Dr. Sandra Rogers’ Alzheimer Research Chosen by International Space System

Dr-Sandra-Rogers-Alzheimer-Research-Chosen-by-International-Space-SystemWhen Sandra Rogers was growing up, she witnessed time after time her father, who was a physician, treat geriatric patients. Having to see these men and women suffer from dementia and being exposed to what their family members experienced spurred her interest into becoming who she is today.

“It was a very saddening experience,” said Rogers, “to see what they were going through, not recognizing their family members, having random emotional outbursts, forgetting how to do little tasks such as putting on a coat or eating, to something major as forgetting how to breathe.” That’s where the plethora of contribution and research that Dr. Rogers would do in the future started.

Through the merged efforts of Boy Scouts of America and the National Design Challenge, they found out about Dr. Rogers extensive research and approached her at Calumet College of St. Joseph to start what is called an Explorer’s Club. Then Roger’s submitted a grant request to conduct this research further, and they were chosen along with two other teams throughout the entire nation.

Working with a string of amino acids that everyone has in their brain, Rogers has synthetically replicated it in her lab to search for a preventative measure for Alzheimer. She is increasing the concentration of this amino acid and then she will be sending them off into space to see what happens.

Now, what on Earth would sending these amino acids do to prevent Alzheimer? Overtime, being in space, this amino acid will change the way it looks chemically. When this acid is combined with water, that is when the folding of the acid changes into a ‘C’ formation, which then causes the onset of Alzheimer. Roger’s is hoping that since water in space acts differently than water on Earth, that the amino acid will also react differently, causing it to stay the shape it’s supposed to be.

Not only is there Alzheimer’s research going into space through the International Space System but she and her team, which consists of many students as well as Dr. Ahmed Lakani, have also conducted another project along with it. An instrument that normally costs over $40,000 has now been shrunk into a smaller version of itself. This shrunken instrument will be sent up into space along with the samples to monitor progress as well as exactly what happens while the research is there.

“If this is successful, then what will happen is we can actually sell or market it to younger students. So now high school students can afford an instrument that normally costs $47,000 that now costs around $600. So we’d be teaching new scientific techniques to high school students, even to grade school students. We’d be changing how science is taught.”

Now, I asked her what would be the purpose of this since people aren’t going to be sent into space to prevent getting Alzheimer's. What would happen is if the results are successful and the findings are what Dr. Rogers hopes, then an anti-gravity chamber could be set up locally to simulate being in space. “We’re going to develop new questions from this project, but we’ll also get some answers and find out something different,” said Rogers.

Jake Hayes, a student of Roger’s, has been working on these projects alongside her. Walking through the lab to show me where all the research is conducted he remembers when everything was just starting out. “I’ve been here since the beginning, everything that you see, all the lab equipment, all the computers were just in boxes on day one. I was the person that helped unbox everything at the very start of it all,” said Hayes.

Being involved more on the chemistry side of the project, he wanted to help out a little bit more than that. Teaching himself how to 3D model and use the 3D printer, he is the contributing force behind all of the gears and motors that will go into the instrument being sent into space.

Now at the end of their journey, it is just a waiting game until the research can be sent into space for 30 days.