Current Scientific Advisory Committee
SAC History
SAC Meetings
All SAC Members, past and present
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Thomas L. Rucker – Scientific Member |
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RUCKER, Thomas L., PhD Scientific Member, Chair 10/1/2015 – 3/31/2025 Dr. Rucker has more than 40 years of experience in analytical chemistry; radiochemistry; radiological detection and measurement; dose assessment; environmental and waste management; and nuclear material disposition, control, accountability, and non-proliferation. His experience in radiochemistry and radiation detection and measurement includes laboratory management; laboratory automation; research and development; quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) program management; information management, and statistical analysis. He has extensive experience in alpha and gamma spectroscopy, liquid scintillation counting, and nuclear nondestructive and field analysis techniques. Dr. Rucker also has extensive experience in radioanalytical data evaluation and validation. Dr. Rucker’s dose assessment experience includes the interpretation and implementation of radiation protection regulations in technical basis documents for internal dosimetry, establishment of internal dosimetry bioassay programs; and evaluation of nuclear accident dosimetry programs. |
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Janet M. Benson – Scientific Member |
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BENSON, Janet M., PhD Scientific Member 4/1/2020 – 3/31/2023 Dr. Benson’s areas of research include examining the efficacy, pharmacokinetics/toxicokinetics and safety of potential new therapeutics, including small molecules, natural products, and gene therapies. Dr. Benson also has had extensive experience in the design and conduct of inhalation studies, including toxicokinetic and mechanistic evaluations of metals, solvents, natural products, and select agents. Her laboratory has developed animal models of ocular, dermal, and pulmonary injury in which to examine the efficacy of new therapeutics. As Principal Investigator of the NHLBI Gene Therapy Resources Program, she assisted NHLBI investigators in designing IND-enabling safety and efficacy studies that are implemented at Lovelace. She has over 30 years experience in the conduct of studies under Good Laboratory Practice Guidelines for Government and Industry Sponsors. |
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Luiz Bertelli – Scientific Member |
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BERTELLI, Luiz, PhD Scientific Member 4/1/2018 – 3/31/2024 Luiz Bertelli has been an internal dosimetriest at Argonne National Laboratory since 2003, and he previously worked at Argonne National Laboratory. He has worked in internal dosimetry modeling and interpretation of monitoring of radiation workers for 40 years, including 18 years in Brazil where he was responsible for calculating all internal doses and evaluating initial efficacy of Prussian Blue for all age groups due to the Goiania radioactive accident. Dr. Bertelli has been a member of the International Commisssion on Radiologial Protection (ICRP) Task Group on Dose Calculations since 1995, and was a member of ICRP Committee 2 from 2013-2017. He has been a member of the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements (NCRP) since 2019, and has served on NCRP’s Program Area Committee 6 on Radiation Measurements and Dosimetry since 2013. He is also a faculty member with the Radiation Emergency Assistance Center / Training Site (REAC/TS) and an active collaborator with the Latin American branch of the International Atomic Energy Agency. Dr. Bertelli received his PhD in biophysics from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1990, and was a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Utah’s Environmental Radiation Toxicology Laboratory from 1991-1995. |
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Elizabeth D. Ellis – Ethics Representative |
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ELLIS, Elizabeth D., PhD Ethics Representative 4/1/2024 – current Dr. Elizabeth “Betsy” Ellis, an Epidemiologist, provides as epidemiologic subject matter expertise and technical historical context and knowledge for ORAU’s epidemiologic and illness and injury surveillance in the areas of occupational epidemiology. From 1998 through 2015, Dr. Ellis was the Program Manager of the Department of Energy (DOE) Injury and Illnesses Surveillance Program (IISP). Illness and Injury Surveillance assessed the overall health of the current DOE workforce at 14 DOE sites and facilities. The goal was to identify groups of workers that might be at increased risk for occupation-related injury and illness. In response to indications of excess risk, program staff could assess the need for additional investigations. Surveillance was based on continuous collection, analysis, and interpretation of selected morbidity, demographic, and occupational exposure data. The program was a corporate resource providing its customers with timely health information. Program staff also provided epidemiologic and public health expertise in the evaluation of worker health concerns. She served as key study personnel on the US One Million Person Study for health effects of low-dose radiation and was involved with building the relational database containing identifying, demographic, work history, vital status and cause of death information that forms the basis for inclusion of the 360,000 DOE workers in this study. Since retiring in 2022, she continues to participate as a technical advisor to the study. From 2006-2020, Dr. Ellis served on the International Commission on Radiological Protection, Committee 2, Task Group 64 to evaluate cancer risks associated with exposure to alpha emitters. She was the Chair of the Oak Ridge Site-wide Institutional Review Board from 2001-2023 and currently serves as Vice Chair of that Board and Vice Chair of the DOE Central IRB since its inception in the 2000s to the present. |
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David Pawel – Scientific Member |
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PAWEL, David, PhD Scientific Member 4/1/2023 – current |
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Arthur W. “Bill” Stange – Scientific Member |
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STANGE, Arthur W., PhD Scientific Member 10/1/2016 – 3/31/2023 Dr. Arthur W. “Bill” Stange has over 30 years’ experience in epidemiology, environmental health, and occupational health exposure assessments. Throughout his career, he has been involved in numerous industrial hygiene monitoring and medical surveillance programs, and has created computer procedures for monitoring and characterizing employee illnesses, injuries, and absenteeism. Dr. Stange has advised Fortune 100 corporate medical and management directors concerning the implications of hazardous occupational exposures, designed procedures for tracking and characterizing employee illness and developed management training programs concerning employee productivity. Dr. Stange is presently the Manager of Health Studies for Oak Ridge Associated Universities, and is responsible for health studies data collection, epidemiologic analyses, and the publication of findings for the National Supplemental Screening Program (NSSP), a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Former Worker Medical Screening Program. He has provided epidemiological oversight and analysis of medical surveillance findings for the DOE Rocky Flats Plant Beryllium Medical Surveillance Program and the Oak Ridge Associated Universities Nationwide Beryllium Medical Surveillance Program. Dr. Stange is an active member of the Beryllium Health and Safety Committee (BHSC) that promotes activities and efforts to help individuals better understand and prevent beryllium-induced conditions and illnesses, including beryllium sensitization and chronic beryllium disease. On the BHSC he serves as the co-chair of the Medical and Epidemiology Subcommittee, which focuses on understanding the health effects associated with beryllium. He attained his PhD in Epidemiology from Colorado State University, completed a Master of Science in Cellular Biology from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and received his Bachelor of Science in Biology from Nebraska Wesleyan University. |
