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Eliah G. Overbey

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Eliah G. Overbey
Alma materUC San Diego (BS), University of Washington (PhD)
Scientific career
FieldsGenomics, bioastronautics
InstitutionsWeill Cornell Medicine, University of Austin

Eliah G. Overbey is an assistant professor of Bioastronautics at the University of Austin and adjunct assistant professor of research in Computational Biomedicine at Weill Cornell Medicine.[1][2] She co-founded the Space Omics and Medical Atlas (SOMA), which has generated over 90% of all publicly available astronaut omics data.[3]

Education

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Overbey received her BS in Computer Science from UC San Diego and her PhD in Genome Sciences from the University of Washington.[2] She performed her postdoctoral research in Christopher E. Mason's lab on a fellowship from NASA.[4] Overbey joined the University of Austin as a member of the founding faculty in 2024.[5]

Career

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Space Omics and Medical Atlas (SOMA)

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In 2021, Overbey led the collection of biospecimen samples from the Inspiration4 crew, collecting specimens from before, during, and after their mission.[6] She then spearheaded efforts to generate and analyze various omics and molecular measurements, including whole genome, gene expression, chromatin accessibility, proteomic, metagenomic, and metatranscriptomic assays.[3][7][8] This collection of data was made public in NASA's Open Science Data Repository in May 2024[9] and constitutes over 90% of publicly available astronaut omics data,[6] which is necessary for the development of countermeasures for space colonization, including personalized medicine and pharmaceuticals.

The project gained national coverage with ranging interpretations. The New York Times and Science highlighted the vast changes that occurred during just 3 days in orbit,[10][11] while The Washington Post emphasized that scientists see no showstoppers for a mission to Mars.[12] SOMA also found evidence to support previous telomere lengthening results from the NASA Twin Study.[13] The Polaris Dawn crew have also participated in the study,[14] but their data is not yet published. Notably, Jared Isaacman, the current nominee for NASA Administrator, was a research subject in both missions.

Space Mission Development

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Overbey has been developing scientific competitions for the Space Exploration and Research Agency (SERA)[15] and research missions for BioAstra,[16] where she serves as chief scientific officer.[17]

University of Austin (UATX)

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In 2024, Overbey joined the University of Austin (UATX) as a member of the founding faculty, citing hostile work environments for Jewish students at other universities,[18] suppression of free speech on college campuses,[19] and the desire to build new programs to train students for Mars colonization.[20]

Publications

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Foundational papers from the 2024 Nature SOMA collection.[21]

  • Overbey, E. G.; Kim, J.; Tierney, B. T.; et al. (2024). "The Space Omics and Medical Atlas (SOMA) and international astronaut biobank". Nature 632 (8027): 1145–1154. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-07639-y
  • Overbey, E. G.; Ryon, K.; Kim, J.; Tierney, B. T.; et al. (2024). "Collection of biospecimens from the Inspiration4 mission establishes the standards for the Space Omics and Medical Atlas (SOMA)". Nature Communications 15 (1): 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-48806-z
  • Jones, C. W.; Overbey, E. G.; Lacombe, J.; et al. (2024). "Molecular and physiological changes in the SpaceX Inspiration4 civilian crew". Nature 632 (8027): 1155–1164. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-07648-x

References

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  1. ^ "Eliah Overbey". www.uaustin.org. Retrieved 2025-04-10.
  2. ^ a b "Overbey, Eliah". vivo.weill.cornell.edu. Retrieved 2025-04-10.
  3. ^ a b Overbey, Eliah G.; Kim, JangKeun; Tierney, Braden T.; Park, Jiwoon; Houerbi, Nadia; Lucaci, Alexander G.; Garcia Medina, Sebastian; Damle, Namita; Najjar, Deena; Grigorev, Kirill; Afshin, Evan E.; Ryon, Krista A.; Sienkiewicz, Karolina; Patras, Laura; Klotz, Remi (August 2024). "The Space Omics and Medical Atlas (SOMA) and international astronaut biobank". Nature. 632 (8027): 1145–1154. Bibcode:2024Natur.632.1145O. doi:10.1038/s41586-024-07639-y. ISSN 1476-4687. PMC 11357981. PMID 38862028.
  4. ^ "NASA Selects 18 Space Biology Research Proposals to Advance Scientific Knowledge of Life in Space and Foster Human Space Exploration - NASA Science". 2020-09-18. Retrieved 2025-04-10.
  5. ^ "Meet the Scientist Launching the University of Austin Space Exploration Program, Professor Eliah Overbey". www.uaustin.org. Retrieved 2025-04-10.
  6. ^ a b Overbey, Eliah G.; Ryon, Krista; Kim, JangKeun; Tierney, Braden T.; Klotz, Remi; Ortiz, Veronica; Mullane, Sean; Schmidt, Julian C.; MacKay, Matthew; Damle, Namita; Najjar, Deena; Matei, Irina; Patras, Laura; Garcia Medina, J. Sebastian; Kleinman, Ashley S. (2024-06-11). "Collection of biospecimens from the inspiration4 mission establishes the standards for the space omics and medical atlas (SOMA)". Nature Communications. 15 (1): 4964. Bibcode:2024NatCo..15.4964O. doi:10.1038/s41467-024-48806-z. ISSN 2041-1723. PMC 11166662. PMID 38862509.
  7. ^ "Space Omics and Medical Atlas Database Could Enhance the Health of Earthlings". Proteomics & Metabolomics from Technology Networks. Retrieved 2025-04-10.
  8. ^ College, Weill Cornell Medical. "Commercial astronauts shed light on flights' health impacts and create spaceflight atlas". medicalxpress.com. Retrieved 2025-04-10.
  9. ^ Sanders, Lauren M.; Grigorev, Kirill A.; Scott, Ryan T.; Saravia-Butler, Amanda M.; Polo, San-huei Lai; Gilbert, Rachel; Overbey, Eliah G.; Kim, JangKeun; Mason, Christopher E.; Costes, Sylvain V. (2024-05-14). "Inspiration4 data access through the NASA Open Science Data Repository". npj Microgravity. 10 (1): 56. Bibcode:2024npjMG..10...56S. doi:10.1038/s41526-024-00393-5. ISSN 2373-8065. PMC 11094041. PMID 38744887.
  10. ^ Chang, Kenneth (2024-06-12). "3 Days in Space Were Enough to Change 4 Astronauts' Bodies and Minds". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-04-10.
  11. ^ "Astronauts face health risks—even on short trips in space". www.science.org. Retrieved 2025-04-10.
  12. ^ Achenbach, Joel (2024-06-11). "Spaceflight is hard on humans, but scientists see no showstoppers". Washington Post.
  13. ^ "Why you shouldn't worry about invasive Joro spiders : Short Wave". NPR. 2024-06-14. Retrieved 2025-04-10.
  14. ^ Kraus, John (2022-10-24). "Polaris Dawn Selects 38 Science and Research Experiments to Advance Human Health and Space Exploration". Polaris Program. Retrieved 2025-04-10.
  15. ^ Karlin, Susan (2024-11-15). "Blue Origin and SERA are creating 'a space agency for everyone' with a reality-style competition and TV series". Fast Company. Archived from the original on 2024-11-16. Retrieved 2025-04-10.
  16. ^ Skove, Sam (2025-03-20). "This nonprofit wants to send your twin into space". POLITICO. Retrieved 2025-04-10.
  17. ^ "About BioAstra | Driving Biotech and Healthcare Innovation". bioastra.org/. Retrieved 2025-04-10.
  18. ^ "University of Austin was founded on free speech. How's its first year?". Christian Science Monitor. ISSN 0882-7729. Retrieved 2025-04-10.
  19. ^ "Inside University of Austin's bold, anti-woke mission | Fox News Video". Fox News. 2025-03-03. Retrieved 2025-04-10.
  20. ^ Coen, Susie (2024-10-27). "Inside the anti-woke university where you can't be cancelled". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2025-04-10.
  21. ^ "Space Omics and Medical Atlas (SOMA) across orbits". www.nature.com. Retrieved 2025-04-10.
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