First Fully Brain AWG-Driven Publication is Out!
Congratulations to @dpiekarskiva @windymc @Joseph_Guarnieri @shehbeelarif @dr.aslinger on the @BrainAWG first fully AWG-driven publication:
Spaceflight Modulates Neurodegeneration-Associated Transcriptomic Pathways Across Brain Cell Types
Piekarski, Guarnieri, Arif, Aslinger, McNerney. Life Sciences in Space Research (2026).
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lssr.2026.08.007
Using single-nucleus RNA-seq on brain tissue from OSD-613 (mice flown 55–58 days aboard the ISS; RRRM-2, also known as Rodent Research-17 [RR-17]), the team found that spaceflight drives widespread transcriptional changes across all major brain cell types, with signatures pointing toward oxidative stress, proteostasis disruption, and mitochondrial dysfunction. Microglia in particular shifted toward disease-associated and inflammatory states.
This work grew directly out of Brain AWG discussions, exactly the kind of subgroup-to-publication pipeline we want to see more of. Nice work all around 
Attached:
Piekarski 2026 LSSR brain scRNA.pdf (2.9 MB)
Read the full paper: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214552426001240
