Professor Damian Bailey new Chair of European Space Agency’s Life Sciences Working Group

Professor Damian M Bailey, Professor of Physiology and Biochemistry at USW's Neurovascular Research Unit, has been appointed Chair of the Life Sciences Working Group (LSWG) c/o the European Space Agency.

He will lead Europe’s best scientists to guide and inform future space-related biomedical research with the long-term focus on deep spaceflight.

The LSWG comprises world-leading scientists across all life science specialities and is the senior advisory body to the Director of Manned Spaceflight and Microgravity on all scientific matters concerning life and physical sciences research disciplines in space. It is the main interpreter of the views and needs of the European scientific community as regards access to space experimentation under microgravity and other space conditions. 

"This is the first time that a UK representative has been appointed into this prestigious role and so I'm extremely honoured and indeed humbled to be asked to take this on," said Professor Bailey. 

"Space science has been a ‘brain-spark’ since childhood and much of our team’s focus will be on making deep-space exploration safe, culminating in a (wo)manned mission to Mars that is firmly science fact and not just fiction. 

"From a personal perspective, I’m especially interested in how micro/hypergravity impacts astronaut brain function having completed several parabolic flight experiments," Professor Bailey continued.

Professor Bailey was also recently appointed to the Space Exploration Advisory Committee (SEAC) c/o UK Space Agency given his expertise in brain physiology.