Melissa Haendel

Elena Casiraghi, Rachel Wong, Margaret Hall et al.

Healthcare datasets obtained from Electronic Health Records have proven to be extremely useful to assess associations between patients' predictors and outcomes of interest. However, these datasets often suffer from missing values in a high proportion of cases and the simple removal of these cases may introduce severe bias. For these reasons, several multiple imputation algorithms have been proposed to attempt to recover the missing information. Each algorithm presents strengths and weaknesses, and there is currently no consensus on which multiple imputation algorithms works best in a given scenario. Furthermore, the selection of each algorithm parameters and data-related modelling choices are also both crucial and challenging. In this paper, we propose a novel framework to numerically evaluate strategies for handling missing data in the context of statistical analysis, with a particular focus on multiple imputation techniques. We demonstrate the feasibility of our approach on a large cohort of type-2 diabetes patients provided by the National COVID Cohort Collaborative (N3C) Enclave, where we explored the influence of various patient characteristics on outcomes related to COVID-19. Our analysis included classic multiple imputation techniques as well as simple complete-case Inverse Probability Weighted models. The experiments presented here show that our approach could effectively highlight the most valid and performant missing-data handling strategy for our case study. Moreover, our methodology allowed us to gain an understanding of the behavior of the different models and of how it changed as we modified their parameters. Our method is general and can be applied to different research fields and on datasets containing heterogeneous types.

Ryan T. Scott, Erik L. Antonsen, Lauren M. Sanders et al.

Human space exploration beyond low Earth orbit will involve missions of significant distance and duration. To effectively mitigate myriad space health hazards, paradigm shifts in data and space health systems are necessary to enable Earth-independence, rather than Earth-reliance. Promising developments in the fields of artificial intelligence and machine learning for biology and health can address these needs. We propose an appropriately autonomous and intelligent Precision Space Health system that will monitor, aggregate, and assess biomedical statuses; analyze and predict personalized adverse health outcomes; adapt and respond to newly accumulated data; and provide preventive, actionable, and timely insights to individual deep space crew members and iterative decision support to their crew medical officer. Here we present a summary of recommendations from a workshop organized by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, on future applications of artificial intelligence in space biology and health. In the next decade, biomonitoring technology, biomarker science, spacecraft hardware, intelligent software, and streamlined data management must mature and be woven together into a Precision Space Health system to enable humanity to thrive in deep space.

Lauren M. Sanders, Jason H. Yang, Ryan T. Scott et al.

Space biology research aims to understand fundamental effects of spaceflight on organisms, develop foundational knowledge to support deep space exploration, and ultimately bioengineer spacecraft and habitats to stabilize the ecosystem of plants, crops, microbes, animals, and humans for sustained multi-planetary life. To advance these aims, the field leverages experiments, platforms, data, and model organisms from both spaceborne and ground-analog studies. As research is extended beyond low Earth orbit, experiments and platforms must be maximally autonomous, light, agile, and intelligent to expedite knowledge discovery. Here we present a summary of recommendations from a workshop organized by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration on artificial intelligence, machine learning, and modeling applications which offer key solutions toward these space biology challenges. In the next decade, the synthesis of artificial intelligence into the field of space biology will deepen the biological understanding of spaceflight effects, facilitate predictive modeling and analytics, support maximally autonomous and reproducible experiments, and efficiently manage spaceborne data and metadata, all with the goal to enable life to thrive in deep space.