Tentative Program

SUNDAY, JUNE 15, 2008

3:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Session 1: Radiobiology
Organizers, Les Redpath, Amy Kronenberg, Tony Brooks
Speakers: (5)

Telomeres, chromosome instability and cancer – John Murnane, University of California, San Francisco
Dr. Murnane is a Professor of Radiation Oncology at UC San Francisco and is at the forefront of research on the role of telomeres in chromosome instability.

Non-targeted/bystander effects: impact on cancer risk – Edouard Azzam, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey
Dr. Azzam is an Associate Professor at UMDNJ and is an acknowledged expert for his work dissecting mechanisms underlying non-targeted effects of low doses of ionizing radiation, including those involving intercellular communication.
Radiation-induced adaptive response and cancer risk assessment – Les Redpath, University of California, Irvine
Dr. Redpath is a Professor of Radiation Oncology at UC Irvine. He is internationally known for the study of the effects of low doses of sparsely ionizing radiation on neoplastic transformation in vitro.

Radiation exposure, genetic susceptibility and breast cancer risk– Jonine Bernstein, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
Dr. Bernstein is an Associate Attending Epidemiologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Medical Center in New York. Her current research is focused on understanding the joint roles of environmental exposures and genetic susceptibility to cancer. She is P.I. of the Women’s Environmental Cancer and Radiation Epidemiology (WECARE) Study.

Discussant: - Amy Kronenberg, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

RECEPTION: 7:00 P.M. - 8:30 P.M. ************* NEW TIME***************



MONDAY, JUNE 16

8:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Session 2: Chronic and Fractionated Low Dose Studies
Organizers: Mary Schubauer-Berigan, Jerry Puskin
Speakers: (4)

Studies of residents exposed in radiation-contaminated buildings in Taiwan -- Peter W.S. Chang, National Yang-Ming University, Taiwan

Dr. Chang is Professor of Enviromental and Occupational Health at National Yangming Medical School in Taipei Taiwan. Dr. Chang is a researcher in the areas of radiation epidemiology and radiation biodosimetry, focusing on individuals exposed to radiation from cobalt-60 contaminated steel used in Taiwanese building construction. These studies have already shown an association between chronic radiation exposures and both cytogenetic changes and increased cancer incidence.

Bio-based modeling of bystander effects in radiation-induced lung cancer among Mayak workers – Peter Jacob, Institute of Radiation Protection, Germany

Dr. Jacob is Head of the Radiation Risk Section in the GSF - Institute of Radiation Protection. His research interests include radiation risk, modeling of carcinogenesis, modeling of radiobiological effects, radiation epidemiology and dose reconstruction. He chairs the Radiation Risk Committee of the German Commission of Radiological Protection and is Coordinator of the Integrated EU Project Southern Urals Radiation Risk Research. He is a member of ICRP Committee 2 and of the German UNSCEAR delegation.

Leukemia in Chornobyl cleanup workers – Lydia Zablotska, Columbia University

Dr. Lydia Zablotska is an Assistant Professor of Epidemiology at the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University. Her current research is focused upon study of the human health consequences of various types of radiation exposure. She conducted investigations into mortality among nuclear workers in Canada and the U.S. and currently studies the health effects of exposure to the radiation released by the Chornobyl disaster.

Uranium Miners -- Bernd Grosche, Federal Office for Radiation Protection, Germany

Dr. Grosche of the Federal Office for Radiation Protection, Germany, has long term experience in the area of radiation epidemiology with his main focus on studies of radon-induced lung cancer in German uranium miners, which constitute the largest of all the radon-exposed miner cohorts. He is also involved in research on the health consequences of radiation exposures resulting from the Soviet Union’s nuclear program in Russia and Kazakhstan.

Uncertainties in Dosimetry – Sarah Darby, Oxford University, United Kingdom

Dr. Darby is Professor of Medical Statistics at the University of Oxford. She leads collaborative studies of lung cancer in relation to residential radon involving investigations throughout North America and Europe. Other current research interests include evaluation of the risk of heart disease from ionizing radiation, and the risks and benefits of treatments for early breast cancer.

Discussant: Mary Schubauer-Berigan, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

MONDAY, JUNE 16

7:15 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.

Session 3: The Future of Biostatistics at the Radiation Effects Research Foundation, Hiroshima/Nagasaki, Japan

Organizers: Dan Stram, Dale Preston
Speakers: (5)

Overview of RERF research and collaborative opportunities – Harry Cullings, Radiation Effects Research Foundation, Japan

Dr. Ross is former Chief Statistician for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the current Chair of the Statistics Department at the Radiation Effects Research Foundation.

Bayesian approaches for improving site-specific cancer risk estimates – David Pawel, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Dr. Pawel is a biostatistician whose involvement with the A-Bomb survivors (RERF) cohorts began in the early 1990s. Now at the US EPA, his research has focused upon the use and interpretation of the data from the RERF cohorts in regulation as well as many other topics relating results radiation epidemiology to practical issues in radiation protection.

Cardio-metabolic risk factors and radiation exposure in the RERF AHS study – Randy Carter, State University of New York at Buffalo

Dr. Randy Carter is Associate Chair for the Department of Biostatistics at the State University of New York at Buffalo. His involvement with the A-bomb survivors study began in the early 1990s. His interests in radiation effects focus upon main effects upon cardiovascular health and interactions between radiation exposure and other risk factors for cardiovascular health.

RERF Statistical Methods development use of Bayesian methods -- Kyoji Furukawa, Radiation Effects Research Foundation, Japan

Dr. Furukawa as a member of the Statistics Department at RERF is involved in all aspects of analysis of the A-bomb survivors’ data, with particular interest in developing Bayesian methods of risk estimation, individual risk projection, and assessing the probability of causation in the A-bomb survivors and among other exposed groups.
Discussant: Dale Preston, Hirosoft International


TUESDAY, JUNE 17

8:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Session 4: Biodosimetry for epidemiology:
Organizers: Ruth Kleinerman, Alice Sigurdson.
Speakers: (4)

How low can FISH biodosimetry reasonably go? -- James Tucker, Wayne State University

Dr. Tucker is Professor and Chair of the Department of Biology at Wayne State University, and is an internationally recognized cytogeneticist who helped pioneer the use of fluorescence in situ hybridization for the quantitative assessment of radiation exposure. He has utilized these and other tools to apply radiation biodosimetry to occupationally and medically exposed population.

Using biodosimetry to estimate doses in retrospective studies -- Andre Bouville, National Cancer Institute

Dr. Bouville of the Radiation Epidemiology Branch of the US National Cancer Instititute is well known in the international arena for his work in the field of radiation dosimetry. He serves on multiple international committees providing guidance on radiation exposure and risk of cancer. Dr. Bouville’s research includes studies of the Chernobyl accident, the Nevada Test Site, the Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site, and the U.S. Radiologic Technologist cohort.

RERF Statistical Methods development for biodosimetry data – C.Y. Wang, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research

Dr. Wang is a biostatistician and Member of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. Dr. Wang has made many contributions on the topics of missing data, measurement error models, longitudinal data, and survival analysis, as well as applications of statistical methods to epidemiological studies. He is now collaborating with RERF statisticians on the development of measurement error methodology for the joint analysis of biodosimetry and health outcome data.

Latest practical developments in tooth enamel EPR – John Zimbrick, Colorado State University

Dr. Zimbrick is Professor and Chair of the Department of Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences, Colorado State University. He is an internationally recognized radiation biochemist who did pioneering research on the use of EPR techniques to determine the spatial properties of trapped free radicals produced by ionizing radiation in various materials including tooth enamel. He has collaborated with scientists at RERF on EPR biodosimetric measurements of tooth enamel from A-bomb survivors.

Innovations for detecting radiation exposure in first responders -- Sally Amundson, Columbia University

Dr. Amundson is Associate Professor in the Department of Radiation Oncology at Columbia University. She is highly regarded internationally for her pioneering work in thigh throughput analysis of gene expressionfocusing on signatures of radiation exposure at high and low doses. While the field is rapidly changing, Dr. Amundson continues to be at the forefront of this dynamic field.
Discussant: Dan Stram, University of California

BANQUET SPEAKER: 7:15 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.
" Response to the polonium poisoning incident in the UK"
Dr John R Cooper
Deputy Director
Centre for Radiation, Chemical and Environmental Hazards Health Protection Agency of the UK


WEDNEDAY, JUNE 18

8:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Session 5: Medical and Diagnostic Radiation Exposures

Organizers: Lydia Zablotska, Cecile Ronckers, Alice Sigurdson, Martin Colman
Speakers: (5)

Cancer risks related to CT scan use in the US-- Amy Berrington de Gonzalez, National Cancer Institute

Dr. Berrington de Gonzales is currently with the Radiation Epidemiology Branch of the National Cancer Institute. Her research is focused on the development of novel statistical methods for risk projection and estimation of population burden of diseases in epidemiological studies. She has developed methodological approaches to estimate long-term health risks from exposures to low doses of ionizing radiation associated with major radiographic diagnostic procedures including x-rays and computer tomography.

Lung cancer in fluoroscopy patients- Massachusetts cohort -- Alina Brenner, National Cancer Institute

Dr. Brenner is a member of the Radiation Epidemiology Branch of the National Cancer Institute. Her research has been dedicated primarily to the study of long-term effects of protracted exposures to low doses of ionizing radiation. Her background and current research areas include thyroid disease following environmental I-131 exposure of the thyroid gland, cancer risks associated with a variety of radiation exposures; and etiology of brain tumors in adults.

Flourescence in situ hybridization and diagnostic radiation exposure in radiologic technologists– Parveen Bhatti, National Cancer Institute

Dr. Parveen Bhatti, as a member of the National Cancer Institute’s Radiation Epidemiology Branch, is an epidemiologist with research interests focused on gene-environment interaction, specifically in the area of radiation exposure and DNA repair polymorphisms. He has expertise in exposure assessment for chemical toxicants and has applied biomarkers, including FISH, for corroborating past ionizing radiation exposure for low doses and low dose-rates.

Analysis of breast cancer risk in the US scoliosis cohort study, with a detailed analysis of radiation-related risks & potential effect modifiers - Cecile Ronckers, Emma children’s Hospital, Netherlands

Dr. Ronckers is a member of the Department of Radiation Oncology at the Emma Children’s Hospital, Netherlands. Dr Ronckers’s research concerns long-term health effects of exposures in childhood and adolescence, in particular medical radiation and cancer treatments. She studied breast cancer risk related to radiation-exposure among women diagnosed with spinal disorders, as well as long-term mortality patterns in relation to disease characteristics.

Risk of cataract attributable to personal diagnostic radiation exposure among radiation technologists -- Alice Sigurdson, National Cancer Institute

Dr. Sigurdson is an investigator at the Radiation Epidemiology Branch of the National Cancer Institute. She is an expert on genes involved in the repair of DNA damage caused by radiation. She is particularly interested in evaluating translocations in chromosomes detected by FISH as a measure of low-LET radiation exposure as well as an intermediate marker for cancer risk, and the application of this technique to stable chromosome aberrations (SCAs) among a large cohort of radiologic technologists.

Discussants: Mark Little, Imperial College, London