Intern in the Space Medicine Team, Space Cataract

Our team and mission

Based at the European Astronaut Centre (EAC), ESA’s Space Medicine Team (SMT) comprises medical doctors, biomedical engineers, exercise physiologists, psychologists, IT specialists, administrators and project managers. Each plays a vital role in ensuring the health and well-being of astronauts during all stages of a mission.

To better support astronauts during current missions to the International Space Station and prepare for human missions beyond low Earth orbit, the Space Medicine Team is working to identify, evaluate and develop new space technologies and procedures. This process involves collaborating with ESA’s technology teams and Human Research Office to identify existing space-relevant technologies and scientific knowledge and looking outside of ESA at terrestrial technology developments and the wealth of current science knowledge concerning human health. The Space Medicine Team work in close partnership with national space agencies, industry, research institutions and universities from across ESA’s Member States.

For further information on space medicine internships, please follow this link

Candidates interested are encouraged to visit the ESA website: http://www.esa.int

Field(s) of activity for the internship

Topic of the internship: Space Cataract

Excessive exposure to ionizing radiation during space missions may lead to a faster development of cataract, leading to potential problems with vision during/after spaceflight. This could have potentially severe impacts on astronauts’ performance and mission success. In addition, there are currently no therapies to treat cataract in-flight. Therefore, we must get a better understanding of how quickly this problem could progress to a clinically significant level when crew is exposed to high doses of space radiation due to Galactic Cosmic radiation and/or large Solar Particle Events.
Also to be considered is the fact that the degree of lens opacification may function as a bio-dosimeter. Monitoring the lens in a more sensitive and objective way than the current classic slit-lamp clinical evaluation may provide better insight into how this condition develops over time with various degrees of radiation exposure. Furthermore, the ESA Space Medicine Team is interested in the potential relationship between cataract due and the development of other radiation-induced health problems, like neuro-degenerative issues and cancers.
You are sought to perform a systematic review/investigation on technological developments which can detect and grade early stages of cataracts and/or harness the human lens as a bio-dosimeter.
If time allows, the project could also include writing a scientific research proposal or a tech-demo.

Behavioural competencies

Result Orientation
Operational Efficiency
Fostering Cooperation
Relationship Management
Continuous Improvement
Forward Thinking

For more information, please refer to ESA Core Behavioural Competencies guidebook

Education

You must be a university student, preferably in your final or second-to-last year of a university course at Master’s level and you need to remain enrolled at your University for the entire duration of the internship.

Additional requirements

The working languages of the Agency are English and French. A good knowledge of one of these is required. Knowledge of another Member State language would be an asset.

Desired skills/academic background:

• Enrolled student of Medicine in the final stages of their Master, preferably with a strong interest or experience in ophthalmology and/or radiation;
• Experience in the use of Rayyan or other software for systematic reviews, Mendeley for citation management and SPSS for data/statistical analysis/machine learning.