2026 Advisory Committee Meeting
Thursday and Friday, April 16-17
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AgendaThe 2026 annual meeting of the USTUR’s Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) was held April 16-17 in Richland, WA. This two-day meeting featured both operational and scientific presentations. It provided time for SAC members to discuss the USTUR’s activities during the past year, and to make recommendations for the coming year.
Meeting Summary
Day 1 (Thursday)
The first day of the meeting described operational activities during the past year, and summarized research conducted using USTUR data and materials. USTUR director, Sergei Tolmachev, opened the meeting by welcoming meeting attendees, followed by opening remarks from committee chair Luiz Bertelli.
An update from the Department of Energy (DOE) was provided by Robin Elgart, director of DOE EHSS‑12. Julie Akers, interim dean of the College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences (CPPS), discussed enrollment, academic programs, and the college’s rural health initiatives. Kathleen McAteer, vice chancellor of WSU Tri Cities, shared updates on the campus, including a summary of courses and other student opportunities in the field of nuclear science. Noel Schulz, inaugural director of the Institute for Northwest Energy Futures (INEF), discussed nuclear and STEM programs associated with INEF and WSU’s nuclear science center.
Later in the day, Michelle Hrycauk Nassif, director of Cougar Tracks Continuing Education, spoke about the power of partnerships in the context of the Radiological and Nuclear Security Leadership Academy (RNSLA). RNSLA is a DOE (EHSS-12) sponsored academy that “integrates DOE-aligned training, immersive field experiences, and interagency engagement to produce technically skilled professionals.”
USTUR faculty presentations focused on operational and research activities conducted during the past year. Operational updates included administrative and financial developments, progress toward addressing recommendations from the 2025 SAC meeting, registrant statistics, and radiochemistry operations. Additionally, Maia Avtandilashvili described the USTUR’s recently completed health physics database. Populating this database took more than a decade, and the final product is a valuable resource for radiation research.
This year’s meeting included three scientific presentations that explored sources of uncertainty in epidemiological studies. Dr. Avtandilashvili explored uncertainties in radiation dose estimates by comparing measured post-mortem organ contents to predictions generated using non-informative intake scenarios typical of epidemiological studies. Xirui Liu and Stacey McComish discussed the impact of errors in reported causes of death and a possible method for correcting for these errors.
To close the first day of the meeting, Dr. Tolmachev presented the USTUR’s research and operational plan for the coming year, and opened the meeting up for general discussion about the day’s presentations. This included a Q&A session in which SAC members and other attendees were invited to ask questions about the USTUR’s operations and research.
Day 2 (Wednesday)
The second day was administrative in nature and was open only to SAC members, the USTUR staff, and DOE representatives. The day began with a brief discussion about SAC membership, and an opportunity for SAC members to ask further questions about the previous day’s presentations. This was followed by an executive session, where only SAC members remained in the meeting. After lunch, the USTUR staff and the DOE representatives rejoined the meeting, and the SAC shared several comments regarding progress during the past year as well as recommendations for the coming year.
SAC Membership
Bill Stange’s third term as an occupational health representative on the advisory committee expired, and he has been replaced by Jordan Firestone. Dr. Firestone attended this year’s advisory committee meeting as an incoming member. Additionally, Janet Benson completed her second term as a toxicology representative, and David Pawel completed his first term as a biostatistics representative. Both renewed their membership on the committee for an additional three-year term.