NCRP

Officers & Board of Directors

Officers

President Kathryn A. Higley

Kathryn A. Higley

is the seventh President of NCRP. Dr. Higley was first elected to the Council in 2014, appointed to the Board of Directors in 2023, and has been a member of the Budget and Finance Committee since 2022. She served on Council Committee (CC) 2 on Meeting the Needs of the Nation for Radiation Protection and CC 1, Radiation Protection Guidance for the United States. She has been a long-standing member of Program Area Committee 5, Environmental Radiation and Radioactive Waste Issues and has worked on Scientific Committees SC 46-17, Radiation Protection in Educational Institutions, and SC 64-23, Cesium in the Environment. She was a member of the 2016 Annual Meeting Program Committee on "Meeting the Needs of the Nation for Radiation Protection" and presented "Education or Training: Does it Matter?." Most recently she was Co-Chair of the 60th Annual Meeting of the NCRP (2024): Advanced and Small Modular Nuclear Power Reactors.

Dr. Higley is an Oregon State University (OSU) Distinguished Professor of Nuclear Science and Engineering. She was Head of OSU’s School of Nuclear Science and Engineering for more than a decade, and has been at Oregon State University since 1994, teaching undergraduate and graduate topics on radioecology, dosimetry, radiation protection, radiochemistry, and radiation biology. She has held Reactor Operator and Senior Reactor Operator's licenses and is a former Reactor Supervisor for the Reed College TRIGA reactor. Dr. Higley started her career as a Radioecologist for Portland General Electric. She later worked for the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory as a Senior Research Scientist in environmental health physics. She was Vice Chair of the International Commission on Radiological Protection's Committee 4 (Application of the Commission's Recommendations). She is a fellow of the Health Physics Society and a Certified Health Physicist.

Her areas of interest include environmental transport and fate of radionuclides, radioecology, radiochemistry, radiation dose assessment, nuclear emergency response, environmental regulations, and risk communication.

Kathryn A. Higley
Senior Vice President Bushberg-J

JERROLD T. BUSHBERG

Bushberg-J

is a Clinical Professor of Radiology and Clinical Professor of Radiation Oncology at the University of California (UC) Davis School of Medicine. He holds the title of Director Emeritus Medical/Health Physics Programs and retired as Associate Chair of the Department of Radiology in 2018. He is currently Chair of the Board of Directors and Senior Vice President of NCRP. He is an expert on the biological effects, safety and interactions of ionizing and nonionizing radiation and holds multiple radiation detection technology patents. With over 40 y of experience, he has served as a subject matter expert and an advisor to government agencies and institutions throughout the nation and around the world, including the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health, the World Health Organization, and the International Atomic Energy Agency in the areas of ionizing and nonionizing radiation protection, risk communication, medical physics, and radiological emergency medical management.

In 2016, Dr. Bushberg was appointed Vice Chair of the Committee on Man and Radiation, which is a Technical Committee of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Engineering (IEEE) in Medicine and Biology Society. In addition, he is an elected member of the IEEE International Committee on Electromagnetic Safety and was recently appointed by the U.S. Health Physics Society as its representative to the International Radiation Protection Organization Committee on Non-ionizing Radiation Safety.

Former Commander in the U.S. Naval Reserve, among other assignments, CDR Bushberg served as Executive Officer of the Chemical/Biological/Nuclear Technical Unit 120 Pacific, a highly skilled multidisciplinary military emergency response and advisory team based out of the Alameda Naval Air Station in California.

Dr. Bushberg is an elected fellow of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine and the Health Physics Society. He is certified by several national professional boards with specific subspecialty certification in radiation protection and medical physics and served as a Director and Vice Chair of the American Board of Medical Physics from 2018 to 2022.

In 2014, Dr. Bushberg was awarded the NCRP Warren K. Sinclair Medal for Excellence in Radiation Science and received the Professor John C. Christiansen Distinguished Alumnus award from Purdue University School of Health Sciences in 2016.

Prior to coming to the UC Davis Health System as technical director of Nuclear Medicine, Dr. Bushberg was on the faculty of Yale University School of Medicine Department of Radiology, where his research focused on radiopharmaceutical development. Dr. Bushberg has had responsibility for postgraduate medical education in medical physics, radiation (ionizing and nonionizing) biology, and protection for more than 30 y. The fourth edition of the textbook, The Essential Physics of Medical Imaging, authored by Bushberg, Seibert, Leidholdt, and Boone, is used extensively in radiology residency programs throughout the United States.

jerrold t. bushberg
Secretary LA AtwellLaura J. Atwell
Treasurer Myrna A. Young

Board of Directors

Bushberg-J

JERROLD T. BUSHBERG

Bushberg-J

is a Clinical Professor of Radiology and Clinical Professor of Radiation Oncology at the University of California (UC) Davis School of Medicine. He holds the title of Director Emeritus Medical/Health Physics Programs and retired as Associate Chair of the Department of Radiology in 2018. He is currently Chair of the Board of Directors and Senior Vice President of NCRP. He is an expert on the biological effects, safety and interactions of ionizing and nonionizing radiation and holds multiple radiation detection technology patents. With over 40 y of experience, he has served as a subject matter expert and an advisor to government agencies and institutions throughout the nation and around the world, including the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health, the World Health Organization, and the International Atomic Energy Agency in the areas of ionizing and nonionizing radiation protection, risk communication, medical physics, and radiological emergency medical management.

In 2016, Dr. Bushberg was appointed Vice Chair of the Committee on Man and Radiation, which is a Technical Committee of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Engineering (IEEE) in Medicine and Biology Society. In addition, he is an elected member of the IEEE International Committee on Electromagnetic Safety and was recently appointed by the U.S. Health Physics Society as its representative to the International Radiation Protection Organization Committee on Non-ionizing Radiation Safety.

Former Commander in the U.S. Naval Reserve, among other assignments, CDR Bushberg served as Executive Officer of the Chemical/Biological/Nuclear Technical Unit 120 Pacific, a highly skilled multidisciplinary military emergency response and advisory team based out of the Alameda Naval Air Station in California.

Dr. Bushberg is an elected fellow of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine and the Health Physics Society. He is certified by several national professional boards with specific subspecialty certification in radiation protection and medical physics and served as a Director and Vice Chair of the American Board of Medical Physics from 2018 to 2022.

In 2014, Dr. Bushberg was awarded the NCRP Warren K. Sinclair Medal for Excellence in Radiation Science and received the Professor John C. Christiansen Distinguished Alumnus award from Purdue University School of Health Sciences in 2016.

Prior to coming to the UC Davis Health System as technical director of Nuclear Medicine, Dr. Bushberg was on the faculty of Yale University School of Medicine Department of Radiology, where his research focused on radiopharmaceutical development. Dr. Bushberg has had responsibility for postgraduate medical education in medical physics, radiation (ionizing and nonionizing) biology, and protection for more than 30 y. The fourth edition of the textbook, The Essential Physics of Medical Imaging, authored by Bushberg, Seibert, Leidholdt, and Boone, is used extensively in radiology residency programs throughout the United States.

jerrold t. bushberg , Chair
Buddemeier B

BROOKE R. BUDDEMEIER

Buddemeier B

is an associate program leader in the Global Security Directorate of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). He supports the Risk and Consequence Management Division in their efforts to evaluate the potential risk and consequence of radiological and nuclear terrorism. Mr. Buddemeier is a member of NCRP and served on the scientific committees which developed Commentary No. 19 - Key Elements of Preparing Emergency Responders for Nuclear and Radiological Terrorism (2005) and NCRP Report No. 165 – Responding to a Radiological or Nuclear Terrorism Incident: A Guide for Decision Makers (2010).

From 2003 through 2007, he was on assignment with the Department of Homeland Security's as the weapons of mass destruction emergency response and consequence management program manager for Science and Technology's emergency preparedness and response portfolio. He supported Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Homeland Security Operations Center as a radiological emergency response subject matter expert. He also facilitated the department's research, development, test and evaluation process to improve emergency response through better capabilities, protocols and standards. Prior to that, he was part of the LLNL Nuclear Counterterrorism Program and coordinated LLNL's involvement in the National Nuclear Security Administration's Radiological Assistance Program (RAP) for California, Nevada and Hawaii.

RAP is a national emergency response resource that assists federal, state and local authorities in the event of a radiological incident. As part of RAP's outreach efforts, Mr. Buddemeier has provided radiological responder training and instrumentation workshops to police, firefighters, and members of other agencies throughout the nation and abroad. He has also provided operational health physics support for various radiochemistry, plutonium handling, accelerator and dosimetry operations. He is Certified Health Physicist who received his Master's in Radiological Health Physics from San Jose State University and a BS in Nuclear Engineering from the University of California, Santa Barbara.

brooke r. buddemeier

Manuela Buonanno

is an Assistant Professor of Radiation Oncology at the Center for Radiological Research at Columbia University. Her work concerns the biological effects of ionizing radiation. Her current studies aim at exploiting the biophysical properties of ionizing radiation [low-energy transfer (LET), dose, dose rate] to devise more effective radiotherapy treatments. Her research interests include the effects of high dose rates (FLASH) of protons, and the stimulation of the immune response by different types of radiation (LET). Dr. Buonanno also investigates antimicrobial applications of far ultraviolet (UVC) light, including prevention of surgical site infections and viral transmission. A long-standing member of the Radiation Research Society (RRS), Dr. Buonanno is Chair of the Education and Website Committee, she produces scientific podcasts for RRS and teaches radiation sciences to students, scientists in other fields, and the general public. She received her BS in physics from the University of Naples ‘‘Federico II’’ in Italy and her PhD in biophysics from Rutgers University. In 2016, she was awarded the Jack Fowler Award by the RRS and the University of Wisconsin.

Manuela Buonanno

Polly Y. Chang

Polly Y. Chang

is the Scientific Director of the Non-clinical Development Program in SRI International's Biosciences Division. Dr. Chang received her BA in mammalian physiology, MA in bioradiology, and PhD in radiation biology/biophysics from the University of California, Berkeley. She is the principal investigator (PI) on a number of National Institute of Health, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), and commercially-sponsored projects, using both in vitro and in vivo model systems to understand mechanisms of radiation injury and efficacy of medical countermeasures. As PI for the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases-supported medical countermeasure product development program, she and her team conducted a battery of studies that contributed to the Food and Drug Administration's approval of Romiplostim for hematopoietic syndrome under the Animal Rule. During her tenure at SRI, Dr. Chang has led multiple nonclinical product development programs for vaccines, biologics, metal decorporation agents, and small molecules that have resulted in over 10 approved investigational new drug applications. In collaboration with a team of SRI investigators, she is working on a BARDA-funded biodosimetry project to develop a hand-held field-deployable device for early detection of radiation exposure and triage. She has served on NCRP Scientific Committees for Report No. 181 on the evaluation of the biological effectiveness of low energy photons and electrons in inducing cancers in humans and Report No. 183 on radiation exposure in space and the potential for central nervous system effects.

Polly Y. Chang

Willie O. Harris

has over 42 y of experience in radiation protection at power reactors, which has included over 25 y in program management and oversight. Prior to retirement he was the corporate radiation protection manager of the largest fleet of nuclear power plants in the United States. He is currently Senior Director of Radiation Protection for CN Associates. In this role, he has written several technical reports for the Electric Power Research Institute, provides consulting services for several sites in decommissioning and operational radiation protection programs at nuclear power plants.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in radiation protection. He is a certified health physicist, a registered radiation protection technologist, and held a senior reactor operator certification.

Mr. Harris has served on the Council since 2017 and is a member Program Area Committee 2 and the budget committee. He has been a member of the Health Physics Society since 1990. He is currently the Secretary for the AAHP Executive committee.

Willie O. Harris

Kathryn A. Higley

Kathryn A. Higley

is the seventh President of NCRP. Dr. Higley was first elected to the Council in 2014, appointed to the Board of Directors in 2023, and has been a member of the Budget and Finance Committee since 2022. She served on Council Committee (CC) 2 on Meeting the Needs of the Nation for Radiation Protection and CC 1, Radiation Protection Guidance for the United States. She has been a long-standing member of Program Area Committee 5, Environmental Radiation and Radioactive Waste Issues and has worked on Scientific Committees SC 46-17, Radiation Protection in Educational Institutions, and SC 64-23, Cesium in the Environment. She was a member of the 2016 Annual Meeting Program Committee on "Meeting the Needs of the Nation for Radiation Protection" and presented "Education or Training: Does it Matter?." Most recently she was Co-Chair of the 60th Annual Meeting of the NCRP (2024): Advanced and Small Modular Nuclear Power Reactors.

Dr. Higley is an Oregon State University (OSU) Distinguished Professor of Nuclear Science and Engineering. She was Head of OSU’s School of Nuclear Science and Engineering for more than a decade, and has been at Oregon State University since 1994, teaching undergraduate and graduate topics on radioecology, dosimetry, radiation protection, radiochemistry, and radiation biology. She has held Reactor Operator and Senior Reactor Operator's licenses and is a former Reactor Supervisor for the Reed College TRIGA reactor. Dr. Higley started her career as a Radioecologist for Portland General Electric. She later worked for the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory as a Senior Research Scientist in environmental health physics. She was Vice Chair of the International Commission on Radiological Protection's Committee 4 (Application of the Commission's Recommendations). She is a fellow of the Health Physics Society and a Certified Health Physicist.

Her areas of interest include environmental transport and fate of radionuclides, radioecology, radiochemistry, radiation dose assessment, nuclear emergency response, environmental regulations, and risk communication.

Kathryn A. Higley

HELEN A. GROGAN

is President of Cascade Scientific, Inc., an environmental consulting firm. Dr. Grogan received her PhD from Imperial College of Science and Technology at the University of London in 1984 and has more than 25 y of experience in radioecology, environmental dose reconstruction, and the assessment of radioactive and nonradioactive hazardous wastes. She first worked at the Paul Scherrer Institute in Switzerland on the performance assessment of radioactive waste disposal for the Swiss National Cooperative for the Disposal of Radioactive Waste (Nagra). Dr. Grogan was actively involved in the early international cooperative efforts to test models designed to quantify the transfer and accumulation of radionuclides and other trace substances in the environment.

Validation of computer models developed to predict the fate and transport of radionuclides in the environment remains a key interest of hers. In 1989 Dr. Grogan returned to the United Kingdom as a senior consultant to Intera Information Technologies before moving to the United States a few years later, where she has worked closely with Risk Assessment Corporation managing the technical aspects of a wide variety of projects that tend to focus on public health risk from environmental exposure to chemicals and radionuclides. Dr. Grogan has served on committees for the National Academy of Sciences, the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.S. Environment Protection Agency, and NCRP. She co-edited the text book Radiological Risk Assessment and Environmental Analysis published by Oxford University Press in July 2008, and authored the chapter on Model Validation.

helen a. grogan

Derek W. Jokisch

is Professor of Physics and Chair of the Department of Physics and Engineering at Francis Marion University. He also holds a Joint Faculty Appointment in the Center for Radiation Protection Knowledge at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. He earned his BS in Nuclear Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1995. He earned his MS and PhD in Nuclear Engineering Sciences (Health Physics) at the University of Florida in 1997 and 1999, respectively, while supported by a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Nuclear Energy/Health Physics Fellowship. Dr. Jokisch serves as a member of Committee 2 of the International Commission on Radiological Protection and as a member of the U.S. Scientific Review Group for the DOE’s Russian Health Studies Program. The Health Physics Society awarded him the Elda E. Anderson Award in 2010 and Francis Marion University awarded him the J. Lorin Mason Distinguished Professor Award in 2011. Dr. Jokisch’s research has involved multiple aspects of internal dosimetry, including energy deposition of charged particles in the skeleton, the computation of specific absorbed fractions for reference individuals, the calculation of internal dose coefficients, and the biokinetics of radioactive decay chains.

Derek W. Jokisch

Rebecca Milman

is an Imaging Medical Physicist and Associate Professor at the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Aurora, Colorado. Dr. Marsh is a graduate of the University of Texas Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences in Houston, Texas, and completed her imaging residency at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. She is certified by the American Board of Radiology in Diagnostic Medical Physics.

Dr. Marsh participates in a wide range of volunteer activities with the American Association of Physicists in Medicine and the American Board of Radiology. Currently, she provides clinical services for x-ray-based imaging modalities and has a specific interest in promoting sensibility in the practice of clinical medical physics. Her primary professional goal is to help provide healthcare professionals and patients with accurate and consistent information about radiation risk from diagnostic imaging procedures.

Rebecca Milman

SeibertJA

J. Anthony Seibert

SeibertJA

is Professor of Radiology at the University of California (UC) Davis School of Medicine in Sacramento, California. He received a PhD in Radiological Sciences from UC Irvine in 1982, specializing in quantitative digital fluoroscopic imaging. Directly thereafter, he took a faculty position at UC Davis Medical Center, pursuing digital imaging research, physics education efforts for graduate students and radiology residents, as well as quality control for medical imaging equipment in Diagnostic Radiology. He has continuing academic interests in digital mammography, computed tomography, interventional radiology, imaging informatics, and radiation dose tracking, assessment, and reporting. Former president of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) in 2011 and current Governor of the American Board of Radiology, Dr. Seibert has served and continues to interact with many professional committees in regards to medical imaging issues and presenting technical / educational events for the AAPM, International Atomic Energy Agency, and other professional societies. For NCRP, he is a member of Program Area Committee 4. As a co-author of The Essential Physics of Medical Imaging textbook for diagnostic physics education, Dr. Seibert continues with the development of cutting edge imaging technologies and medical physics education to improve the state of imaging science for the betterment of patient care.

J. Anthony Seibert

StoryM

MICHAEL D. STORY

StoryM

is a professor at the University of Texas (UT) Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas. Dr. Story earned his PhD from Colorado State University. He holds the David A. Pistenmaa, MD, PhD Distinguished Chair in Radiation Oncology, serves as Vice-Chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology, Chief of the Section of Molecular Radiation Biology, and Director of the Pre-clinical Radiation Core Facility. Dr. Story serves on the editorial board of Mutagenesis, Scientific Reports, Translational Cancer Research and the Publications Committee of the Congress of Space Research (COSPAR). Dr. Story is a member of the Scientific Program sub-Committee and Executive Committee of the Particle Therapy Cooperative Group (PTCOG). Dr. Story is also a member of the Board of Directors of NCRP.

Dr. Story directs the radiobiology course for the Medical Physics graduate program and the Radiation Oncology medical resident program and was a faculty member for National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Space Radiation Summer School. Dr. Story's research is focused on five areas associated with radiation exposure: (1) delineating the effects of novel superoxide dismutase compounds that can act as both radioprotector and radiosensitizer in the same setting; (2) understanding and exploiting the biological effects of tumor treating fields in combination with radiation and/or chemotherapy agents; (3) developing biomarkers of the radioresponse of lung and liver tissues to high linear-energy transfer radiation exposures, including the development of biomarkers of carcinogenic risk; (4) enhancement of carbon ion radiotherapy for pancreatic and head and neck cancers; and (5) identification of genomic or epigenomic factors that predict or are prognostic for the radioresponse in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Dr. Story's research is funded by the National Cancer Institute, NASA, the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, and industry.

michael d. story

Julie M. Sullivan

is a biologist at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Center for Devices and Radiological Health where she reviews medical devices involved in radiation therapy to ensure their safe and effective use. She is also involved in FDA working groups related to medical countermeasures against radiation exposure. Prior to joining the FDA, Dr. Sullivan was an American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Science and Technology Policy Fellow and contractor in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Emergency Management under the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response. There, she helped develop nationwide response plans for radiological and nuclear incidents and focused on the operational needs for the use of biodosimetry. Prior to working for the government, Dr. Sullivan was a post-doctoral associate at Duke University where her research focused on elucidating the role of p53 in the hematopoietic and gastrointestinal Acute Radiation Syndromes. Dr. Sullivan received her BS in Chemistry from the State University of New York Geneseo and her PhD in Biological Chemistry from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Julie M. Sullivan

Jeffrey J. Whicker

Jeffrey J. Whicker

worked at Los Alamos National Laboratory as a health physicist and scientist for over 30 y. He received an MS in Health Physics and a PhD in Environmental and Radiological Health Science from Colorado State University and is certified by the American Board of Health Physics. Dr. Whicker is an elected Board Member of NCRP, served as a Board Member of the Health Physics Society, consulted for the International Atomic Energy Agency since 2018 on environmental sampling and remediation decisions, and was on the Editorial Board for the journal Radiation Protection Dosimetry for 8 y. He has been the recipient of numerous achievement awards including the U.S. Department of Energy Secretary’s Honor Award (2020). He is an author or co-author of hundreds of scientific publications, invited talks, book chapters, and presentations mostly on indoor and outdoor radiological air quality and measurements that span issues ranging from worker protection, homeland security, radiological dose and risk assessment for the public and the environment, and environmental quality. His research in outdoor air quality focused on aerosol transport through wind-driven suspension of contaminated soil and the effects of ecosystem disturbance on environmental transport rates. This research has broad implications for both public and ecosystem health.

Jeffrey J. Whicker

Support Personnel

Ethics Contact Kathryn A. Higley

Kathryn A. Higley

is the seventh President of NCRP. Dr. Higley was first elected to the Council in 2014, appointed to the Board of Directors in 2023, and has been a member of the Budget and Finance Committee since 2022. She served on Council Committee (CC) 2 on Meeting the Needs of the Nation for Radiation Protection and CC 1, Radiation Protection Guidance for the United States. She has been a long-standing member of Program Area Committee 5, Environmental Radiation and Radioactive Waste Issues and has worked on Scientific Committees SC 46-17, Radiation Protection in Educational Institutions, and SC 64-23, Cesium in the Environment. She was a member of the 2016 Annual Meeting Program Committee on "Meeting the Needs of the Nation for Radiation Protection" and presented "Education or Training: Does it Matter?." Most recently she was Co-Chair of the 60th Annual Meeting of the NCRP (2024): Advanced and Small Modular Nuclear Power Reactors.

Dr. Higley is an Oregon State University (OSU) Distinguished Professor of Nuclear Science and Engineering. She was Head of OSU’s School of Nuclear Science and Engineering for more than a decade, and has been at Oregon State University since 1994, teaching undergraduate and graduate topics on radioecology, dosimetry, radiation protection, radiochemistry, and radiation biology. She has held Reactor Operator and Senior Reactor Operator's licenses and is a former Reactor Supervisor for the Reed College TRIGA reactor. Dr. Higley started her career as a Radioecologist for Portland General Electric. She later worked for the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory as a Senior Research Scientist in environmental health physics. She was Vice Chair of the International Commission on Radiological Protection's Committee 4 (Application of the Commission's Recommendations). She is a fellow of the Health Physics Society and a Certified Health Physicist.

Her areas of interest include environmental transport and fate of radionuclides, radioecology, radiochemistry, radiation dose assessment, nuclear emergency response, environmental regulations, and risk communication.

Kathryn A. Higley
EEO Contact Myrna A. Young
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Last modified: March 27, 2024