The Challenger Learning Center of Tallahassee, in partnership with the FSU Center for Autism and Related Disabilities (CARD), will host a special evening featuring NASA’s Artemis Assistant Launch Director and FAMU-FSU College of Engineering alumnus Jeremy Graeber on Friday, October 30.

Titled “Fly Me to the Moon: Artemis Style,” the event will offer attendees an inside look at the people, technology, and teamwork behind NASA’s Artemis missions and the effort to return astronauts to the Moon.

From launch preparation and mission operations to the challenges of safely returning astronauts to the lunar surface, Graeber’s presentation will highlight the engineering, collaboration, and problem-solving required to make these ambitious missions possible.

“Jeremy’s journey from the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering to NASA’s launch team brings the possibilities of STEM education close to home,” said Alan Hanstein, executive director of the Challenger Learning Center of Tallahassee. “We’re excited to welcome him back and give our community a chance to hear what it takes to reach the Moon — and inspire young people to imagine their own role in the next great era of exploration.”

Whether you're fascinated by space, engineering, or the future of human exploration, the event offers a unique opportunity to hear directly from a Tallahassee-area engineering alumnus helping make the Artemis missions a reality.

The evening will begin with a VIP reception at 6 p.m., followed by Graeber’s presentation at 7 p.m. The presentation is free and open to the public, with limited general admission seating. VIP tickets are $25 and include access to the reception and reserved seating. 

In an effort to accommodate any attendees on the autism spectrum or with sensory sensitivities, FSU CARD will have disposable ear plugs to help mitigate loud noises and be on site to share resources and provide assistance as needed. 

The Challenger Learning Center of Tallahassee is located at 200 S. Duval St., Tallahassee, Florida. For tickets, visit www.challengertlh.com/jeremy-graeber. 

About Challenger Learning Center

The Challenger Learning Center of Tallahassee (CLC) is the K-12 outreach facility of the Florida A&M University – Florida State University College of Engineering. Located in the heart of downtown Tallahassee, the CLC serves approximately 40,000-60,000 students annually throughout a 67-county, tri-state service area. The CLC provides high-quality “hands-on, minds-on” educational experiences using a space mission simulator, demonstrational and hands-on laboratory activities, an IMAX® Theatre, and the Fogg Planetarium. Through the IMAX Theatre and Planetarium, the CLC also provides the general public and tourists with stunningly unique, entertaining, and culturally relevant experiences through the acquisition and exhibition of the best films and programs available. For more information, visit www.challengertlh.com. 

About FSU Center for Autism and Related Disabilities

The FSU Center for Autism and Related Disabilities (CARD) is a community resource that provides individualized support, information, and assistance to individuals and families living with autism and related disabilities. As part of Florida State University, FSU CARD works with individuals across the lifespan, as well as families, educators, professionals, and community organizations, to promote greater understanding, inclusion, and access to resources. Through consultation, training, education, and community partnerships, FSU CARD helps create opportunities for individuals with autism and related disabilities to thrive at home, at school, and in the community.

As the next step in its Approach with Care Autism Awareness Initiative, Tallahassee Police Department volunteers joined the staff of the FSU Center for Autism and Related Disabilities (CARD) to stuff sensory comfort bags Wednesday, Oct. 14, at the FSU Health and College of Medicine offices on Phillips Road. 

For many individuals with autism, emergency situations can be overwhelming. Delayed responses, sensory sensitivities, or difficulty processing verbal instructions may be characteristics of autism, rather than signs of noncompliance.

“Flashing bright lights and loud noises such as sirens can disorient and upset an adult or child with Autism Spectrum Disorder, or ASD,” said CARD Director Catherine Zenko. “When used in conjunction with the Approach with Care vehicle stickers that are available to the public at no charge, these bags will help police initiate more positive interactions between police and some of the more vulnerable members of our community.” 

Led by Chief Lawrence Revell, Deputy Chief Jeff Mahoney and other TPD leaders, the group stuffed 500 bags in a little more than an hour, fueled by a lunch provided by  Whataburger. The bags will be distributed to patrol officers to help create safer interactions between law enforcement officers and individuals with ASD. 

For Mahoney, who helped spearhead the initiative and is the father of a young autistic son, the effort is about turning greater understanding into meaningful action. 

“Understanding is important, but what we do with that understanding matters even more,” he said. “From the beginning, Chief Revell has supported our efforts to make sure officers have the training and resources they need to better serve individuals with autism and their families. These bags are another tool that can help create a calmer, safer interaction for someone who may experience the world differently, and another step in our commitment to meeting people where they are.” 

TPD provided the bags and most of the items for them, including sunglasses, noise-blocking headphones, stickers and other toys and games intended to help soothe and calm someone with ASD. CARD added laminated picture communication boards, blank white boards, and a stress (squishy) star with the FSU CARD logo and website printed on them. 

The partnership between FSU CARD and TPD launched on July 22. Free Approach With Care vehicle decals are available through TPD’s Community Relations Unit, FSU CARD, Leon County Schools through Exceptional Student Education teachers, and MidTown Print. Other community partners include Behavioral Management Consultants, Cayer Behavioral Group and Early Steps. 

FSU CARD is one of seven regional, non-residential resource centers funded by the Florida Legislature through the Florida Department of Education. They provide free support, consultation, and training across the lifespan for individuals with ASD and related disabilities. Led by Zenko and Executive Director David Ledbetter, FSU CARD has offices in Tallahassee, Panama City and Pensacola, serving the Florida Panhandle and Big Bend. 

By Patience Moseley, Ph.D. 
FSU College of Medicine

Jose R. Pinto, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Biomedical Sciences, was awarded $2.6 million by the National Institutes of Health’s National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute to uncover the fundamental basis of cardiac muscle contraction and how changes in the genetic code alter structural components, contributing to cardiomyopathies. 

Cardiomyopathies are diseases of the myocardium, or the heart muscle. Depending on the subtype of cardiomyopathy, heart muscle tissue can dilate or stiffen, reducing the heart’s ability to effectively pump blood throughout the body and eventually leading to arrhythmias, heart failure or cardiac arrest if untreated. 

Current treatments are limited and may not be effective for certain mutations in the structural components that induce abnormal heart contraction.

Inherited, or familial, cardiomyopathies are largely attributed to genetic mutations encoded in sarcomeric proteins – the proteins that drive heart muscle contraction. The Pinto lab is zeroing in on one particular protein, troponin C, to reveal how mutations in two distinct regions influence the development of cardiomyopathies. 

“This work is looking at the basic mechanisms of muscle and how proteins work together in the muscle to allow the heart to beat every second,” Pinto explained. Troponin C acts as a calcium sensor in the heart. When electrical impulses trigger the heart to contract, calcium flows into the muscle cell cytoplasm and binds to troponin C, evoking a change in the protein’s shape. As the protein changes structurally, it physically tugs other proteins, shifting the cardiac thin filament to expose sites where thick filament proteins attach and inducing cardiac muscle contraction. 

Genetic variants, or mutations, in the troponin C gene change the protein’s structure and its ability to sense calcium flowing into the cell, eventually leading to thickening or thinning of the ventricular walls – structural hallmarks of cardiomyopathy.

The Pinto lab has developed genetic tools to investigate the in vivo function of two mutation “hotspots,” or domains, in the troponin C gene. 

“We have a way to manipulate the structure of distinct domains in the troponin C gene that bind to calcium using novel genetically engineering tools. We’ve engineered the proteins in a way to block calcium binding in the so-called structural domain,” said Pinto, “This will help us understand the function of calcium binding to that specific domain, which is also a site of mutations that lead to the development of heart disease.”

With the genetic tools and improved ability to view cardiac troponin in the cardiac thin filament, the Pinto lab, backed by funding from the NIH, is well-angled to unveil the function of troponin C in health and disease. 

Taking his research back to the fundamentals, Pinto — alongside his collaborators Vitold Galkin, Ph.D., associate professor at Old Dominion University, and Michelle Parvatiyar, Ph.D., associate professor at FSU Anne’s College — aims to move the needle toward tailored therapeutic interventions that improve cardiac muscle function in diseased hearts.