Frank Cucinotta (Health Physics and Diagnostic Sciences) co-authored “Cancer and Circulatory Disease Risks for a Human Mission to Mars: Private Mission Considerations,” which concluded that younger-aged participants on a privately funded mission to Mars would experience significant increases in cancer risks compared to typical astronauts, and risks for degenerative diseases are likely to be increased among higher-aged participants. The article is slated to appear in the journal Acta Astronautica.

He also co-authored “Dependence of the Human Leukemia Risk on the Dose and Dose Rate of Continuous Irradiation: Modeling Study,” which used a biologically motivated dynamical model that is capable of predicting the excess relative risk for leukemia, excluding chronic lymphocytic leukemia, among acutely/continuously irradiated people, such as workers within a nuclear industry cleanup crew, patients treated with radiotherapy, and astronauts engaged in long-term interplanetary space missions. The article is slated to appear in the journal Life Sciences in Space Research.