PAC 7: Radiation Education, Risk Communication, and Outreach

has over three decades’ experience in high-concern, low-trust public communications. He advises the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, lectures at Harvard University, and advises/educates both individuals and organizations on how to implement best practices in risk and crisis communication.

His diverse experience covers disease outbreaks, nuclear emergencies, natural disasters, outbreak investigations, product safety concerns, reorganizations and downsizing, budget cuts, rogue employee mitigations, health hazard evaluations, and strategic communications. As the Senior Vice President for Global Medical at Moderna, Dr. Hyer helped develop, communicate, and manage the global rollout of the Moderna COVID-19 mRNA vaccine. In 2017, he was pivotal in engaging the scientific, medical and policy communities to achieve Food and Drug Administration approval of a new adult hepatitis B vaccine (HEPLISAV-B®), the first vaccine using a truly novel adjuvant.

Board-certified in general preventive medicine and public health, Dr. Hyer earned his MD from Duke and trained at Walter Reed Hospital and Harvard. He received the PhD from the University of Oxford researching the genetics of juvenile diabetes. His studies won the National Institutes of Health "Outstanding Research Award for Clinical Trainees" and are widely cited.

At Oxford University, Dr. Hyer founded the biotechnology company, Alpha-Plus DNA. He also served as a U.S. Congressional Fellow for Senator Pete V. Domenici (R. -NM). Dr. Hyer helped introduce legislation to safeguard genetic privacy that eventually became the Genetic Information Non-discrimination Act (GINA) of 2008.

Dr. Hyer graduated with Distinction from the U.S. Naval Academy. Rising to the rank of Commander, his naval service included four major military combat operations in Europe and southwest Asia as well as three major complex humanitarian emergencies with Kosovo relief, Mozambique flood relief, and the Indian Ocean tsunami. Dr. Hyer also served as the Winter-Over Medical Officer at the McMurdo and South Pole Stations, Antarctica as the sole physician.

At the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva, Dr. Hyer served as a Medical Officer and Military Liaison. Among other duties, he helped facilitated the WHO response to various crisis such as anthrax, Ebola, the 2003 SARS outbreak, tsunamis, earthquakes, and pandemic influenza.

Dr. Hyer’s perspectives and contributions span his residing in eight and travelling to 100 plus countries in diverse roles across the public and private sectors.

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.

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.

is currently a Health Physicist at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and a Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting Alumna (2021). She earned her Ph.D. in pharmaceutical sciences from Washington State University. Her Doctoral research work was conducted at the U.S. Transuranium and Uranium Registries. Her Postdoctoral research work was completed at LANL’s Internal Dosimetry Group - Radiation Protection Division.

Her research in internal dosimetry focuses on the strategically important field of actinide biokinetics, especially where these biokinetics are affected by chelation treatment. Her areas of expertise include biokinetic model development, chelation modeling (plutonium-DTPA), and medical countermeasures after actinide intakes.

She serves as a Board Member of the European Radiation Dosimetry Group (EURADOS) ‘Working Group 7 on Internal Dosimetry’ at both Task Groups “Biokinetic Modeling of DTPA Therapy” (2016 – present) and “Internal Dosimetry in Case of Emergency” (2020 – present). She is also a Board Member of the Public Information Committee of the Health Physics Society (HPS) (2018 – present), and a Consultant for the ANSI N13.64 “Medical Management of Radiologically Contaminated Wounds” (2018 – present). She also serves as a Guest Lecturer on Internal Dosimetry at Northern New Mexico College, and as an Ad hoc reviewer for the Health Physics Journal.

Dr. Dumit has contributed numerous publications to the Radiation Protection literature and presented her research numerous times (nationally and internationally), including as invited speaker at the HPS meetings and EURADOS meetings.

Associate Professor, Health Physics, Colorado State University, has performed extensive research and taught in diverse areas of radiation safety including environmental, medical, and uranium mining over the last 15 y. He has authored or co-authored over 30 peer reviewed papers, three books, mentored over 30 graduate students, and is responsible for teaching five graduate classes. He has been the principal investigator for multiple research projects funded by the U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, and other agencies.

Dr. Johnson's work seeks to understand how contaminants move in the environment, the impact on biota and humans. Currently, he is focused on examining the environmental impact of the Fukushima Daiichi reactor accident and coordinating student research in the area. This work directly applies to his other area of interest, uranium mining and its impact on the environment.

a public health scientist and attorney, is an Associate Professor at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Division of Molecular and Translational Toxicology. He holds an MPH from Yale University School of Medicine, a DrPH from the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, and a JD degree from Vanderbilt University School of Law.

Dr. Locke's research and practice focus on how decision makers use environmental health science (toxicology, radiobiology, epidemiology) in regulation and policy making and how environmental health sciences influence the policy-making process. His areas of study include radiation risk communication, designing and evaluating radiation protection initiatives and radiation policies, radon risk reduction, safe disposal of high level radioactive waste, and use of computed tomography as a diagnostic screening tool. Dr. Locke directs the School's Doctor of Public Health program in Environmental Health Sciences.

Dr. Locke was a member of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) Nuclear and Radiation Studies Board from 2003 to 2009. He has served on seven National Academy committees, and is currently a member of an NAS committee that is tasked with providing an assessment of lessons learned from the Fukushima nuclear accident for improving the safety and security of nuclear plants in the United States. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of NCRP. He was program committee chair of the NCRP's 2010 annual meeting entitled "Communication of Radiation Benefits and Risks in Decision Making." Dr. Locke is admitted to practice law in the state of New York, the District of Columbia, the Southern District Court of New York, and the United States Supreme Court.

has served as a communicator for CDC’s Radiation Studies Section and was a lead communicator for the 2022 Cobalt Magnet exercise. In collaboration with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), she drafted the forthcoming radiation publication, Communicating in the Immediate Aftermath. Ms. Lutfy also works on risk communication for every-day radiation exposure including launching the CDC’s first Radon Awareness Week in 2021.

She has been active in several of CDC’s emergency responses, deploying to Liberia for the 2014 Ebola outbreak, and serving in the agency’s Joint Information Center for the Zika virus response, several hurricane responses, and as part of the initial communication team to work on the COVID-19 response.

Outside of emergency responses, Ms. Lutfy has held several risk communication roles. She served on CDC’s Crises and Emergency Risk Communication team, updating the most recent edition of the manual and developing training curricula. Ms. Lutfy has also worked on risk communication for the opioid crisis.

is a part-time consultant in nuclear and radiological environmental health. He retired from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in January 2014 after 22 y of service. At the time of his retirement, Dr. Miller was Chief of the Radiation Studies Branch, Division of Environmental Hazards and Health Effects, National Center for Environmental Health. In this position, he developed goals and objectives that integrated organization and environmental public health programs on the potential effects of exposure to radiation and radiation-related health research, including providing leadership for the agency’s radiological emergency response and consequence management efforts.

Previously, Dr. Miller worked with the Office of Environmental Safety, Illinois Department of Nuclear Safety (1986 to 1992); the Health and Safety Research Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (1976 to 1986); and was Assistant Professor of Physics, Anderson (Indiana) University (1967 to 1976). His primary areas of expertise are centered on the transport and dose assessment of radionuclides released to the atmosphere, other facets of environmental radiological dose assessment, and nuclear and radiological public health emergency preparedness. He has authored or coauthored over 100 journal articles, laboratory reports, and meeting papers. Dr. Miller is a Distinguished Emeritus Member of NCRP, and is a Fellow of the Health Physics Society. Dr. Miller holds a BS in Physics/Math from Ball State University, an MS in Meteorology from the University of Michigan, and a PhD in Bionucleonics (Health Physics) from Purdue University.

leads the integrated communications strategy, planning and execution for Exelon Generation, one of the largest, most efficient clean energy producers in the United States, with a generating capacity of more than 35,500 MW and a workforce of 11,500 employees. Exelon Generation operates the nation’s largest fleet of carbon-free nuclear plants and a diverse mix of wind, solar, landfill gas, hydroelectric, natural gas, and oil facilities. She also oversees communications for Constellation, a leading competitive energy retail supplier with two million customers. In her role, Ms. Rader leads a team of 30 employees in an integrated communications program that includes internal communications, media relations, executive positioning, digital and social media, and issues and crisis management. Her team focuses on enhancing and protecting the reputation of Exelon Generation and its assets with internal and external stakeholders, advancing employee engagement, and supporting the company’s policy and business objectives through effective communications.

is the Deputy Director of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Office of Web Communications. Formerly in EPA’s Center for Radiation Information and Outreach, Ms. Shogren has spent the majority of her career collaborating on radiation risk communication and radiation data visualization projects. Ms. Shogren supported EPA's communication efforts during the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident and has facilitated international panels on radiation risk communication in pediatric medical imaging, with a focus on patient advocacy and effective communication methods. Ms. Shogren was a key member of the expert working group led by the World Health Organization that developed the 2016 practical reference document, Communicating Radiation Risk in Paediatric Medical Imaging: Information to Support Healthcare Discussions About Benefit and Risk.

Jessica Wieder is an expert in radiation risk communication. As a member of NCRP’s Program Area on Radiation Education, Risk Communication and Outreach, Ms. Wieder helped write NCRP Report No. 179, Guidance for Emergency Response Dosimetry, and plan the outreach for high profile publications such as NCRP Report No. 180 on Management of Exposure to Ionizing Radiation: Radiation Protection Guidance for the United States (2018), and Commentary No. 27 on the Implications of Recent Epidemiologic Studies for the Linear-Nonthreshold Model and Radiation Protection. Also working through NCRP, Ms. Wieder and Brooke Buddemeier became TED educators on how to survive nuclear fallout.

Ms. Wieder is the Director of the Center for Radiation Information and Outreach at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). She served at EPA’s senior radiation public information officer during the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident, facilitated international panels on emergency response public communication, and was part of the contingency planning team for the 2011 launch of the Mars Science Laboratory. In 2013, she was awarded EPA's Exemplary Customer Service Award for her leadership in enabling all levels of government to provide quick, effective communications to the American people in response to large-scale radiological emergencies.

In 2010, Ms. Wieder was detailed to Federal Emergency Management Agency's Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and Explosives Branch, where she created the intergovernmental Nuclear/Radiological Communications Working Group. With her guidance, this group developed the nuclear detonation messaging document Improvised Nuclear Device Response and Recovery: Communicating in the Immediate Aftermath.