I’m Erika Nakamura, a pediatrician and researcher based in Japan. I belong to the Department of Pediatrics at Keio University School of Medicine, where I specialize in neonatology and pediatric endocrinology.
Currently, I am pursuing data-driven research in space medicine, with a special focus on how microgravity may affect maternal and neonatal health via the microbiome. I’m also working with large-scale pediatric health datasets and exploring how AI/ML technologies can support early-life health monitoring.
I’m excited to learn from others in the Microbiome, Multi-omics, and AI/ML groups, and to contribute to collaborative projects. Looking forward to connecting with many of you!
Hello, everyone
I am Roland from Ghana, an avid data analyst and creative writer. I am also pursuing Sociology at Stetson.
Joining the plant and human working groups, my goal is to explore sustainable systems needed for future generations. I am open to learning from everyone here and leveraging my skills and experiences to make some impact.
Thanks for sharing your self-introduction, @Erika!
There is an ongoing discussion in the “Space, Adaptation and Evolution” sub-group about developmental constraints in the space environment, which I believe is relevant to your research. Could you please send me your email address (via Direct Message) that is linked to your Microsoft Account? I’d like to add you to our Teams.
This sub-group is hosting new JSPS funding “Life in Space”
Website is here (still under construction, please follow the link for English version)
Thank you very much for reaching out and for introducing the “Space, Adaptation and Evolution” sub-group. It sounds very relevant and exciting to my interests, especially regarding developmental challenges in space environments.
I’d be happy to join the team—I’ll send you my Microsoft-linked email address via Direct Message shortly.
I’m also very interested in the “Life in Space” initiative and would love to learn more about how I could get involved.
I am a pediatrician in Japan, currently working on medical education that applies space medicine scenarios to prepare healthcare professionals for perinatal care in remote or underserved regions. I am also organizing a multidisciplinary symposium this year focusing on pregnancy and childbirth in space, aiming to promote the emerging field of perinatal and pediatric space medicine.
While I am still in the early stages and not yet conducting microbiome research, I hope to explore it in the future as part of a broader investigation into how spaceflight affects maternal and neonatal health.
I’d love to learn more about your current projects as well—your work in extreme environment medicine is very inspiring.
Those are very important endeavours! I am currently expecting our second child and certainly appreciate all the changes that happen to our bodies. Especially the hemodynamics. One of the major concerns for human fetal development in space is the radiation and the rapidly dividing cells of the fetus.
The other big component that called my attention one day is acid reflux! Pregnant women are very prone to acid reflux because of the relaxing hormone and later on from the growing uterus that pushed on the stomach. It is challenging to deal with that on Earth with interventions that rely on gravity such as sitting and using more pillows for sleep, but in space… That can even be dangerous! The reflux into the lungs is quite a significant issue and even if we use proton pump inhibitors to supress the acid, the reflux into the lungs of any material is quite an issue.
Thank you for your work and dedication on this important topic for humanity: pregnancy and childbirth.
