# My first project/topic proposal, looking for collaborators **URL:** \ **Category:** AI/ML AWG Topics\ **Tags:** aiml, brainawg, causal-inference, brain-awg\ **Created:** [November 4, 2026, 12:34am UTC](https://awg.osdr.space/t/my-first-project-topic-proposal-looking-for-collaborators/4830 "2026-11-04T00:34:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jorgejarme](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex001/user_avatar/awg.osdr.space/jorgejarme/32/4773_2.png) [@Jorgejarme](https://awg.osdr.space/u/Jorgejarme)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2026, 12:34am UTC](https://awg.osdr.space/t/my-first-project-topic-proposal-looking-for-collaborators/4830/1 "2026-11-04T00:34:21Z")
I’ve been thinking about an interesting direction for a potential Brain AWG project. What if some of the molecular pathways associated with neurodegeneration aren’t necessarily disease-specific, but instead reflect broader biological stress responses? I’d like to explore this by comparing publicly available NASA OSDR spaceflight transcriptomic datasets, particularly those involving brain or neural tissues, with molecular profiles of ALS and potentially FTD. More specifically, I want to investigate: - **Mitochondrial dysfunction:** whether spaceflight-associated changes overlap with pathways implicated in neuronal energy metabolism. - **Oxidative stress and proteostasis:** whether shared molecular signatures emerge across different biological contexts. - **Neuroinflammation:** whether immune-related transcriptional responses show similarities to those observed in neurodegeneration. - **Cross-dataset reproducibility:** whether these signatures persist across different experiments, tissues, and biological models. Methodologically, I’m interested in combining differential expression analysis, pathway enrichment, network reconstruction, and eventually perturbation-informed causal inference to distinguish simple molecular overlap from potentially meaningful regulatory relationships. The goal would be to develop an open and reproducible computational framework while exploring whether spaceflight biology can offer another perspective on molecular mechanisms relevant to neurodegeneration. (More on the ML and Causal Inference part, although this is just a framework) Curious if anyone in the group has explored similar directions or knows of OSDR datasets that might be particularly suitable for this! [@BrainAWG](https://awg.osdr.space/groups/brainawg) [@AIMLawg](https://awg.osdr.space/groups/aimlawg) ---
**Author:** ![Eleni\_Christoforidou](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex001/user_avatar/awg.osdr.space/eleni_christoforidou/32/5240_2.png) [@Eleni\_Christoforidou](https://awg.osdr.space/u/Eleni_Christoforidou)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2026, 4:53pm UTC](https://awg.osdr.space/t/my-first-project-topic-proposal-looking-for-collaborators/4830/2 "2026-11-04T16:53:37Z")
Hi! I am a neuroscientist specialising in ALS, with extensive experience in molecular biology, transcriptomics, and computational analysis of neurodegeneration. Your proposal is closely aligned with a manuscript I completed shortly before joining the AWG, which is now at the journal submission stage. My study compares ALS-associated molecular signatures with spaceflight and terrestrial unloading datasets, investigating shared biological pathways and their reproducibility across experimental models. The manuscript focuses on skeletal muscle rather than CNS tissue, whereas your proposal seems more focused on neural tissues. I would be very interested in collaborating on a follow-up study extending this approach to the CNS, potentially incorporating ALS/FTD alongside the proposed network and causal inference analyses. I think this could make an interesting and complementary second publication! ---
**Author:** ![Shrawani](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@Shrawani](https://awg.osdr.space/u/Shrawani)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2026, 4:59pm UTC](https://awg.osdr.space/t/my-first-project-topic-proposal-looking-for-collaborators/4830/3 "2026-11-04T16:59:27Z")
Hi Jorge, Thanks for sharing this idea. I’m a pharmaceutical chemistry student with a strong interest in space pharmacology, and the question of whether neurodegeneration pathways reflect broader stress responses rather than disease-specific ones really appeals to me. I have experience in molecular docking and ML model building, and I’d love to know whether I could be part of this project. I’m not sure yet where my skills would fit best, so I’d appreciate your thoughts on how I could contribute. Best regards, Shrawani ---
**Author:** ![nilufarali](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex001/user_avatar/awg.osdr.space/nilufarali/32/217_2.png) [@nilufarali](https://awg.osdr.space/u/nilufarali)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2026, 5:05pm UTC](https://awg.osdr.space/t/my-first-project-topic-proposal-looking-for-collaborators/4830/4 "2026-11-04T17:05:34Z")
Hi Jorge, thats a great point for discussion. All the space papers that we have published or we are working on points to stress that if sustains may lead to ND.. these changes could reflect hormesis as well like you pointed. The pathways you have mentioned are covered within a few subgroups; feel free to join them. Regarding ALS, we were planning to have a subgroup for that as well, since some of our studies do point to shared ALS pathways. One of my med students will present the ALS work at the ASGSR conference. @Eleni_Christoforidou would you like to present your ALS related paper at the Brain AWG meeting sometime? Send me an email if you are interested in contributing to or presenting on that work.- Nilufar @AmritBhakta @esilakeskin @steve.r.blattnig ---
**Author:** ![met4t](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex001/user_avatar/awg.osdr.space/met4t/32/569_2.png) [@met4t](https://awg.osdr.space/u/met4t)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2026, 6:00pm UTC](https://awg.osdr.space/t/my-first-project-topic-proposal-looking-for-collaborators/4830/5 "2026-11-04T18:00:43Z")
Hello Jorge, OSD-916 is spaceflight miRNA-sequencing brain data. There is a ground control in the datasets. This can be of use to see how miRNAs regulate gene expressions related to ALS. I also think that [Eleni\_Christofodou](https://awg.osdr.space/u/eleni_christoforidou)’s results on muscle could be worth considering, because ALS significantly impacts neuromuscular junctions and synapses. Let me know if I can be of more help in data analysis and discussions. ---
**Author:** ![met4t](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex001/user_avatar/awg.osdr.space/met4t/32/569_2.png) [@met4t](https://awg.osdr.space/u/met4t)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2026, 6:17pm UTC](https://awg.osdr.space/t/my-first-project-topic-proposal-looking-for-collaborators/4830/6 "2026-11-04T18:17:24Z")
And OSD-751 could also be resourceful to investigations on neuroinflammation, given that the activation of the inflammasome has been shown to be deactivated in spaceflight brain. ---
**Author:** ![Eleni\_Christoforidou](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex001/user_avatar/awg.osdr.space/eleni_christoforidou/32/5240_2.png) [@Eleni\_Christoforidou](https://awg.osdr.space/u/Eleni_Christoforidou)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2026, 7:50pm UTC](https://awg.osdr.space/t/my-first-project-topic-proposal-looking-for-collaborators/4830/7 "2026-11-04T19:50:02Z")
Thank you, @nilufarali. I would be happy to present at a Brain AWG meeting sometime in the new year. I will contact you to discuss this. I would also be very interested in contributing to the proposed ALS subgroup, so let me know if there is anything I can help with. @met4t I have extensive experience with miRNAs in ALS from my PhD and postdoc research. OSD-916 is particularly interesting, as integrating brain miRNA profiles with ALS transcriptomics could add a valuable regulatory dimension to Jorge’s proposed study. ---
**Author:** ![met4t](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex001/user_avatar/awg.osdr.space/met4t/32/569_2.png) [@met4t](https://awg.osdr.space/u/met4t)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2026, 8:14pm UTC](https://awg.osdr.space/t/my-first-project-topic-proposal-looking-for-collaborators/4830/8 "2026-11-04T20:14:16Z")
We will probably need ALS rna-sequencing data on ground to retrieve the ALS molecular pathways and gene expressions. Let us hear from Jorge to know what direction he wants to take in the investigation.