Findings and Recommendation* 



— Scientists outside the Agency provide a valuable resource to NASA, both as 

 researchers and as advisors to Agency staff. 



— Recent program development plans for a balance between external and 

 intramural research, as well as the creation of a new advisory and planning 

 structure, promise desirable change in this area. 



• Information concerning life sciences activities is not disseminated as widely as 

 possible and desirable. As a result, many university and industrial researchers 

 find it difficult to secure data on past, current, and future life sciences projects. 



Recommendations 



• Senior NASA management should support the continuation of recent Division 

 efforts to establish a strong program by: 



— Strengthening the Division's role in Agency-wide planning 



— Facilitating access to frequent and regular flight opportunities 



— Acknowledging the differences between programs of the Life Sciences Divi- 

 sion and other NASA program areas 



— Indicating to the rest of the Agency that biomedical research relevant to the 

 safe conduct of human space flight is essential to ongoing and future NASA 

 initiatives. 



• Senior personnel from the Life Sciences Division should participate in all top- 

 level planning of Agency flight programs. 



• NASA should substantially increase the resources for Life Sciences programs to 

 assure implementation of the recommendations given in this report. 



• NASA should increase its efforts to expand the numbers of scientists at the 

 Centers and Headquarters and should institute new efforts to provide career 

 development opportunities for existing staff. 



• The Life Sciences Division should further its efforts to establish formalized 

 agreements and working groups with other agencies and organizations. 



• NASA should provide funds to expand and implement plans to establish 

 Specialized Center of Research (SCOR) units within selected universities, an 

 effort designed to develop young scientists in space life sciences. 



• In addition, the Agency should consider the establishment of NASA-supported 

 professorships in space life sciences at selected universities, so that by 1990 one 

 or two internationally recognized bioscientists and clinical investigators can 

 play a significant role in the biomedical research crucial to human space mis- 

 sions of extended duration. 



• The Life Sciences Division should generate and maintain a data base through 

 collaborative arrangements with NASA's Scientific and Technical Information 

 Facility and the National Library of Medicine. 



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