WASHINGTON — The Florida-based Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS), which manages non-NASA research aboard the international space station, released a request for information (RFI) about animal- and cell-based models that could be used aboard the international space station for research into human diseases, the nonprofit said in an Oct. 7 press release.

The request for information will inform a later request for proposals for space research in the area of human health, CASIS wrote in the release. The aim is to find which models are best for microgravity research into understanding human disease, identifying drug targets and evaluating new therapeutics, according to the release.

“Through this RFI, CASIS hopes to better understand what researchers need to conduct world-class disease model research onboard the ISS,” Warren Bates, CASIS’s director of portfolio management, said in the statement.

Dan Leone is a SpaceNews staff writer, covering NASA, NOAA and a growing number of entrepreneurial space companies. He earned a bachelor’s degree in public communications from the American University in Washington.