Conference speakers

The IRIS-2011 Symposium will be held in Lecture Hall D at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS) on the grounds of the National Naval Medical Center (NNMC), Bethesda, Maryland (directions).

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               Session Chairs  |  Masters of Ceremonies

Charles L. Rice, MD
President, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD
Dr. Rice graduated with an AB from the University of Georgia in 1964 and earned his medical degree from the Medical College of Georgia in 1968. He interned at Bowman Gray School of Medicine at Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC. He completed his general surgery residency at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, MD, followed by a research fellowship at the Naval Medical Research Institute in Bethesda. Dr. Rice’s research interests, many funded by the National Institutes of Health, have been in the biology of lung injury and in mechanisms of cell and tissue injury in shock. His clinical focus has been in trauma and critical care. He is a diplomate of the American Board of Surgery; a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons; a member of numerous professional organizations, including the American Surgical Association and the Society of University Surgeons; and a past president of the Shock Society.

Mark A. Melanson, PhD, COL, MSC, USA
Director, Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute, Bethesda, MD
COL Melanson earned a Bachelor of Science in Physics from Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. After graduation, he went on to receive both his master’s and doctorate degrees in radiation health sciences from The Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health. COL Melanson is recognized internationally as an expert in the area of radiation sciences and has served as a consultant to both the World Health Organization and the International Atomic Energy Agency. He was also a member of a United Nations team of scientific experts responsible for assessing the risks associated with NATOs use of depleted uranium munitions on the Balkans.

Adarsh Ramakumar, PhD
Chairman IRIS, Principal Investigator & Sr. Bioinformatics Analyst,
Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute, Bethesda, MD
Dr. Adarsh Ramakumar is the Principal Investigator and Sr. Bioinformatics analyst of Automated Cytogenetics lab at the Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute (AFRRI). His primary responsibilities include oversight of new programs for triage of radiological mass casualty and the development of Cytogenetic Laboratory Automated Scoring Platform (CLASP), an automated dicentric chromosome-aberration analysis system for biological dosimetry. His group focuses on using artificial intelligence and bayesian networks to automate classical cytogentics assays to provide enhanced throughput for biodosimetry. Dr. Ramakumar joined AFRRI in 2008 from Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, where as a Program Analyst he designed, validated and developed a pan-viral micro-array chip for detection of novel viruses and to detect viral causes of hemorrhagic fever and encephalitis. Dr. Ramakumar started with MD at Rostov State Medical University, Russia. He received his degree (Gold Medalist) in clinical pharmacology from the University of Mysore, India. He received his Diploma in Computer Science from Raman Computer Institute, India, and his Diploma in Information Management & Business Administration from Jyothi Institute of Business Management, India. He completed his MS In Bioinformatics from Sheffield Hallam University, UK and his PhD in Bioinformatics with focus on genomics and artificial intelligence from University of Bremen, Germany. Dr. Ramakumar is a recipient of numerous prestigious honors, meritorious awards and fellowships.

SESSION 1—RADIATION BIOLOGY: THE SCIENCE
Chairs: Drs. William F. Blakely and Carolyn J. Fisher

K. Sree Kumar, MSc, PhD
Senior Research Scientist, Scientific Research Department,
Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute, Bethesda, MD
Dr. Kumar earned a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry and Physics from Kerala University in India. After graduation, he went on to receive both his master’s and doctorate degrees in Biochemistry from Lucknow University in India. Dr Kumar did his post-doctoral fellowships in Pharmacology and Nutrition at USC School of Medicine, Angeles, CA and UM School of Medicine, Miami, FL. He was a Senior Research Associate of National Research Council-US National Academy of Sciences in AFRRI and continues in AFRRI as a Principal Investigator/Senior Research Scientist. He has applied his extensive training in free radical biochemistry to develop lead drug candidates as radioprotectants and is internationally recognized for his work on gamma-tocotrienol and benzyl sulfones as radioprotectants. He had been invited to deliver lectures in England, Germany, Hungary, India, Japan, Mexico, Malaysia, and Ukraine. He is a member of academic committees and professional organizations. His research is supported by several grants from Defense Threat Reduction Agency.

Noelle F. Metting, ScD
Program Manager, Sr. Radiation Biologist for the Office of Science,
Low Dose Radiation Research Program, Department of Energy, Washington, DC
Dr. Metting earned a Bachelor of Arts from Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington, a Master's in Radiological Sciences from the University of Washington, and a Science Doctorate in Cancer Biology from Harvard University, School of Public Health. Prior to working for the federal government, she conducted internationally recognized research at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, working initially in the field of experimental microdosimetry of heavy ion beams produced at PNNL, the Berkeley BEVALAC, and the GSI Darmstadt. Her subsequent DOE/NASA funded research focused on cellular and molecular biology of heavy ion exposures, conducted at the Columbia University RARAF and the Brookhaven National Laboratory Alternating Gradient Synchrotron.

Ruth Wilkins, PhD
Research Scientist, Division Chief, Radiobiology, Health Canada, Ottawa, Canada
Dr. Ruth Wilkins earned a Doctor of Philosophy in Medical Physics from the Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada after which she joined the Consumer and Clinical Radiation Protection Bureau, Health Canada, as a Research Scientist. Since 2006, she has been the Division Chief of the Radiobiology Division at Health Canada. Her research involves the biological effects ionizing radiation in mammalian systems both in vitro and in vivo with a strong focus on cytogenetic biological dosimetry. She is currently the lead of the development of the Canadian National Biological Dosimetry Response Plan for large scale exposures to ionizing radiation in which Canada has developed a network of laboratories which can provide rapid dosimetry during large scale events. Her current research interests include the development of new, higher throughput methods for biological dosimetry.

Mitsuaki Yoshida, PhD
Professor in the Department of Radiation Biology,
Institute of Radiation Emergency Medicine, Hirosaki University, Hirosaki, Japan
Dr. Yoshida earned a Doctor of Philosophy in Cancer Cytogenetics from Hokkaido University in Sapporo, Japan. After graduating, he joined Roswell Park Memorial Institute in New York. Several years later, Dr. Yoshida returned to Japan to work at the Medical Research Institute of Tokyo Medical and Dental University before joining the National Institute of Radiological Sciences as head of the Biological Dosimetry Section. In 2010, Dr. Yoshida joined the Institute of Radiation Emergency Medicine at Hirosaki University and is currently working to establish a cytogenetic biodosimetry system for the university and is primarily focused on cytogenetic biodosimetry and radiation induced carcinogenesis education and research. He is a member of a chromosome network in Japan for cytogenetic biodosimetry and the ISO TC85/SC2 (Radiation Protection) Working Group 18 (Biological Dosimetry). Furthermore, Dr. Yoshida is on a World Health Organization steering committee working to develop an International Biological Dosimetry Network. He was also recently elected as the member of the Scientific Committee of the International Association of Biological and EPR Radiation Dosimetry.

SESSION 2—'OMICS FOR RADIATION BIOLOGY
Chairs: Drs. John F. Kalinich and Sanchita P. Ghosh

Harvey Pollard, MD, PhD
Professor and Chair, Department of Anatomy, Physiology and Genetics,
Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD
Dr. Pollard earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Rice University in Houston, Texas. Following graduation he went to the University of Chicago, where he received both his M.D. and PhD (Biochemistry) degrees. Dr. Pollard, now in the USPHS, then pursued postgraduate fellowship training at the National Institutes of Health (Bethesda, MD), and at Oxford University (U.K.), before returning to the NIH. Subsequently, Dr. Pollard came to USUHS as Professor and Chair. Dr. Pollard’s present research interests are in proteomics and genomics as biomarkers of disease.

Sally Amundson, PhD
Associate Professor, Center for Radiological Research, Dept. of Radiation Oncology,
Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY
Dr. Amundson earned a Bachelor’s Degree from Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota, and her doctorate degree in radiation and cancer biology from The Harvard School of Public Health in Boston. Dr. Amundson is internationally recognized as an expert in the area of radiation biology, serving on the Scientific Council of the Radiation Effects Research Foundation (RERF) in Hiroshima Japan, and on Program Area Committee 1 of the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements (NCRP), of which she has been a member since 2004. She is also a winner of the Michael Fry Research Award of the Radiation Research Society, and an Associate Editor of the journal Radiation Research. Her current work focuses on signal transduction and gene expression networks in radiation response.

Albert Fornace, Jr., PhD
Professor & Chair of Molecular Cancer Research, Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center,
Georgetown University, Washington, DC
Dr. Fornace is currently serving as Chair of Molecular Cancer Research at the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center at Georgetown University Medical Center. He joined Georgetown in 2006 from the Harvard School of Public Health, where he was the director of the John B. Little Center for the Radiation Sciences and Environmental Health. As the Molecular Cancer Research Chair, he is investigating what happens to cells when they are stressed or injured by anything from toxic substances to aberrantly expressing oncogenes work that has thus far revealed processes underlying development of cancer and other diseases. In addition to his research on the molecular pathways of cancer, Dr. Fornace is also studying cellular stress responses on a broader level. By understanding genome-wide response to stresses like radiation or chemical toxins, he will be able to develop biomarkers to detect exposure in humans. He is specifically looking for markers in both gene expression and metabolites which can be detected in easily obtainable samples like urine, blood, and saliva. With this kind of test available, emergency response personnel would be able to identify and triage patients who were significantly exposed.

SESSION 3—APPLIED RADIATION BIOLOGY: PLATFORMS AND TECHNOLOGY
Chairs: Drs. Mark H. Whitnall and Shilpa S. Kulkarni

William T. Phillips, PhD
Professor, Director of Nanoparticle Imaging/Therapeutic Systems, Department of Radiology,
University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX
Dr. Phillips received his MD degree from the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston and his Nuclear Medicine physician training at the University of Texas HSC-San Antonio. He is recognized internationally as an expert in nanotechnology, nuclear imaging and drug delivery. He has been developing methods to image nanoparticles for more than 20 years with more than 100 peer-reviewed articles in the fields of imaging and nanoparticle drug delivery. Using imaging, he has developed nanoparticle systems that are targeted to bone marrow, lymph nodes, tumors, inflammation and peritoneal/pleural body cavities. He has also worked with colleagues to develop methods of delivering therapeutic radionuclides via liposomal nanoparticles for treatment of cancer. As a nuclear medicine physician, he has a great interest in radionuclide radiobiology and the potential use of nanoparticles for the delivery of radioprotectants.

David Boothman, PhD
Professor, Associate Director for Translational Research,
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, Dallas, TX
Dr. Boothman is currently Professor, Department of Pharmacology and Associate Director for Translational Research at the Simmons Cancer Center. He received his Doctoral degree in Microbiology & Immunology (1986) from University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL. He did his post doctoral research at Harvard Medical School. He served as Associate professor at University of Michigan, University of Wisconsin-Madison, U. W.-Madison. He served as Professor at the Ireland Comprehensive Cancer Center. He was Associate Director for Basic Research and received Distinguished Investigator Award, CWRU-UH Comprehensive Cancer Center, CWRU. He has more than 110 peer-reviewed publications to his credit.

Shrikant Anant, PhD
Professor, Associate Director, Prevention and Cancer Control,
Associate Dean for Research, University of Kansas School of Medicine, Kansas City, KS
Dr. Anant is currently the Associate Director for Prevention and Cancer Control at the University of Kansas Cancer Center and Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine and Molecular and Integrative Physiology at the University of Kansas Medical Center. In addition Dr. Anant is a Kansas Mason Professor of Cancer Research and has been named a Kansas Bioscience Authority Eminent Scholar. He earned his PhD from the University of Illinois at Chicago in Molecular Genetics in 1993. He worked as a post doctoral research fellow in the Departments of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and Medicine in the University of Chicago, Chicago, IL. He has served as Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Washington University School of Medicine St. Louis, MO. He has also held diverse positions as Associate Professor of Medicine, Director of Gastroenterology Research, Program Leader, Gastrointestinal Cancer, OU Cancer Institute OUHSC., Oklahoma City, OK. Dr. Anant has over 75 peer reviewed publications to his credit. He has 4 RO1 grants that he is working on right now.

Ramkumar Mandalam, PhD
President and CEO, Cellerant Therapeutics, San Carlos, CA
Ramkumar Mandalam, PhD, is the President and CEO of Cellerant Therapeutics Inc., a clinical stage biotechnology company developing novel therapies for cancer treatment and blood-related disorders. Prior to joining Cellerant as the VP of Pharmaceutical Operations in 2005, he was the Executive Director of Product Development at Geron Corporation, a biopharmaceutical company in Menlo Park, CA. His responsibility at Geron included strategic planning and implementation of development and manufacturing of cellular products for regenerative medicine, oncology and drug discovery applications. Dr. Mandalam served as the Director of Developmental Research at Aastrom Biosciences managing research and development programs involving ex vivo expansion of human primary cells for cell therapy applications. Dr. Mandalam received his PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan.

SESSION 4—ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND HIGH-THROUGHPUT TECHNOLOGIES FOR RADIATION BIOLOGY
Chairs: Drs. Lynnette H. Cary and MAJ Eric D. Lombardini

Gordon Livingston, PhD
Technical Director, Cytogenetic Biodosimetry Laboratory,
Radiation Emergency Assistance Center/Training Site, Oak Ridge, TN
Dr. Livingston obtained BS and MS degrees from Utah State and Oregon State Universities, respectively, and a PhD in genetics from the University of Washington in Seattle followed by a post-doctoral fellowship in radiobiology at the University of Nijmegen in the Netherlands. He has held faculty positions in environmental and occupational health at the University of Cincinnati and the University of Utah where he also served four years as the technical director of the clinical cytogenetics laboratory in the Department of Pediatrics. His research is focused on human cytogenetic responses to environmental adversity including environmental, occupational and medical exposures to ionizing radiation. Examples include a radiobiological evaluation of families living near Chernobyl at the time of the accident, occupational exposure to alpha radiation and its effect on chromosome aberration rates in former plutonium workers and studies on the cytogenetic effects of radiation ablative therapy on patients treated with I131 for thyroid cancers. Before joining REAC/TS he held a National Research Council Senior Research Associateship sponsored by NIOSH in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Peter Rogan, PhD
Professor and Canada Research Chair, Genome Bioinformatics,
The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada
Dr. Rogan is an internationally recognized researcher in human genomics and bioinformatics who has authored more than 100 scientific publications and 10 patents. His interests lie in novel approaches for interpretation genomic sequence variation and for molecular cytogenetics. Rogan is president of Cytognomix (London ON) and previously founded Phylogenetix Laboratories, a US company. His team of collaborators have recently developed accurate methods to automate detection of dicentric chromosomes. He is currently Professor of Biochemistry at the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, and holds the Canada Research Chair in Genome Bioinformatics. Dr. Rogan received his Mphil and PhD in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry from Yale, and holds degrees from the University of Grenoble and Johns Hopkins University.

Rao Papineni, PhD
Sr. Principal Investigator, Research and Development,
Carestream Molecular Imaging, Woodbridge, CT
Dr. Rao V. L. Papineni is currently the Senior Principal Investigator, Research and Development, at Carestream Health Inc, USA. He received his doctoral degree in Biochemistry from University of Hong Kong (British Terr). Dr. Papineni had his early education from University of Madras, where he earned his Bachelors and Masters degree. After ten years in Research and Faculty positions at University of Hong Kong and Baylor college of Medicine (USA), he joined Kodak, USA four years ago. He has initiated advanced research programs to study Inflammation and musculo-skeletal biology utilizing molecular imaging and nanotechnology based molecular tools. Dr. Papineni has made several inventions and chaired scientific sessions in International Biomedical Meetings and serves on the editorial board of Nanotech and Experimental Pharmacology journals.

SESSION 5—TECHNOLOGIES AND APPLICATIONS FOR RADIATION BIOLOGY
Chairs: Drs. Juliann G. Kiang and CPT Ian C. Dews

Chandan Guha, MD, PhD
Professor, Vice Chair, Department of Radiation Oncology,
Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY; Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, NY
Dr. Guha received his PhD degree in Immunology from the Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston (1993). He is presently serving as Vice Chair and Professor of Radiation Oncology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and he is the Director of Translational Research in the Department of Radiation Oncology at Montefiore Medical Center. He received many awards and scholarships as a recognition to his contributions. Presently, he is a Principal Investigator of the NIAID grant project “Stem Cell-Based Therapies for Mitigation of Acute Radiation”. He has more than 50 peer reviewed publications to his credit.

Prakash Hande, PhD, MPH
Associate Professor, Department of Physiology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine,
National University of Singapore, Singapore
Dr. Hande obtained his Bachelor of Science in Biology from Mangalore University and Masters Degree in Zoology from University of Mysore. He earned his PhD in Radiation Biology from Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, India. Dr. Hande had developed a mouse model for retrospective biological dosimetry for ionizing radiation exposure. This was further substantiated by his work identifying genomic signatures of occupational exposures to plutonium in a human population. He has published more than 100 peer-reviewed research articles in international journals such as Nature Genetics, Current Biology, Journal of Cell Biology, American Journal of Human Genetics, Cell, PNAS and Science. His research is focused on the following: DNA repair factors and Telomeres, Oxidative damage at telomeres, Cancer biology with special emphasis on mechanism-based growth inhibition in tumour cells, Toxicogenomic approaches to study the effects of environmental pollutants (including ionizing radiation) in human cells. Dr. Hande is one of the founding Editors-in-Chief of Genome Integrity—a Biomedcentral Journal.

Sunil Krishnan, MD
Associate Professor, Radiation Oncology, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Dr. Krishnan received his medical degree from Christian Medical College, Vellore, India and completed an internal medicine residency at Penn State Geisinger Medical Center, Danville, Pennsylvania followed by a radiation oncology residency at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota. His clinical focus is on treatment of gastrointestinal cancers. His laboratory focus is on integrating tumor-specific targeting, image- guidance and radiosensitizing approaches using conjugated nanoparticles. He has served as the chair of the gastrointestinal scientific program committee of ASTRO, the co-chair of the gastrointestinal translational research program of RTOG, councilor for the Society for Thermal Medicine, and consultant to IAEA.

Seth Cohen, PhD
Senior Director, Microfluidic Applications and Support, Caliper Life Sciences, Hopkinton, MA
Dr. Cohen received his PhD in Microbiology from the University of Georgia, Athens and then went on to post-doctoral research at Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston where he studied the physiology, genetics and biochemistry of multiple drug resistant bacteria with Dr. Stuart Levy. Following his post-doctoral research, Dr. Cohen developed DNA probes and assays for infectious disease diagnostics at Gene-Trak Systems in Framingham MA before joining Millennium Pharmaceuticals in Cambridge MA in 1997, initially helping to build and lead the HTS group and finally serving as the Program Director for Millennium’s Lead Discovery department. Dr. Cohen joined Caliper Life Sciences in late 2003 and in his current position as Senior Director is responsible for global microfluidic applications development and technical support.

Frederic Zenhausen, PhD
Professor, Director, Center for Applied Nanobioscience and Medicine,
College of Medicine Phoenix, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
Dr. Zenhausern is Endowed Chair Professor at the Basic Medical Sciences Department, College of Medicine, Phoenix, and he is Director of the Center for Applied Nanobioscience and Medicine, both at the University of Arizona. Prior, Zenhausern was director of the Center for Applied Nanobioscience at Arizona State University’s Biodesign Institute, and R&D director of the Center for Flexible Display. He was tenured Professor with both the Electrical Department and the School of Materials at the School of Engineering. He is Professor and Associate Director of Molecular Diagnostics and Target Validation Division at the Translational Genomics Research Institute, and Director of the Laboratory for Research in Personalized Medicine at the Scottsdale Clinical Research Institute. He received his BS in biochemistry from the University of Geneva, his MBA in finance from Rutgers University and his Doctorate Es Science in Applied Physics at the University of Geneva, Switzerland. Over 10 years, he held corporate research positions at IBM Research Division, Motorola Labs. He has co-authored 70 scientific publications and over a dozen U.S. patents. Dr. Zenhausern is also the co-founder of three biotech startups and member of a few corporate boards.

SESSION 6—TECHNOLOGY BLITZ
Chairs: Drs. Michael Landauer and Lt Col Michael P. Dempsey

Erik Young, PhD
Postdoctoral Research Scientist, Center for Radiological Research at Columbia University,
New York, NY
Dr. Young completed a degree in Biochemistry at Loyola Marymount University before undertaking a doctorate in cell and molecular biology at Columbia. After graduation, he joined a team pursuing the development of a bioelectric breast cancer detection technology and has returned, leveraging that experience forward into the development of bioimpedance and biological sensing modalities in radiation biology. His research interests include sensor development and the mechanisms by which damage and damage information is transduced in living systems.

Bruce Seligmann, PhD
Founder, Vice President of Research & Development,
Chief Scientific Officer, HTG Molecular Diagnostics, Tucson, AZ
Dr. Seligmann began his scientific career at the NIH-NIAID, Laboratory of Clinical Investigation, and then joined Ciba-Geigy (Novartis), where he led the drug discovery programs within the Department of Molecular Biology, Inflammation, and Osteoarthritis Research. He went on to join a start-up biotech company, Selectide, where, as V.P. of R&D, he initiated the development of non-peptide small molecule combinatorial chemistry (combichem) and established drug discovery programs, producing a novel Factor Xa drug that advanced into clinical trials. After serving as Center Director upon the acquisition of Selectide by MMD (Aventis), Dr. Seligmann founded Systems Integration Drug Discovery Company (SIDDCO), a combinatorial chemistry consortium, and HTG. SIDDCO was sold to Discovery Partners International and HTG, which was focused on the development, commercialized, and marketing of the quantitative Nuclease Protection Assay (qNPA™), was divested to SIDDCO shareholders. qNPATM enables the accurate and sensitive measurement of genes from any sample, including FFPE, and consequently HTG and its clients are engaged in translational medicine programs to identify biomarkers and subsequently development projects to launch diagnostic assays, including companion diagnostic assays. Under his leadership and that of the HTG leadership team, HTG has leveraged its extensive experience in developing and commercializing new products, including new platforms such as the X-MAP qBead assay, whole transcriptome miRNA assay, and a surrogate whole transcriptome mRNA assay, as well as research use only reagents that can be used by CLIA labs to develop Laboratory Developed Tests (LDT’s), and the development of IVD’s. HTG Molecular continues to advance the qNPA™ technology, for diagnostics and research.

Felicia Langel, LTC, VMD, PhD
Director, Biomedical Instrumentation Center,
Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD
Dr. Langel earned her veterinary doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania in 1993 and her PhD in Molecular and Cell Biology from the Uniformed Services University in 2006. She conducted her post-doctoral research on the host immune response to anthrax and Q fever at the U.S. Army Research Institute of Infectious Diseases. Subsequently, she returned to USU to serve as the director of the Biomedical Instrumentation Center. As the director, Dr. Langel provides management and scientific oversight of five specialized laboratories offering high-end biomedical technology and support to USU and AFRRI investigators. Dr. Langel is also a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Veterinary Corps.

Ramesh Rangachar, PhD
Sr. Project Head, Intelsat, Washington, DC
Dr. Rangachar works as Senior Manager, Satellite Control Systems at Intelsat. Intelsat operates 74 Intelsat-owned and third party satellites. Ramesh has over 20 years of experience in the design and implementation of satellite ground systems. He is leading a team of IT professionals responsible for System Integration and IT support for Intelsat Satellite Operations. He is also the Project Manager for ground system readiness to support several new satellites. Ramesh has also worked as Adjunct Assistant Professor at the University of Maryland, University College and as a guest researcher at the National Institute of Standards and Technology. He has a Masters in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Maryland.

SESSION 7—GOVERNING THE SCIENCE OF TOMORROW!
Chairs: Drs. Pataje G.S. Prasanna and Richard Levine

Susan Gregurick, PhD
Program Manager, Computational Biology and Bioinformatics,
Office of Biological and Environmental Research, Department of Energy, Washington, DC
Dr. Gregurick earned a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry and Mathematics from the University of Michigan and her PhD in Physical Chemistry at the University of Maryland. Dr. Gregurick was a Lady Davis Postdoctoral Fellow at the Hebrew University and a Sloan Postdoctoral Fellow at the Center for Advanced Research in Biotechnology. She was a Professor at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County with research interest in computational biophysics and currently is a program manager with the Department of Energy. Dr. Gregurick is leading the DOEs effort in developing a Systems Biology Knowledgebase for energy and the environment. The Knowledgebase is a cyber-infrastructure to integrate, search, and visualize experimental data, metadata, corresponding models, and analysis tools in an open environment.

Richard J. Hatchet, PhD
Chief Medical Officer & Deputy Director, HHS/OS/ASPR/BARDA, Washington, DC
Dr. Hatchett is Chief Medical Officer and Deputy Director for Strategic Sciences and Management at the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. His primary responsibilities include oversight of programs relating to strategic science and innovation, strategic affairs and reporting, the development of science and preparedness policy, human resources, communications, and organizational marketing. Previously, he served as Director for Medical Preparedness Policy on the White House National Security Staff where he worked on a wide array of issues related to medical countermeasures development, the 2009-H1N1 pandemic, and pandemic preparedness more broadly. In 2005–2006, he served as Director for Biodefense Policy on the White House Homeland Security Council and was a principal author of the National Strategy for Pandemic Influenza Implementation Plan. In this capacity, he helped set policy and devise strategies to mitigate the consequences of a pandemic and promote pandemic preparedness. From 2005–2011, he served as Associate Director for Radiation Countermeasures Research and Emergency Preparedness at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Dr. Hatchett completed his undergraduate and medical educations at Vanderbilt University, an internship and residency in Internal Medicine at New York Hospital–Cornell Medical Center, and a fellowship in Medical Oncology at the Duke University Medical Center.

Bert W. Maidment, Jr., PhD
Associate Director for Product Development, Radiation/Nuclear Medical Countermeasures
Research and Product Development Program, NIH, NAID, Division of Allergy, Immunology,
and Transplantation, Rockville, MD
Dr. Maidment received a PhD in Experimental Pathology and an M.S. from the State University of New York-Buffalo, Roswell Park Cancer Institute. He provides scientific and program leadership to the National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Division of Allergy, Immunology and Transplantation Product Development group for the development of medical countermeasures to increase survival and mitigate injuries due to radiation exposure. He manages the Radiation/Nuclear Medical Countermeasure Research and Product Development group staff and coordinates with representatives of other government agencies to design and implement research and development projects to complete regulatory submissions that support FDA approvals for products for the Strategic National Stockpile. Previously, he was Vice President for Corporate Business Development at the Midwest Research Institute (MRI) in Kansas City, Missouri. Dr. Maidment was Vice President for Operations and Marketing with LIM Laboratories in Richmond, Virginia. He developed strategies for commercializing technologies in immunoassay, microencapsulation, cell culture serum substitute media, and clinical analyte measurement. Dr. Maidment was cofounder and Vice President for Product Development of NYGene Corporation in Yonkers, New York.

Maria Julia Marinissen, PhD
Director, Division of International Health Security, Office of Assistant Secretary
for Preparedness and Response, HHS, Washington, DC
Dr. Maria Julia Marinissen serves as the Director of the Division of International Health Security in the Office of Policy and Planning within the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). She oversees and provides leadership in international programs to develop early-warning infectious-disease surveillance capacity in partner countries and coordinates the development of policies to provide international assistance during public health emergencies. She also oversees several international partnerships and serves as the U.S. liaison to the Global Health Security Initiative (GHSI) and as the chair for the Trilateral Health Security Working Group under the North American Leaders’ Summit Framework. From 2007–2011, she served as the Executive Secretariat for the GHSI Radiological/ Nuclear threats Working Group. In 2006, Dr. Marinissen joined ASPR as a Science and Technology Policy Fellow sponsored by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. During the fellowship, she served as a Policy Analyst for the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) where she was the Executive Director for two U.S. Government Interagency Working Groups charged with establishing the requirements for medical countermeasures (MCM) for radiological and nuclear threats, including blood and tissue products. In 2004, she received the prestigious “Ramón y Cajal” award from the Spanish Ministry of Science and led a research group at the Universidad Autonoma de Madrid. Her research focused on the effects of inhibitory drugs on Kaposi Sarcoma. She completed both her PhD and Master's Degree in Biology at the Universidad Nacional del Sur in Bahia Blanca, Argentina, where she also held teaching positions in General Biology and Animal Physiology. From 2003 to 2006, she served as a U.S. Marine Corps Attaché Spouse at the U.S. Embassy in Madrid, Spain. She routinely organized and hosted diplomatic events and represented the U.S. at diplomatic, cultural, and military events.

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Session Chairs, IRIS-2011

William F. Blakely, PhD
Senior Scientist, Biological Dosimetry Research Program Advisor,
Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute, Bethesda, MD
Dr. Blakely earned a Doctor of Philosophy in Radiation Biology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He went on to complete postdoctoral studies in DNA radiation chemistry in Dr. John F. Ward's laboratory at the University of California, San Diego. In 1983, Dr. Blakely joined the Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute (AFRRI), where he remains today. His research activities have focused on molecular mechanisms of radiation sensitivity, cell-cycle effects, DNA damage and repair, and biological dosimetry. Dr. Blakely currently is the Biodosimetry Research Group Advisor for AFRRI, a representative on the ISO TC85/SC2 (Radiation Protection) Working Group 18 (Performing Criteria for Service Laboratories Performing Biological Dosimetry by Cytogenetics), former chair of a NATO Research Study Group on Radiation Bioeffects and Countermeasures (RTG-033), and serves on the council for the National Council on Radiation Protection & Measurements (NCRP).

Carolyn J. Fisher, PhD
Research Scientist, Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute, Bethesda, MD
Dr. Fisher initially pursued a career as a Chemist in the utility industry following graduation from South Carolina State University with a BS in Chemistry. After several years of working with radioactive material and excelling in that environment, which included a supervisory role in nuclear power, she later became interested in radiation biology. She went on to receive an MS in Pharmacology/Toxicology from Florida A&M University, where she studied the key intermediary molecules produced by radiation: reactive oxygen species (ROS). Her project focused on the influence of diet and manganese on ROS in rats. Dr. Fisher’s studies then led her to the University of Iowa, where she obtained a PhD in Free Radical and Radiation Biology, investigating the involvement of free radical-signaling in cell cycle progression of cancer cells using in vitro cell culture systems following radiation. Dr. Fisher has also performed postdoctoral research at Duke University using sophisticated mouse models of primary cancers to study radiation biology.

John F. Kalinich, PhD
Research Biologist, Program Advisor,
Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute, Bethesda, MD
Dr. John F. Kalinich received a BS in Biochemistry from the University of Scranton, a MS in Biochemistry from Catholic University in Washington, DC, and a PhD in Chemistry from American University. He was a Robert A. Welch post-doctoral fellow at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, after which he joined the staff of the Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute (AFRRI) in Bethesda, MD. He is currently the Program Advisor for the Internal Contamination and Metal Toxicity Program at AFRRI.

Sanchita P. Ghosh, PhD
Principal Investigator, Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute, Bethesda, MD
Dr. Ghosh earned a PhD in Chemistry from Jadavpur University, India. She did her postdoctoral fellowship at Kent State University, Ohio. After that Dr. Ghosh joined as a research fellow in NIDCD (National Institute of Defense and other Communications Disorder), NIH. She joined to AFRRI in 2005 as a Research Investigator in Radiation Countermeasure Program and became Principal Investigator in 2009. Dr. Ghosh’s research involves development and studying mechanism of two countermeasures, Ex-RAD and GT3. She is also in-charge of the AFRRI Intramural screening program.

Mark H. Whitnall, PhD
Program Advisor, Radiation Countermeasures,
Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute, Bethesda, MD
Dr. Whitnall received an A.B. in Psychology from Brown University, and a PhD in Physiology from the Cornell University Graduate School of Medical Sciences. He was a Postdoctoral Fellow, Staff Fellow, and Senior Staff Fellow at the National Institutes of Health; and the Program Manager for Developmental Neuroscience at the National Science Foundation. Dr. Whitnall joined the staff of the Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute (AFRRI) in Bethesda, MD in 1990. He serves on a number of national and international panels and peer review committees that guide policy and funding of radiation countermeasure research and development. His research interests include development of the minipig as a model for radiation countermeasure development, the effects of radiation quality on countermeasure efficacy, and the cellular and molecular mechanisms of the hematopoietic microenvironment.

Shilpa S. Kulkarni, PhD
Staff Investigator, Radiation Countermeasure Program,
Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute, Bethesda, MD
Dr. Shilpa Kulkarni earned her B.Sc. from Mumbai University and M.Sc. from Indian Institute of Technology (Mumbai) in Chemistry. After graduating from IIT, she went on to pursue her doctorate degree in Biochemistry at University of Illinois at Chicago. She was a postdoctoral fellow at National Cancer Institute-Frederick, after which, she joined AFRRI as a staff investigator in November 2007. At AFRRI, she is involved in efficacy and mechanistic studies of vitamin E isoform- gamma tocotrienol, with an emphasis on hematopoietic injury and stem cells biology.

Lynette H. Cary, PhD
Research Assistant Professor, Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute, Bethesda, MD
Dr. Cary earned a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia. After graduation, she received a doctorate degree in Molecular and Cell Biology from The University of MD at College Park. She joined the National Cancer Institute at Frederick as a postdoctoral fellow, and was an Instructor at the University of CO at Denver Health Sciences Center. She joined AFRRI in December 2007, and is currently investigating the effects of mixed field irradiation on bone marrow progenitor and supportive cells.

Eric D. Lombardini, MAJ, VMD, MSc, DACVPM, DACVP
Chief, Division of Comparative Pathology,
Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute, Bethesda, MD
Major Lombardini received several degrees from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, to include a joint bachelor’s degree in African and Middle Eastern history and in rural development, followed by a Master of Science examining the epidemiology of morbilliviruses between domestic and wild hoofstock, and finally his veterinary degree with an emphasis in public health. Following his commission into the U.S. Army Veterinary Corps, he graduated from a residency in Veterinary Pathology at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology and was successfully boarded in both Veterinary Preventive Medicine and in Veterinary Pathology. He is the recipient of the University of Pennsylvania’s prestigious Leonard Pearson award as well as AFIP’s CL Davis award for excellence and recently received honorary membership in the Brazilian Association of Veterinary Pathology. Dr. Lombardini is a faculty member of the Charles L Davis foundation and lectures internationally as a subject matter expert in aquatic pathology and on the pathology of zoonotic diseases. In 2009, he joined the AFRRI staff as the Veterinary Pathologist for the Institute.

Juliann G. Kiang, PhD
Program Advisor and Professor, Radiation Combined Injury Program,
Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute, Bethesda, MD
Dr. Juliann G. Kiang earned a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Fu-Jen Catholic University in Taipei, Taiwan. After graduation, she went on to receive a Master of Arts in Biology from the University of Nebraska at Omaha, and her doctorate degree in Environmental Health Sciences from the University of California School of Public Health, Berkeley, California. Dr. Kiang is recognized as an expert in the area of heat shock proteins and signal transduction under hypoxia and after radiation combined injury. Among her many awards are the U.S. Army Research and Development Award for Outstanding Achievement, the U.S. DoD Women STEM Award for Excellence in Science, and the Order of Military Medical Merit for significant contribution to military medicine. She enjoys mentoring junior military officers, helping research staff grow into independent scientists taking charge of their own research projects. Her research has been supported by SIIB, the Rockefeller Foundation, WRAIR, AFRRI, NIH/NIAID, and DTRA. She is an editorial board member of Cell Research, Adaptive Medicine, and Cell & Bioscience. Dr. Kiang has published more than 100 peer-reviewed scientific articles and 6 books.

Ian C. Dews, PhD, CPT, MS, USA
Research Biochemist, Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute, Bethesda, MD
CPT Ian C. Dews earned his PhD in the field of Biochemistry and cellular biology (2008). He served as Research assistant at Washington state university and Oregon health sciences university before joining as Mt. St. Helens field scientist at Washington state university, Vancouver. He joined Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute in 2009 as a Research Biochemist. He has published many peer-reviewed scientific papers.

Michael R. Landauer, PhD
Senior Scientist, Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute, Bethesda, MD
Dr. Landauer received his Bachelor of Science degree from Rutgers University (New Brunswick, NJ) in Animal Science and a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois (Urbana, IL) in Zoology. He was awarded a postdoctoral fellowship from the Medical College of Virginia (Richmond, VA) in Behavioral Toxicology Prior to joining the AFRRI staff, Dr. Landauer was a member of the Toxicology Department at the U.S. Army Chemical Research and Development Center, at Aberdeen Proving Ground (Edgewood, MD). He is past president of the Association of Government Toxicologists and the recipient of the 2007 AFRRI Radiobiology Research Award. Dr. Landauer’s research interests include the development and toxicological assessment of potential medical radiation countermeasure agents.

Michael P. Dempsey, Lt Col, USAF, BSC, PhD
Chief, Scientific Operations & Research Support Group,
Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute, Bethesda, MD
Lt Col Dempsey earned his Bachelor’s degree in Biology from the University of Nebraska at Omaha, and completed his Master’s degree in Pathology and Microbiology and his clinical Medical Technology certification at the University of Nebraska Medical Center prior to entering the Air Force as a Biomedical Sciences Corps lab officer. After three assignments, two in clinical lab medicine and one in research, he went on to complete his PhD in molecular microbiology from the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Since earning his PhD, Lt Col Dempsey has served as a CBRN advisor to the Air Force Surgeon General in bio-defense, and he served as the Senior Scientist of the Epidemic Outbreak Surveillance program. His understanding of, and expertise in CBRN have been significantly enhanced during his current assignment at AFRRI. In his current role, he has helped lead AFRRI’s scientific direction at the research, operational, and administrative levels. Further, he has significantly helped facilitate the alignment of AFRRI’s world-renowned Radiobiology expertise with DoD operational requirements to support the warfighter and first responder communities.

Pataje G.S. Prasanna, PhD
Program Director, Radiation Research Program, Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis,
National Cancer Institute, Rockville, MD
Pataje G. Prasanna received his doctorate in Radiobiology from India. He held a faculty position at the Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, India, before availing himself of a U.S. National Academy of Science’s National Research Council post-doctoral Research Associateship at the Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute (AFRRI) in Maryland. As a post-doctoral research associate he established a molecular cytogenetic laboratory at AFRRI to study genotoxic and clastogenic effects of ionizing radiation and chemical agents. Subsequently, he worked at AFRRI as a Scientist for the Henry M. Jackson Foundation, Rockville, MD, conducting research in biological dosimetry as well as assessing radiation dose to individuals accidentally exposed to ionizing radiation. Most recently he worked as a Research Biologist at AFRRI, serving as a Principal Investigator of the Department of Defense in radiationl biology and related fields in intramural and extramural research projects. As a subject-matter expert in biological dosimetry, he is participating in several national and international research efforts in biological dosimetry. He serves as a consultant to the International Atomic Energy Agency in cytogenetic biodosimetry. He joined NCI in 2009 and currently oversees a portfolio of grants, which study radiation-induced normal tissue injury, radiation protection, radioimmunotherapy, nanotechnology, boron-neutron capture therapy, and radiogenomics.

Richard Levine, PhD
Assistant Vice President for Research,
Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD
Dr. Richard Levine received his PhD in a joint psychology/biology program (now referred to as Neurosciences) from the City University of New York. He served for more than 21 years on active duty in the U.S. Army as a research psychologist, where he conducted basic and applied research in laser bio-effects, human visual performance, and aviation performance, and received the Army’s ‘A’ designator for professional proficiency. He has served as a research division director at a major Army medical research laboratory, as an Army research program manager, as research program director and as the director of the human subjects research program at the Uniformed Services University. Dr. Levine currently serves as the Assistant Vice President for Research at the Uniformed Services University.

Christopher R. Lissner, PhD M(ASCP), CAPT, MSC, USN (Ret.)
Scientific Director, Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute, Bethesda, MD
Dr. Lissner earned a Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences and a Master of Science in Cellular & Molecular Biology from the University of Southern California. He later earned a Doctor of Philosophy in Microbiology from the Uniformed Services University in Bethesda, Maryland. Over a twenty-six year career in the U.S. Navy’s Medical Service Corps, his positions included: head of the Microbiology Department at the Naval Medical Center in San Diego and the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda; head of the Bacteriology Department at the Naval Medical Resarch Unit No.3 in Cairo, Egypt; assistant head of the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology in Bethesda; executive officer at the Naval Medical Research Institute in Bethesda; and microbiology advisor and community manager for the Office of the Surgeon General, U.S. Navy. After a very illustrious military career, Dr. Lissner retired at the rank of Navy Captain. Prior to arriving at AFRRI in 2005, he was director of Sponsored Programs at the Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine and a program director for Peer Review, Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs, Constella Health Sciences. Dr. Lissner became the deputy scientific director of AFRRI in 2006 and assumed the position of scientific director in November of 2008. His professional interests include the diagnosis and treatment of infectious disease, microbial host parasite relationships, and institutional research administration.

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Masters of Ceremonies, IRIS-2011

Anthony B. Mickelson, COL, MC, USA
MEIR Course Director
Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute, Bethesda, MD
COL Mickelson graduated Distinguish Military Graduate from the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse ROTC program on May 16, 1980 and was commissioned under the early commissioning program as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Signal Corps serving as a platoon leader in the 410th Signal Company (USAR). He was commissioned as a Regular Army Officer in the Chemical Corps on September 4, 1982, and served in the positions of Chemical Officer, Assistant S3, and Decon Platoon Leader with the 8th Infantry Division (Mech), Chemical Branch Assistant Team Chief, Readiness Group FT Indiantown Gap, Brigade Chemical Officer and Headquarters and Headquarters Company Commander for the 17th Aviation Brigade, the Chief of the Army Chemical Protective Mask Program in the Combat Development Division for the U.S. Army Chemical School, and the Chief of Public Affairs, U.S. Forces Azores. He was commission in the Medical Corps (USAR) on November 18, 1998. COL Mickelson served as the Division Psychiatrist, 28th Infantry Division (Pennsylvania U.S. Army National Guard), and Chief of Mental Health, Task Force Med Falcon (KOSOVO). He was commissioned in the Regular Army Medical Corps in July 2005. He served as the Behavioral Health Chief, USAMEDDAC, Bavaria, the Deputy Chief of Behavioral Health, 31 Combat Support Hospital, Camp Bucca, Iraq, and the Deputy Chief of Behavioral Health, Womack Army Medical Center, FT Bragg. He currently is serving as the Director for Military Medical Operations at AFRRI. His educational background consists of a BS in Medical Technology with a minor in Chemistry from the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse. He has a MS degree and a MD degree from the American University of the Caribbean. He is certified in the specialty of psychiatry under the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. His military awards consist of the Meritorious Service Medal (2 Oak Leaf Clusters), Army Accommodation Medal (4 Oak Leaf Clusters), Joint Service Achievement Medal, the Army Achievement Medal (4 Oak Leaf Clusters), Army Reserve Components Achievement Medal (1 Oak leaf Cluster), Army Parachutist Badge, and Air Assault Badge.

Eric C. Sorenson, Maj, USAF, MSC
Assistant Director for Administration
Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute, Bethesda, MD
Major Eric C. Sorenson is the Assistant Director for Administration, Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute (AFRRI), Bethesda, Maryland. He is responsible for the oversight and management of all administrative resources including tri-service military, civilian, and contract personnel totaling over 230. He is also responsible for all aspects of security surrounding a licensed nuclear reactor, cobalt facility, in addition to an animal colony of over 3,600 and a security system. He coordinates and manages the AFRRI Board of Governors, which includes the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs; all service Surgeon Generals, Joint Staff Surgeon, and other Flag and General Officers from the 3 military services. In 1999, Major Eric C. Sorenson was commissioned as a First Lieutenant in the Medical Service Corps. His military and civilian health care management background includes medical administration, scheduling and operations, medical logistics at the small and large MTF levels, budget programming and execution management at the Air staff level and Senior Administrator for a Joint Services Medical Research facility. His assignments include: Army posts in Germany and Maryland; Air Force bases in Utah, Ohio, Florida and Japan; a Navy base in Maryland. He has deployed in support of Operations Provide Promise and Iraqi Freedom.

Matthew W. Deshazo, LT, MSC, USN
Department Head, Administrative Services
Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute, Bethesda MD
Lieutenant DeShazo was commissioned into the United States Navy Medical Services Corp in September 2006. Prior to his current service in the Navy, he spent over 10 years in the private health care industry including health care administration positions at the Johns Hopkins University Medical System and the University of Maryland Medical System. Lieutenant DeShazo holds a master’s degree in Health Care Management from the University of Baltimore and is actively completing additional graduate work in National Security Strategic Studies through the Naval War College and Strategic Intelligence Studies through the National Defense Intelligence College. 

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