A Global RRS at Work
by Bill Bernhard, Past-President

As part of its effort to support the 12^th ICRR in Brisbane, the RRS will NOT hold an annual meeting in 2003. This decision was arrived at by the 138^th Council in Dublin after considerable discussion. The issues (described more fully in the December 1998 rrsNews) center on scientific program, society operations, and financial cost. Mechanisms for dealing with RRS concerns were formulated by Council and are being implemented as described below.

Scientific program. RRS Council will recommend four members, one from each discipline, to sit on the ICRR Program Committee. Roger Martin, Secretary-General of the Organizing Committee, presented the Pilot Program Committee in Dublin. Most, if not all, of the Pilot Program Committee are members of the RRS and two are officers of RRS, Liz Travis and myself. Under the chairmanship of Martin Lavin, the Program Committee promises to have the interdisciplinary and international representation that is the hallmark of the ICRR.

Society operations. The professional management group employed by the ICRR will work closely with the management of the RRS to coordinate and schedule all RRS business and events. The RRS will have access to space and time slots so as to conduct Society business without significant conflicts. Business and events specific to the RRS will be clearly listed in the ICRR program book. The RRS business meeting, for example, will be at a time and place that facilitates attendance. The venue for the Failla lecture, probably our most important event, will receive careful consideration. Our hosts in Dublin set a magnificent standard for this event.

Financial Cost. Registration and hotel costs are expected to be relatively modest. Airfares are not as high as one might guess. US fares can be found in the $700-$900 range. Canada, Europe and Japan should be comparable. Still no matter how you cut it, travel costs for members from Europe and North America will be higher than for a meeting held in North America. In order to ameliorate this cost, the RRS and the ICRR Organizing Committee will make a major effort to recruit funds for travel support of attendees. Travel awards should be both numerous and substantial. A major concern of the RRS Council is the attendance of young investigators; it must be strong. To this end, young investigator awards will be increased substantially. At a minimum, the goal is to support the cost of airfare for most if not all young investigators.

It is my hope that the 12^th ICRR sets a precedent that changes our Society's policy. That is, in the year of an ICRR there would not be separate RRS meeting. The radiation research community needs to be represented by a global organization, a global RRS.

Radiation Controversies in the News
by Roger Macklis

Several news stories focusing on radiation and its health effects have popped up in the popular media in the last few months. The National Research Council Board on Radiation Effects Research (directed by Evan Douple) continues to consider the question of whether the health effects of low dose ionizing radiation need to be re-evaluated in light of recent epidemiologic data suggesting that the linear no-threshold model may overstate the risks of very low doses (1). A 16-member committee was recently appointed by the National Research Council to continue their consideration of whether radiation protection standards should be modified. The membership of this Council was immediately criticized by nuclear watchdog groups who felt that the committee was stacked with academicians who have publicly supported relaxing the current radiation exposure guidelines. The committee meeting was postponed, and the committee makeup is currently being reconsidered. Additional members may be added to the group in order to better reflect the diverse public opinions and confusing data on which health recommendations must be based.

Moving to the EMF controversy, the hypothesis that biological effects of electromagnetic fields are mediated by changes in cellular calcium signaling was dealt a serious blow recently when an investigation at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory resulted in the retraction of two key 1992 papers purporting to show reproducible physiologic effects. The principal investigator was found guilty of scientific misconduct involving the deliberate falsification of data in the manuscripts (2,3). The specific accusations involved selective elimination of data that do not support the research hypothesis. The re-examination of the data was prompted by a scientific whistleblower who questioned the validity of the work. Investigators working in this field continue to be plagued by suggestive epidemiologic research indicating possible health effects of EMF exposure without a coherent scientific hypothesis to explain the physiology of these epidemiologic findings.

Finally, a front-page story in the Wall Street Journal focused on a private campaign to expose the putative detrimental effects of nasopharyngeal radium treatments for enlarged adenoids (4) For many years, the application of local radium was a standard and effective technique to shrink enlarged lymphatic tissue. According to the article, between 500,000 and 2.5 million Americans were exposed to these treatments in the middle part of this century. Although many medical investigators who have analyzed this experience suggest that close medical follow-up is appropriate for this patient group, data correlating nasopharyngeal radium treatments with the subsequent development of head and neck tumors are minimal. The WSJ article focuses on a 53-year-old health crusader who has made the investigation of the nasal radium controversy his life's work. At great personal expense and against the wishes of his family, this investigator continues to push for political action, large-scale medical studies, and global patient re-call examinations. By compiling a detailed website on the procedure (http://www.delphi.com/carsreap/) this former nuclear engineer is hoping to identify large numbers of patients who can show that they have suffered from the radium treatments. He then hopes to interest law firms in initiating tort actions against physicians and institutions involved in the work. At the time the article was written, all major law firms had apparently declined to pursue litigation, leaving the investigator to press forward on his own.

1. Kaiser J. NRC pulled into radiation risks brawl. Science 285:176-177 (1999).

2. Broad W. Power line-cancer link data faked in study, agency says. New York Times, reprinted in Cleveland Plain Dealer 7/24/99.

3. Kingwell M. A shock to the system. New York Times (Sunday Magazine supplement) 8/8/99, p. 15-16.

4. Maremount M. A crusade to publicize an old risk affects few but the crusader. Wall Street Journal 7/26/99, p. 1.4.

The Shape of Things To Come
by Paul Strudler

I draw your attention to the July 30^th issue of Science, pages 666-667. Printed there is a "Policy Forum" article entitled "Proposed Changes for NIH's Center for Scientific Review", authored by a 16 person panel, the "Panel on Scientific Boundaries for Review", chaired by Bruce Alberts, the President of the National Academy of Sciences. Associated with it is a 21 page detailed report available on the Web at http://www.csr.nih.gov/bioopp/select.htm. If you turn to the NIH for grants to support your research, these two articles should be in the "must read" category.

Some 50+ years ago, when the NIH began to fund grants to the extramural community, some five panels were formed, each to consider a different sector of the scientific enterprise. The organization which is the lineal descendent of the original committees, the Center for Scientific Review (CSR), contains over 100 such committees, which we know as "study sections". In large measure, the evolution from 5 to 100+ has been driven by application volume. Thus, in 1955, when the Radiation Study Section (RAD) was chartered (I have copies of the original documents), all of nuclear imaging and radiobiology research was included. Over time, as the number of proposals grew beyond the number that 20+ scientists could review well in a three day meeting, a separate study section evolved, Radiology and Nuclear Medicine study section (RNM), and recently, RNM was also split into two parts, RNM and DMG (the latter being named Diagnostic Imaging).

About 75% of the approximately 40,000 applications submitted yearly to the NIH are reviewed in the organization of which I am a staff member, the CSR. Presently, CSR includes study sections organized around basic scientific disciplines (biochemistry, biophysics). But also, there are study sections organized around disease states, organ systems, and physical agents. There has been no central organizing principle(s). And because of the method by which relative scientific merit of a grant proposal is determined, the very existence of a permanent study section has great impact on the portfolio of research projects supported by the Institutes and Centers of the NIH.

To quote the Science article: "..there has been no overall assessment as to whether current IRGs (Integrated Review Groups) and study sections are properly configured to respond to existing and future research opportunities, so as to best promote the public's long-range health goals".The "Boundaries" panel has undertaken that difficult and complex assignment, and in the process has also "outlined some cultural norms that we believe should govern the CSR review process". Now your comments are invited. As the panel notes, "we intend to complete the Phase I framework in November, 1999, after considering your comments and suggestions. We request that these be submitted by 15 October, 1999 via the electronic mechanism that is supplied on the Web Site containing the full report."

These documents will make you think about the norms, values, and process of NIH peer review (and probably peer review in general). I urge all of you to read the documents carefully, and take advantage of the opportunity to respond.
Paul K. Strudler, Ph.D.
Telephone: (301) 435-1716
e-mail: Strudlep@csr.nih.gov

From the Radiation Research Editorial Office
by Martha Edington

The special publications that appear periodically in regular issues of the Journal or as supplements are designed to keep the readership informed about the many different areas of research that make up the radiation sciences. While each special publication brings additional work, it also brings new authors and readers to the Journal and enhances the role of both the Journal and the Society. We are pleased to report that several such publications are upcoming later this year and throughout next year. The first is a supplement containing the proceedings of the Workshop on the Health Effects of Thorotrast, Radium, Radon and Other Alpha Emitters held in Tokyo in January 1999. Two other supplements, one containing a collection of peer-reviewed papers presenting results of studies funded by the EMF-RAPID program of NIEHS and a second containing the proceedings of the ICRR satellite meeting on In Vitro Transformation, are scheduled for publication in 2000. Extended abstracts from the ICRR satellite meeting on Microbeam Probes of Cellular Radiation Response and from the upcoming American Statistical Association's Conference on Radiation and Health will also be published, as will reports and selected papers from meetings and workshops of interest to the radiation research community. We are also looking forward to the establishment of what we hope will be a series of review articles on topics of special interest and importance to radiation scientists and others that will be published throughout the year. We hope that you will contribute to the effort to keep the readership well informed about the latest research by submitting your best papers to the journal and by encouraging your colleagues to do so as well. Our review process and our time to publication compare favorably to those of our competitors, and our tables of contents and our abstracts are generally entered in the Medline database more quickly.

We are pleased to report that the move to Allen Press has been a positive one in every respect. Communication is excellent, and as we had expected based on our preliminary estimates, our production costs have decreased considerably, so that from the standpoint of costs, the financial health of the journal is much improved.

Although we are pleased to report that the decrease in institutional subscriptions is below the industry average, we continue to monitor the numbers carefully. The Allen Press subscription renewal program is impressive, with carefully scheduled mailings both with the journal and as separate invoices designed to encourage renewals. We also have made several moves to increase the journal's visibility, including our participation in the Allen Press print and online Buyer's Guides. The print catalogs go to 10,000 institutions and subscription agencies worldwide each year, ensuring that librarians and subscription agents have the most current information. The online version of the main catalog provides easy access to subscription information for those who may not receive the print catalog. As Allen Press clients, we are included in the catalogs at no additional cost. In addition, we now have an active listing on PubList, a licensed electronic version of Ullrich's Periodicals Directory. By paying a nominal fee for an active listing, we can ensure that our information is current; and when someone searches for radiation-related journals, Radiation Research appears at the top of the list by default.

This fall, we are implementing a plan designed by the Marketing and Management group at Allen for marketing the journal to new audiences in institutions worldwide. By the time the fall campaign has been completed, some 6000 promotional pieces ranging from sample copies to brochures inserted in the regular mailings of other journals will have been sent to carefully selected recipients in several countries. We will evaluate the results and plan our future efforts accordingly.

All that remains is to thank those on whose help we rely. Every year we say goodbye and thank you to our departing Associate Editors. This year, Bill Blakely, Aloke Chatterjee, Simon Pimblott and Peggy Terzaghi-Howe are the recipients of our thanks as they end their terms. We welcome Jay LaVerne, Ron Mitchel, Herwig Paretzke and Sara Rockwell to the Board and look forward to their help and advice. We would be remiss, however, if we did not also thank those who continue to serve so ably. David Brizel, David Close, Mike Cornforth, Priscilla Cooper, Bill Dewey, Amato Giaccia, Wayne Hanson, Kathy Held, John Hopewell, John Humm, Ken Kase, Wah Kow, Ted Lawrence, Tony Leadon, Shirley Lehnert, Roger Macklis, Kathy Mason, John Moulder, David Murray, Elaine Ron, Brenda Shank, and Chang Song have shepherded numerous manuscripts along the often bumpy and crooked path that leads to the successful completion of the review process. The importance of our Associate Editors should not be underestimated, because they are the ones charged with the responsibility of finding the best reviewers for the papers they handle and then ensuring that the reviews are completed in a timely manner — not always an easy task. That our Associate Editors assume their tasks in addition to their other responsibilities is something for which we are most grateful.

We are also grateful to several others. Our two Consulting Editors, Michael Fry and Ffrancon Williams, generously continue to give us their advice and help. Our two Consultant Statisticians, Max Morris and Ed Frome, are always willing to help us ensure that data analyses have been done in the appropriate way and to make helpful suggestions to authors. Our reviewers work hard to ensure that the manuscripts the Journal receives are reviewed fairly, thoroughly, and promptly. Finally, I want to extend a special thanks to Judy Fye, who works with me in the Editorial Office in Oak Ridge. Judy brings intelligence, commitment, enthusiasm, energy, and an irrepressible sense of humor to a job that can sometimes be tedious and difficult. Thank you, Judy!

In Memorium

Harold O. Wyckoff, Ph.D., 1910 - 1999

Harold O. Wyckoff, Ph.D., a pioneer in the measurement of radiation and the achievement of protection against it, died May 6 of myocardial infarction. He had been a member of the Radiation Research Society since 1952. During his long career, Dr. Wyckoff was influenced by the discovery of new and more powerful radiations, a world war followed by a cold war, and international concern over the growing military applications of radiation.

Dr. Wyckoff came to the Washington, D.C. area in 1940 after receiving physics degrees from University of Washington in Seattle — a B.S. degree in 1934 and a Ph.D. in 1940.

At the National Bureau of Standards (now National Institute of Science and Technology), from 1941 to 1966, Dr. Wyckoff was chief of the X-ray Standards Section, chief of the Radiation Physics Laboratory and, later, assistant chief of the Radiation Physics Divison.

From 1966 to 1971, Dr. Wyckoff was the first scientific director for the Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute, Bethesda, Md., which was then deeply involved in studies of radiation effects and conditions that might be expected in the environment of a nuclear battlefield or major nuclear attack on the country. Then, until 1974, he served as a consultant to the Bureau of Radiological Health. After 1974, Dr. Wyckoff was self-employed as a consulting radiological physicist, continuing to work with various national and international agencies and organizations.

Aside from his laboratory life, he developed close working relationships with major national and international radiological societies and organizations. Among his professional memberships, Dr. Wyckoff held various positions with the American College of Radiology (gold medal recipient, 1976), the Radiological Society of North America (gold medal recipient, 1963) and other national and international groups. In 1973 he received a gold medal from the 13th International Congress of Radiology. When Dr. Wyckoff served as treasurer for the Radiological Society of North America from 1970 to 1976, he was only the second nonmedical person ever elected to an active office of any medical or radiological society in the United States.

Throughout all of his domestic duties, Dr. Wyckoff remained deeply involved with the International Commission on Radiation Units and Measurements (ICRU), the crucial international authority on the quantities and units used for radiation measurement. He was a member of the Commission from 1953 to 1956, and want on to serve as its secretary until 1969 and its chairman until 1985. W. Roger Ney, executive secretary of ICRU, said Dr. Wyckoff's work reflected the highest level of scientific integrity and rigor. "Anyone who has ever seen the number of paper clip markers Harold could put into the margins of an ICRU draft report to signify needed changes knows the care and energy he put into these efforts," Nye said. Known as a mentor, Dr. Wyckoff "could identify a young scientist of promising talent and then give him ideas on how he could contribute to a wider world," he said.

In the early 1970s, Dr. Wyckoff also was a member of the U.S. delegation to the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation.

Throughout his career in Washington, Dr. Wyckoff was active with the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements. He was responsible for introducing radiation measurement as a part of its mission, with the resultant change in the name it had carried for the preceding 20 years. Dr. Wyckoff subsequently chaired several committees that produced reports covering radiation protection in the radiological field. He was a member of its board of directors from 1966 to 1971 and was named an honorary member when he retired.

In 1943, while he was working at the National Bureau of Standards, Dr. Wyckoff's services were sought because of war pressures. He was "loaned" to the U.S. Army, Ninth Air Force, in Europe, to serve with its Operations Research Division as part of a small, high-level group of civilians providing analysis and advice to the commanding generals of the 9th Bomber and Fighter Commands. In this capacity, after the invasion, Dr. Wyckoff had to work, at times, close to the front lines. In 1945 then-President Truman awarded him the Bronze Star, one of the highest military awards given to a civilian.

Among other honors, Dr. Wyckoff received a silver medal for meritorious service (1952) and a gold medal for exceptional service (1960) from the U.S. Department of Commerce. In 1971, he was awarded a medal from the Defense Atomic Support Agency for exceptional civilian service.

During his career, Dr. Wyckoff published 44 scientific papers or chapters. He co-authored the textbook Radiation Protection, with C.B. Braestrup in 1958, which served as a standard text for students at that time.

Dr. Wyckoff is survived by his wife, Mildred; a daughter, Jeanette M. Wyckoff of Richmond, Va.; a son, Harold O. Wyckoff, Jr., D.D.S., of Des Plaines, II1., a sister, Lola Stephens, of Lake Ridge, Va., and two grandchildren.

Rays of Rumor
by Dave John

Even though the Dublin meeting is now several weeks behind us, this reporter still has visions of Irish fairies dancing in his head. This is because rumors of the fairies being at, or near, the meeting provided some extremely interesting and tantalizing grist for the rumor mill. For example, when I first arrived on the campus of University College Dublin (UCD) to register for the meeting, I spied a group of familiar-looking people walking far ahead of me. As I quickened my pace to catch up with them, they suddenly disappeared behind some trees. I reached the spot where they had been, but they were gone. So I asked an Irish student passing by whether he'd seen a group of people walking there. First he said "no" but then he gave me a sly wink and said, " The good fairies probably took them to a dance in the woods!" You can imagine how strange this sounded to a rumor reporter, but it proved to be a harbinger of things to come. I decided to ask more Irish workers at the meeting about fairies, just to see whether these people had heard any rumors that Irish fairies might be somehow involved in our meeting. They told me many fabulous stories about how they had just heard from so-and-so that the fairies had mixed up slides in one of the projectors, or that the fairies had made the seats squeak in one of the lecture halls, etc. But an elderly Irish coffee server who noticed my badge, which clearly said "Dave John, RRS News, Rumor Reporter", told the most astounding rumor of all to me. He called me aside and after the usual wink of his eye, said, "Did you know that there are actually fairies that are radiation scientists?" I said I had never heard of this. He then said he had just heard from a clairvoyant colleague who regularly "speaks" with fairies. According to this colleague, a fairy known to be a rumormonger told him that the fairy scientists were conducting their own radiation research meeting in a room somewhere on the UCD campus! He was told that some of the meeting topics were: "Wee dose effects on fairy germ cells", "Radon-induced hormesis in cave-dwelling fairies", "Apoptosis of damaged fairy cells: can it explain the absence of cancer in fairy populations?" and "Radiation-induced bystander effects in shielded fairies." I asked him whether I might be able to peek in on such a unique meeting. He winked again and said, "sure, just look for the signs reading "Fairy Radiation Research Meeting, this way". That was the end of that!

The Dublin meeting was not very productive in the way of other, more conventional rumors. There were only two major rumors that caught my attention. I heard one from a group of American RRSers (Real Radiation Scientists) who were whispering in a corner of the registration area. They were talking about grants, so I edged my way up to the group and listened in. It seems that one of them had heard from a colleague who had heard a rumor that the NIH Radiation Study Section was going to be dissolved in the next couple of years. The RRSers had worried looks on their faces and were discussing how their NIH grant applications could receive high-quality reviews by true peers in the absence of the Radiation Study Section. One said he'd heard from a colleague who had read a report on the NIH Website from some kind of "blue-ribbon" committee (Boundary Committee?) that had been formed to study the NIH review system and recommend improvements in the organization of the Study Sections. He said the report made no mention of the Radiation Study Section. He thought that RRSers would probably have to write 3 or 4 grant applications for each of their projects. Each application would have a different emphasis (such as on the disease being studied, or the technique being used). The RRSer could only hope that one of them would be assigned to a study section that had the appropriate peer reviewers and perspective to give it a fair, objective peer review. Of course this is only a rumor at this point — look for more rumors about this in future columns.

The other rumor concerns the veteran "father confessor" and champion of NIH funding for radiation research, Frank Mahoney. It all started as I was on my way to the retirement reception for Helen and Tom Evans, who have stepped down after long and illustrious careers as Editors of RRS News. As I was about to board the bus to take us to the reception, a member of my rumormonger network of RRSers approached me and asked for a few minutes of my time so he/she could pass along a tremendous and uplifting rumor concerning Mahoney's efforts to obtain more grant funds for radiation research. Naturally I said yes, thereby causing both of us to miss the bus and the reception for the Evans dynamic duo. (I understand that Tom Evans actually called out for me at the reception. Sorry, Tom, I was working!) At any rate, my rumormonger furtively produced the picture below showing Mahoney holding a sample of his discovery of a huge field of "black gold" in a far distant field owned by his Irish ancestors. The rumormonger told me that one of his/her colleagues had been given the picture by an Irish worker at UCD who claimed to have gotten it from "the good fairies" who helped Mahoney find the "black gold". Further, it is rumored that with the help of the good fairies, Mahoney has found a way to sell this material to obtain large amounts of new funding which will be specifically earmarked for radiation science. More on this fabulous rumor in future columns.

Calendar of Coming Events

October 3_4, 1999: Second Annual Symposium of the John B. Little Center for Radiation Sciences and Environmental Health. Radiation and Cancer: Etiology, Treatment, and Prevention, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts. Contact Dr. Karl T. Kelsey, Department of Cancer Cell Biology, Boston, MA 02115. Telephone: (617) 432-1184; FAX: (617) 432-0107; E-mail: Kelsey@hohp. harvard.edu

October 8-9, 1999: Prediction of Tumor response to Therapy: Molecular Markers and the Microenvironment, Montreal, Canada. Organizer: Dr. Shirley Lehnert, Montreal General Hospital, Montreal, Canada. Telephone: (514) 937-6001, ext 4161; FAX: (514) 934-8220; E-mail: mdle@musica.mcgill.ca

November 1_7, 1999: ASM Conference of DNA Repair and Mutagenesis: Mechanism, Control, and Biological Consequences, Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. Organized by Graham Walker, Errol Friedberg, and Susan Wallace. For further details, visit www.asmusa.org/mtgsrc/mtgs.html

November 5, 1999: Radiation and Cancer Biology Meeting, Gene Therapy in Oncology, London, England. For more information, cointact Dr. George Wilson, 01923 828611.

November 5-7, 1999: 15th MIR-ROC Radiation and Biological Sciences Symposium, St. Louis, Missouri. For more information, contact Kathy Bles at (314) 362-9789.

November 8_10, 1999: 1999 International Radon Symposium, focusing on "growth through professionalism," the meeting is sponsored by The American Association of Radon Scientists and Technologists in cooperation with the All States Radon Conference. For further information, visit www.aarst.com or contact Sue Burk or Lori Strong, AARST, 1313 Dolley Madison Blvd. #402, McLean VA 22101. Telephone: (703) 790-1745.

December 5-8, 1999: Annual Meeting of the Society for Risk Analysis. The Future of Risk Analysis in the 21st Century, Atlanta, Georgia. For more information, visit http://www.sra.org or contact SRA, 1313 Dolley Madison Blvd., Suite 402, McLean, VA 22101. Telephone: (703) 790-1745; FAX: (703) 790-2672; E-mail: SRA@BurkInc.com

December 11_15, 1999: 39th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Cell Biology, Washington Convention Center, Washington, D.C. For more information, contact ASCB, 9650 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20814-3992; Telephone: (301) 530-7153; FAX: (301) 530-7139; e-mail: ascbinfo@ascb.org

January 9_12, 2000: 42nd Annual Clinical Conference and 52nd Annual Symposium on Cancer Research, Cancer Research at the Millennium, Houston, Texas. For more information, visit http://www.mdacc.tmc.edu_~meetings/ or contact Office of Conference Services, UT M.D. Anderson Cancer Center; Telephone: (713) 792-2222; FAX: (713) 784-1724.

February 17-19, 2000: Radiobiology 2000. International Conference on Radiation Biology, Trivandrum, India. For more information, visit http://education.vsnl.com/radiobiology2000 or contact Dr. V.N. Bhattathiri, Clinical Radiobiology Section, Division of Radiation Therapy, Regional Cancer Center, Trivandrum, India; vnbtvm@vsnl.com; radiobiology2000@hotmail.com

March 5-8, 2000: First International Conference on Translational Research and Pre-Clinical Strategies in Radio-Oncology, Lugano, Switzerland. For more information, visit http://www.osg.ch/ictr2000.html

March 5-10, 2000: European Congress of Radiology 2000, Vienna, Austria. For further information, see http://www.ecr.org or contact the ECR - Office, Neutorgasse 9/2A, A - 1010 Vienna. Telephone: 43 1 533 40 64; FAX: 43 1 533 40 649; E-mail: office@ecr.org.

April 5-6, 2000: 36th Annual Meeting of the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements. Ionizing Radiation Science and Protection in the 21st Century. Arlington, Virginia. For more information, contact National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements, 7910 Woodmont Avenue, Suite 800, Bethesda, MD 20814-3095.

April 1012 ,2000: Annual Meeting of the Association for Radiation Research, "Radiation Research 2000". The Churchill Hall, Bristol, UK . For more information, visit http://www.uwe.ac.uk/fas/ARR2000 or contact Dr A.J. Mill, University of the West of England, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Bristol BS16 1QY, UK. E-mail: Andrew.Mill@uwe.ac.uk

April 26-29, 2000: 8th International Congress of Hyperthermic Oncology, Kyongju, Korea. For more information, visit http://www.icho2000.yeungnam.ac.kr or contact Dr. Myung Se Kim at mskim@medical.yeungnam.ac.kr

April 29 - May 3, 2000: 47th Annual Meeting of the Radiation Research Society, Albuquerque, New Mexico. For more information, visit http://www.radres.org/albuquerque.htm. Please make note: The Student Travel Award application deadline is Friday, October 15, 1999. (This deadline is earlier than usual and is different from the Abstract only deadline of Monday, December 6, 1999.)

May 14_19, 2000: 10th International Congress of the International Radiation Protection Association, Hiroshima, Japan. Contact IRPA-10 Secretariat, c/o Japan Convention Services, Inc., Nippon Press Center Bldg., 2-2-1, Uchisaiwai-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100, Japan.

July 16-21, 2000: Gordon Research Conference - 2000. Nuclear Waste And Energy, Colby-Sawyer College, New London, New Hampshire. For further information about Gordon Research Conferences (GRC) and application materials, contact GRC, University of Rhode Island, P.O. Box 984, West Kingston, RI 02892-0984 (Fax: 401.783.7644 Phone: 401.783.4011). URL: http://www.grc.uri.edu. For further information about the Nuclear Waste and Energy Conference, send an e-mail to ken.mossman@asu.edu with Gordon Research Conference in the subject field. A limited number of openings remain for short presentations in the nuclear waste and energy session; contact Kenneth Mossman for further details. If interested in presenting a poster, contact conference vice-chair Gregg Choppin (choppin@chem.fsu.edu).

August 27 - 31, 2000: 30th Annual Meeting of the European Society for Radiation Biology, Warsaw, Poland. For more information, visit http://www.ichtj.waw.pl, under Conferences.

April 21-25, 2001: 48th Annual Meeting of the Radiation Research Society, Caribe Hilton Hotel, San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Job Mart

Tenure Track Position: The Department of Radiology, New Jersey Medical School (NJMS) at the University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) is seeking a dynamic candidate to fill a junior-level tenure-track position at the rank of instructor or assistant professor. The appointee is expected to i) develop a vigorous extramurally-funded research program in the radiological sciences; ii) foster collaboration with faculty at NJMS and other institutions; and iii) provide instruction in an active radiology residency teaching program. Candidates with research expertise in experimental radiation biophysics and/or magnetic resonance imaging are preferred, but all qualified candidates in the radiological sciences will be considered. Candidates whose experimental research can be carried out on the Newark campus are desirable. A Ph.D. in physics, chemistry, or related field is required. Two to three years of post-doctoral training are required for the rank of assistant professor. UMDNJ is the state's university of the health sciences, with programs at four main academic health center campuses. Please visit http://www.umdnj.edu for information on the University and New Jersey Medical School. The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. Applicants should submit curriculum vitae, statement of research plans, and names and telephone numbers of three references to Roger W. Howell, Ph.D., Department of Radiology, Division of Radiation Research, MSB F-451, UMDNJ,185 South Orange Avenue, Newark, NJ 07103; Telephone: (973) 972-5067; FAX: (973) 972-6474.

Faculty Position in Radiation Biology: Stanford University. The Division of Radiation Biology of the Department of Radiation Oncology is seeking applicants for a tenure-track position at the Assistant Professor level. Outstanding applicants are being sought with proven research records in the application of DNA array technology, transgenic knockout mouse technology, or protein biochemistry to study the responses of cells to stress with an emphasis on those caused by ionizing radiation and/or anticancer therapies or the microenvironment of solid tumors. Criteria for selection include future research direction, the potential to secure extramural funding, and relationship of proposed research program to existing faculty interests in molecular aspects of cellular stress to hypoxic conditions, determinants of resistance of cancers to treatment, and DNA damage and repair following ionizing radiation. Stanford University is committed to increasing representation of women and members of minority groups on its faculty and particularly encourages applications from such candidates. Applicants should submit curriculum vitae, a one page synopsis of research plan, and names of three references to: Dr. Amato J. Giaccia, Department of Radiation Oncology, Mayer Cancer Biology Research Laboratory, Rm. GK220A, Standford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305-5468.

Positions available at the Department of Radiobiology, University of Groningen, the Netherlands for 1 Clinical Radiobiologist (tenure track position), 1 Molecular biologist (post-doc), 1 PhDstudent. For more information see http://www.oprit.rug.nl/kampinga/webpage7.htm For inquiries, send an Email to h.h.kampinga@med.rug.nl, Harm H. Kampinga, PhD., Department of Radiobiology, University of Groningen, Bloemsingel 1, 9713 BZ Groningen, The Netherlands. Telephone: 31503632903; FAX: 31503632913.

Health Physicist/Radiochemist: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has an immediate opening for a Health Physicist/Radiochemist to provide full time support to the National Tritium Labeling Facility (NTLF). The incumbent will carry out research on methods to optimize tritiation process efficiency, containment, and safety while reducing environmental emissions and waste. The incumbent will also support NTLF activities to meet EH&S regulatory compliance requirements. This individual will work with community and regulatory stakeholder groups, providing information about laboratory activities. The complete position description is posted at http://www.lbl.gov/CJO/ehs011084ehs.html

MR Physicist/Physiologist: University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas is seeking a post-doctoral fellow with interest in developing in vivo techniques for study of metabolism, flow, and tissue oxygenation; particular emphasis on on tumor oxygenation and transmembrane pH gradients. The position is supported by NCI. For further information, contact Ralph P. Mason, Ph.D., Advanced Radiological Sciences, Department of Radiological Sciences, Department of Radiology, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, 5323 Harry Hines Blvd., Dallas, TX 75235-9058. Telephone: (214) 648-8926; FAX: (214) 648-2991; E-mail: Ralph.Mason@email.swmed.edu

Post-Doctoral Positions in Computational Biology, University of California, Berkeley. One position is for a biologist with some programming skills who wishes to use and extend expertise in biocomputing. Experience in radiobiology, cytogenetics and/or mutation analysis is a plus. Half time will be devoted to calculations of ionizingradiation produced chromosome intrachanges and mutations, using trackstructure and chromatinstructure models. The remaining time is available for developing the postdoc's independent modeling interests in areas such as bystander effects, genomic instability, chromosome aberrations measured with FISH, or lowdose radioresponse. Will work with NIH grant PI, Prof. Ray Sachs in a small theory group. Probably available Oct 1999; applications will be accepted until post is filled. Duration is 1220 months. Salary in the range of $32K36K depending on experience. More information at: http://math.berkeley.edu/~sachs Send CVs and at least two letters of reference to sachs@math.berkeley.edu There is also another postdoc, under an NSF grant, for a Ph.D. in applied mathematics or a related field who wants to begin biological modeling and computing. The University of California is an Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action Employer. Rainer K. Sachs. Math Department, Evans Hall, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720. Telephone: (510) 6424384; FAX: (510) 6428204; E-mail: sachs@math.berkeley.edu.

Postdoctoral Position, Division of Experimental Therapy, Netherlands Cancer Institute. Molecular biologist at the post-doc level needed for one year to participate in a project on genetic manipulation of radiosensitivity using retroviral vectors, with a view to developing methods to increase the efficacy of radiotherapy. The person would work in a team with two scientists and two technicians. The division is housed in an eight-floor research wing comprising divisions of molecular biology, tumor biology, molecular carcinogenesis, molecular genetics, immunology, and others, with good core facilities for molecular and cellular studies, including sequencing, flow cytometry and image analysis. Amsterdam is a very acceptable place to spend a year! The position is available now. For more information, contact Dr. A.C. Begg, Division of Experimental Therapy, The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Plasmanlaan 121, 1066 CX Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Telephone: 31-20-512-2036; FAX: 31-20-512-2050; E-mail: abegg@nki.nl

PostDoctoral Position: Stanford University is seeking an individual to study radiationinduced apoptosis, oncogenes, ion channels/pumps, Calcium fluxes and signal transduction pathways. The applicant should have a working knowledge of basic molecular and cellular biological techniques. To apply, please send a curriculum vitae and the names of three references to Susan J. Knox, Ph.D., M.D., Dept. Radiation Oncology, Room A093, Stanford University Medical Center, 300 Pasteur Dr., Stanford, CA 94305. FAX: (650) 7258231; E-mail: knox@reyes.stanford.edu. Stanford University is an equal opportunity employer.

Postdoctoral Research Opportunity, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. There is an immediate opening for postdoctoral research in the laboratory of Drs. Priscilla K. Cooper and Bjorn Rydberg to address factors affecting misrejoining of radiationinduced DNA doublestrand breaks (DSBs) in human cells. The position is funded by NIH. Research to be conducted under the available postdoctoral position will address the effect of different pathways and various cellular parameters, including position in the cell cycle and higher order chromatin structure, on the occurrence of those molecular events in rejoining of DSBs that result in chromosome aberrations and loss of genomic integrity. Approaches will include application of a hybridization method for direct quantitation of DSBs in defined regions of the genome that provides the ability to address intragenomic heterogeneity in induction and/or repair of these lesions and that allows determination of the frequency with which incorrect DNA ends are joined. Superb facilities and environment. Opportunity for collaborative research involving molecular and cell biology, biochemistry, and cytogenetics. Interested individuals should send a curriculum vitae and names of three references to: Priscilla K. Cooper or Bjorn Rydberg, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Life Sciences Division, Building 74, 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, CA 94720. Email: PKCooper@lbl.gov; BERydberg@lbl.gov

PhD Position: the Netherlands Cancer Institute. PhD student required for 4 years to work on a project investigating anti-cell-adhesion and anti-angiogenesis methods to reduce the risk of tumor reseeding and metastases formation during cytoreductive surgery for abdominal malignancies. The PhD student will work under supervision of a senior biologist and clinical gynecologist, with assistance from a technician. The project involves animal experimentation. For more information, contact Dr. F.A. Stewart, Division of Experimental Therapy, The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Plesmanlaan 121, 1066 CX Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Telephone: 31-20-512-2036; FAX: 31-20-512-2050; E-mail: fas@nki.nl

So, What Do You Think?
Bruce Kimler, Editor