Professors present research at NASA workshop in Texas

With substantial grant support, Vanderkaay Tomasulo of psychology and Loisel of biology have been exploring stress-reduction using virtual reality; four students listed as authors

February 17, 2023
Faculty/staff report
D&M

Professors Dagan Loisel, left, and Melissa Vanderkaay Tomasulo at the Texas workshop recently.

Two Saint Michael’s professors are on sabbatical this semester pursuing their ongoing research into reducing stress using virtual reality, with practical applications for NASA astronauts on space missions.

Melissa Vanderkaay Tomasulo of the psychology and neuroscience faculty and Dagan Loisel of the biology faculty returned this week from presenting their research at NASA’s Human Research Program Investigator Workshop in Galveston, TX.

The research was entitled, “Real-time Assessment of the Impact of a Virtual Reality Stress-Relieving Countermesaure on Neurendocrine, Autonomic, and Immune Indicators of Stress,” and was funded by NASA’s Human Research Program Human Health Countermeasures (HHC) Element, the Vermont Space Grant Consortium, and the Vermont Biomedical Research Network. The professors have been pursuing this work for several years funded by the grants.

Four current students:  Mackenzie Costello ’23, Madeline Van Winkle ’23, Jordyn Morey ’23, and Colby Fane-Cushing ’25 were also authors, as was Saint Michael’s recent graduate Elizabeth Marini ’22.

“We were also able to finally meet our NASA collaborators in person after three years of collaboration!” Tomasulo said. “Sabbatical has afforded us valuable time to focus on our research, and we were proud to represent Saint Michael’s at the Workshop.”

The professors launched this study several years ago with the idea that astronauts might combat stress and reduce health risks in space using virtual reality meditation. According to a 2021 story about the research, they had begun testing their theories on students and emergency responders at the College, thanks to the multiple funding sources.

ASA Space Grant offers research funds through similar consortiums in all states to encourage colleges and universities to partner with the agency.  Said Loisel in 2021, “The research project provides new insight into the multitude of effects of stress on the body as well as the potential for Virtual Reality countermeasures to mitigate those effects.”

The first grant awarded in May of 2020 established their study in collaboration with NASA researchers, Brian Crucian, PhD, lead immunologist, and Satish Mehta, PhD, virologist, both at NASA’s Human Research Program at Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. Since then, the St. Mike’s researchers have been collecting data from Saint Michael’s student volunteers about stress and the use of virtual reality-delivered meditation and breathing exercises to counteract the stress response and, hopefully, negative consequences associated with chronic stress exposure, leading to the recent presentation in Texas.

“We considerably value our NASA collaborators – their partnership, insight, and the opportunity we have been awarded – and, look forward to what the data will show,” said Tomasulo in that 2021 story, adding that she also was gratified by the research team’s ability to keep pushing through the challenges the pandemic presented during this project.

with collabos

Of this photo, the St. Mike’s professor say: “On the left is Dr. Brian Crucian, the lead scientist for NASA’s Immunology/Virology Laboratory, and on the right is Dr. Mayra Nelman-Gonzalez, Senior Scientist for Wyle Integrated Science and Engineering Group/NASA Johnson Space Center. Both are the collaborators we have been working with on our research. “

The professors said in 2021 that they would be excited if subsequent data from the biological test samples supported that idea, since it would mean a big step toward what medical professionals using virtual reality-delivered applications have started calling “digiceuticals” for stress reduction – not only in space, but more widely in clinical and medical settings.

Applications already include acute and chronic pain reduction and alleviation of PTSD symptoms. The work also has direct relevance for preventing immune dysfunction and improving health outcomes for people back on Earth. The professors said they look forward to sharing more of what their research has revealed in recent years since the 2021 report on the grants. See this space soon for an update.

Follow us on social.