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.

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is the Director of the Radiation Section of the Texas Department of State Health Services, where she has oversight of all aspects of the state's radiation control program, including licensing, operations, inspections, investigations, environmental monitoring, and emergency response, having a direct impact on the health and safety of the people of Texas through monitoring compliance with regulations. She started her radiation career as a radiological technologist before moving to the state as an inspector and then a trainer for the x-ray program.

Ms. Bruedigan was recently elected as the Chair-Elect of the Conference of Radiation Control Program Directors (CRCPD) and served two previous terms as Treasurer and as Member-at-Large. She also chairs two CRCPD committees and serves on four task forces. She is the current CRCPD liaison to the American College of Radiology. Ms. Bruedigan represented CRCPD at the International Atomic Energy Agencies (IAEA) conference on the Radiation Safety Culture in the United States and again on the efforts CRCPD has made to fulfill the Bonn Call to Action. She has also presented at a conference hosted by the World Institute of Nuclear Securities on the Texas 24-month storage rule for radioactive material. She recently gave a presentation on the U.S. Perspective of Radiation Safety in Non-Food Commodities at the 53rd Radiation Safety Standards Committee Meeting hosted by the IAEA.

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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.

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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.

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Director of the Center for Risk Communication, is one of the world’s leading experts and practitioners on risk, high stress, and crisis communications. He is the author of more than 150 articles in scientific journals and the author/editor of more than 20 books. Dr. Covello is a consultant, writer, speaker and teacher. He is a frequent keynote speaker and has conducted communication skills training for thousands.

Dr. Covello has served as a risk, high concern, and crisis communications adviser to numerous public and private sectors organizations. For example, he has worked with over 400 of the 500 Fortune 500 companies and with over 200 government agencies, including the World Health Organization, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Agency, and the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation. His work has been applied nationally and globally to a wide range of topics, including radiological incidents, disease outbreaks, industrial accidents, water contamination, air pollution, food safety, climate change, physician-patient communications, and organizational change. Most recently, he has worked closely with the 50 U.S. State Health Directors on their responses to questions from the media and the public on COVID-19.

Dr. Covello has received many awards for his work and has held numerous positions, including Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine and Environmental Sciences at the Columbia University School of Public Health, a program manager at the National Science Foundation, a study director at the National Academy of Sciences, President of the Society for Risk Analysis, and Vice-Chairperson of the Radiation Education, Risk Communication and Education Committee of NCRP. Dr. Covello obtained his BA with honors and MA from Cambridge University in England and his doctorate from Columbia University.

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is a scientist at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), where she conducted her postdoctoral research. She has authored more than 100 scientific publications, abstracts and presentations. Additionally, she has been invited to speak at numerous national and international conferences, as well as prestigious scientific gatherings.

Dr. Dumit has an impressive record of professional service, including roles as an associate editor for the Health Physics Journal, Council member of NCRP, member-mentee with the International Commission on Radiological Protection, and as a member of the U.S. delegation to IRPA16 (International Radiation Protection Association) (2024 to 2028).

Her achievements have been recognized through several prestigious awards, including the 2022 Elda E. Anderson Award from the Health Physics Society, the 2022 John D. Boice, Jr. Young Investigator Award from NCRP, and the 2024 Carl Storm Fellowship from the Gordon Research Conference (Metals in Medicine). Dr. Dumit is also a Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting Young Scientist (Alumna for 2022 and 2021), and a Young Leader of the Science and Technology in Society Forum (2024).

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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.

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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.

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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.

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is currently a fourth year Nuclear and Radiological Engineering PhD Candidate working as a Graduate Research Assistant in the Radiological Engineering, Detection, and Dosimetry Laboratory (RED²) in the space of Internal Dosimetry at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Currently, he is an active member of the Health Physics Society (HPS), Radiation Research Society (RRS), the American Nuclear Society, Council on Ionizing Radiation Measurement and Standards (CIRMS), and World Institute for Nuclear Security, demonstrating his active commitment for professional engagement. He has played a pivotal role in the success of the HPS conferences since 2022. He currently serves on the executive committee for CIRMS as a co-chair of the Radiation Protection and Homeland Security subcommittee supporting matters related to radiation protection and standards.

Mr. Mate-Kole has delivered a number of technical presentations nationally (HPS, RRS, CIRMS, Aerosol Dosimetry) and internationally (4th International Conference on Dosimetry and its Applications, International Radiation Protection Association) in areas related to internal dosimetry, including a number of invitations to serve as a course instructor in internal dosimetry, biokinetic modeling, radiation dosimetry and basis of computer programming as applied to radiation transport and dosimetry. He has authored and coauthored six scientific publications, one based on his master's research and five completed during his PhD studies at the time of his initial invitation to NCRP.

Mr. Mate-Kole has received multiple prestigious awards. He was the recipient of the HPS J. Newell Stannard Fellowship in the 2022/2023 academic year in recognition of his academic excellence, outstanding scientific contributions, and professional dedication to the field of health physics as a graduate student. In addition, he has received several competitive travel awards from both the RRS and HPS. On March 31, 2025, Mr. Mate-Kole received a prestigious PhD Research Excellence Award from the George W. Woodruff (GWW) School of Mechanical Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. This recognition celebrates his research accomplishments as a PhD student, including journal publications, conference presentations (nationally and internationally), patent co-authorships, and unique contributions to the GWW research enterprise. Beyond his research and professional endeavors, Mr. Mate-Kole has also excelled as a mentor, guiding both undergraduate and master’s students in their respective research endeavors.

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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.

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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.

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is an expert in radiation risk communication. As a member of NCRP’s Program Area Committee 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.

Jessica Wieder serves as the Director of Incident Communications Planning in the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Office of External Affairs. Ms. Wieder previously served as FEMA’s Deputy Director of Communications and Acting Deputy Director of Public Affairs and Planning. Prior to joining FEMA, Ms. Wieder was the Director of the Center for Radiation Information and Outreach at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) where 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 led the public communications contingency planning teams for the 2011 and 2020 Mars launches. With two decades of public service experience, Ms. Wieder remains dedicated to her passion for translating complex information into accessible content, empowering individuals to make informed decisions about their health and safety.

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