wonderful time with the amazing Chris Mason and thanks to the NASA’s OSDR team for featuring our work!!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIzu...

Lt. Gov. Austin Davis Partners with State Lawmakers to Launch New Aerospace Caucus Today, during the second annual Aerospace Day at the state Capitol, the Shapiro-Davis Administration highlighted their support for Pennsylvania's aerospace and aviation industry, in partnership with l...

I had the pleasure of participating with a roundtable discussion with a new New Aerospace Caucus in Pennsylvania being launched by Lt. Governor Austin Davis

Here is the press release on this great event:
pacast.com/m?p=27546
Looking forward to more great things to come.

Taking the 3Rs to a higher level: replacement and reduction of animal testing in life sciences in space research Human settlements on the Moon, crewed missions to Mars and space tourism will become a reality in the next few decades. Human presence in space, espec…

New paper I was a co-author on led by Mathieu Vinken on reducing animal testing in life & space sciences 🧬🚀 We highlight ethical, human-relevant alternatives like organ-on-chip & AI.
Read more:
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

NASA astronauts to return home after major delay. Their extended stay could have health consequences Radiation from space affects the brain, bones, and genes. These two astronauts will soon begin their recovery

I, along with Chris Mason, were interviewed in the latest Salon news article on the impact of prolonged space missions.
Check out the full article here: www.salon.com/2025/03/15/n...

#SpaceBiomedicine #AstronautHealth #Microgravity #Mitochondria

How does space travel affect astronaut health? The human body was not built for spaceflight, with its microgravity conditions, exposure to high-energy radiation and other issues. As a result, trekking beyond the Earth's confines causes many physiological changes that affect an astronaut's health.

A new story from @reuters.com quoting me on spaceflight health risks:

www.reuters.com/science/how-...

If you happen to be in Mars or surrounding area on the morning of February 26th, attend this event: Countdown Breakfast (www.marsnewyear.com/count-down-b...)
Let's start getting the next generation of young people involved in Space Biomedicine research!
(ok this is Mars, PA 😀)

Can the Human Body Endure a Voyage to Mars? In the coming years, an unprecedented number of people will leave planet Earth—but it’s becoming increasingly clear that deep space will make us sick.

Nice article in the 100th anniversary edition of the New Yorker talking about space featuring me, Christopher Mason, and Robert Schwartz!

www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...

University of Lethbridge researchers part of a global team studying the effects of space travel | UNews

Here is a nice press release including quotes from me on work that will be started on a new NASA grant I have with my good collaborator Gerlinde Metz from University of Lethbridge: www.ulethbridge.ca/unews/articl...

Space exploration and risk of Parkinson’s disease: a perspective review - npj Microgravity npj Microgravity - Space exploration and risk of Parkinson’s disease: a perspective review

🧠🚀Could space exploration increase the risk of Parkinson's Disease (PD)? Dr. Nilufar Ali led our perspective in npj Microgravity exploring parallels between spaceflight stressors and PD-like changes, from mitochondrial dysfunction to altered dopamine pathways.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

In case you were wondering what I listen to while I do my science, here are my top 50 albums of 2024:

Land doesn’t vote. Stop pretending it does.

Could SARS–CoV-2 Be an Oncogenic Agent and Cancer Initiator? According to Afshin Beheshti, PhD, President of the COVID-19 International Research Team and Professor of Surgery and Computational and Systems Biology, Director of the Space Biomedicine Program, and ...

Here is an interview in @ASCO with me discussing the potential risk of cancer development due to SARS-CoV-2 infection:
ascopost.com/issues/decem...

The Perils of Space Alum Afshin Beheshti researches the effect of space travel on human beings.

Take a look at a nice article from the University of Minnesota Alumni magazine on my work:
www.minnesotaalumni.org/stories/the-...

The Center for Space Biomedicine at Pitt Space, led by me, is thrilled to host Dr. Christopher Mason, PhD, from Weill Cornell Medicine, for an extraordinary talk on Genetic & Epigenetic Responses to Spaceflight & Plans for the Moon, Venus, and Mars. Join us!!

Study Untangles How COVID-19 Wreaks Widespread Damage in the Body - UPMC & Pitt Health Sciences News Blog New research published in the journal Proceedings of the National… Read more

See below article at UPMC news discussing our new paper on COVID-19 and implications with #LongCovid COVID!!
inside.upmc.com/study-untang...

Lethal COVID-19 associates with RAAS-induced inflammation for multiple organ damage including mediastinal lymph nodes | PNAS Lethal COVID-19 outcomes are attributed to classic cytokine storm. We revisit this using RNA sequencing of nasopharyngeal and 40 autopsy samples fr...

Check out a our new paper redefining the "cytokine storm" in lethal COVID-19, linking it to mitochondrial dysfunction and over activation of the RAAS pathway, causing multi-organ damage. Long COVID implications are discussed!
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
@RobSchwartzLab @mason_lab

YouTube video by NASA GeneLab OSDR Chats with Dr Afshin Beheshti

Here is a short chat on one of my papers on miRNAs in space with NASA OSDR:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVj7...

Mission SpaceX CRS-19 RRRM-1 Space Flight Induced Skin Genomic Plasticity via an Epigenetic Trigger Exposure to space environment (ESE) profoundly impacts the epigenome as marked by DNA hypomethylation to induce rodent genomic plasticity in responders. Non-responders fail to respond to adaptive cues...

Here is another nice publication I was part of on studying how spaceflight exposure triggers epigenetic changes, promoting genomic plasticity in murine skin.
www.cell.com/iscience/ful...

Methodologies for Mitochondrial Omic Profiling During Spaceflight To be able to understand how spaceflight can affect human biology, there is a need for maximizing the amount of information that can be obtained from experiments flown to space. Recently there has bee...

Checkout a new book chapter which I led on "Methodologies for Mitochondrial Omic Profiling During Spaceflight"
link.springer.com/protocol/10....

Thanks!

If you happen to be in Rome this week… Come on by to Sapienza University to hear me talk...

Trying this out! Seems like it might be a good alternative to the to other social sites..