Fostering Interdisciplinary Research In Ionizing Radiation

The Radiation Epidemiology Branch (REB)—in collaboration with Georgetown University Medical Center, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the Environmental Protection Agency, Helmholtz Zentrum München, and the European Union—funded and organized a three-day conference in May, titled Late Health Effects of Ionizing Radiation: Bridging the Experimental and Epidemiologic Divide, at Georgetown University in Washington, DC. This international conference fostered interdisciplinary research by stimulating collaboration and synergistic interactions among epidemiologists, statisticians, radiobiologists, and dosimetrists. Elaine Ron, Ph.D. (REB), and Dr. Peter Jacob, Helmholtz Zentrum München, cochaired the conference; Martha S. Linet, M.D., M.P.H., Chief of REB, served on the organizing committee; and Dr. Albert Fornace, Georgetown University Medical Center, hosted the event. Jenna Nober and Abigail Ukwuani, M.P.A. (both in REB), along with Jennifer Donaldson (formerly of REB and now a private contractor) and Karen Howenstein (Georgetown University), coordinated the conference.

Approximately 150 researchers from 11 countries participated in the conference, which featured 36 invited speakers from the fields of epidemiology, biostatistics, cell biology, radiobiology, genetics, physics, nuclear engineering, and radiation protection. Two sessions, including more than 75 posters, covered a wide range of radiation-related topics. To encourage junior investigators to pursue careers in radiation research, five travel fellowships were awarded, based on submitted abstracts.

Several REB investigators gave invited presentations. Dr. Ron spoke about radiation-related risks of non-malignant thyroid diseases, Dr. Linet reviewed cancer risks in medical radiation workers, and Alina V. Brenner, M.D., Ph.D. (REB), discussed the incidence of thyroid cancer following iodine-131 exposure from the Chernobyl disaster. Amy Berrington de Gonzalez, D. Phil. (REB), presented the risk of second solid cancers among breast cancer survivors and estimated the fraction of those cancers attributable to radiotherapy. In addition, Dr. Ron chaired a session on radiation risk and the public; Ruth A. Kleinerman, M.P.H. (REB), chaired one on late health effects of radiation therapy; and Kiyohiko Mabuchi, M.D., Dr.P.H. (REB), led a session on radiation-related cardiovascular disease.

The sessions highlighted the need to develop models to study genetic damage and repair following low-dose radiation exposures, mechanistic modeling of radiation effects, the importance of stem cell biology in understanding radiation carcinogenesis, and new methods for retrospectively quantifying radiologic procedures. Recent occupational data have suggested that the dose response for cancer risk from chronic radiation exposure is consistent with that from acute exposure and that underground miners may have an elevated risk of extrapulmonary cancers associated with radon. In response to the new interest in radiation-related, non-malignant diseases, speakers presented data on cardiovascular damage, cataracts, immune function, and thyroid diseases. The concluding talks focused on risks and benefits of computed tomography, radiation risk perception, and radiation-related communication and policy.

The conference closed with a round-table discussion, cochaired by Alice J. Sigurdson, Ph.D. (REB), emphasizing new directions in radiation research from the perspectives of experts in radiation oncology, epidemiology, molecular biology, and genetics. The discussion highlighted areas of mutual interest, identified gaps in knowledge, and proposed several possible future collaborations between epidemiologists and laboratory scientists to investigate further questions about radiation-related diseases. Papers from invited speakers will be published.

—Ruth A. Kleinerman, M.P.H., and Elaine Ron, Ph.D.

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