MEMBERS - BIOGRAPHIES AND ROLES
Dr. Carmel MOTHERSILL
President
McMaster Faculty of Science
CANADA
Current professional position: Radiobiologist, Nuclear Research Professor
Professor at McMaster University (Canada), Board member (Treasurer responsibility) for more than 10 years, she has run a number of IUR scientific seminars and conferences, especially focused on liaising between radioecology and radiobiology and developing an ecosystem approach to improve risk assessments. She will be in charge of designing a revised strategy for the next years and leading IUR accordingly. Armelle is ready to continue running the Secretariat: keeping all financial recordings and reporting up-to-date, managing the communication via the web site, organizing the logistics of seminars and conferences.
Dr. François BRECHIGNAC
Vice President
Retired IRSN
FRANCE
François carried alternatively responsibility of IUR as President or General Secretary for the last 20 years in addition to his work at IRSN in experimental radioecology and later at the scientific direction. He is now retired and feels that a younger radioecologist should now replace him to deal with all IUR matters, including strategy, science, communication and administration. Having served these areas during many years, he would be ready to continue helping IUR, as Vice-President, especially in transferring to the new General Secretary all the knowledge and experience gained as well as supporting the new President.
Dr. Nele HOREMANS
Treasurer and Officer for molecular and biochemical approaches in radioecology
SCK CEN
Belgian Nuclear Research Centre
BELGIUM
Current professional position: Nele currently heads the research Unit for Biosphere Impact Studies at the Belgian Nuclear Research Centre (SCK CEN). Nele does research in plant stress responses to radiation and radionuclides. As an ecotoxicologist, she is interested in the role plants can play in cleaning up pollution from the environment. Next to her research at SCK CEN she is appointed as a guest lecturer at the University of Hasselt teaching, radio - & ecotoxicity, radiecology lab to field approaches.
Nele has kindly accepted to endorse the Treasurer responsibility to facilitate IUR interactions with the Belgian administration and to deal with its bank accounts located in Belgian banks. This is because IUR, established as an association under Belgian law, needs to interact with the Belgian administration for legal aspects (tax administration), also the reason why the Treasurer is chosen as a Belgian citizen. The Treasurer is especially supported by the IUR Secretary, Armelle, who will continue her job as before. On scientific matters, she will act as referent for the application of molecular and biochemical approaches in radioecology, also developing liaison with radiobiology.
Dr. Andrea BONISOLI ALQUATI
General Secretary
California State Polytechnic University
Department of Biological Sciences
Pomona, California
USA
Current professional position: Andrea is associate professor at California State Polytechnic University. The Bonisoli Alquati Lab is a research lab in the Department of Biological Sciences at Cal Poly Pomona, dedicated to the research of the effects of environmental pollutants on wild animals, to understand their impacts and as a tool to investigate the response of animals to anthropogenic environmental change.
Andrea has expressed a wish to strongly promote IUR on a wide array of directions and his skills are very appropriate to deal with the challenges ahead. He also has good connections with sister organizations (SETAC, ESA, SPERA, etc.). This choice is also motivated by the best possible geographical vicinity with the President, both being located on the American Northern continent (California-Ontario). A good liaison to the Treasurer will need also to be achieved. The numerous Memoranda of Understanding established by IUR with other institutions will need to be revisited, revitalized and enlarged. Collaboration with international institutions such as IAEA, UNSCEAR, ICRP, EURADOS, etc… are also to be continued and reinforced (potentially under the IUR Forum). Fund rising will be an essential and critical task.
Dr. Per STRAND
Past President Emeritus
Director, National Radiation Protection Authority, DSA
NORWAY
Dr. Amy MACINTOSH
Officer for international student representation and early career
ANSTO
Australia’s Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation
Macquarie University and Environment Research Theme
AUSTRALIA
Current professional position: Adjunct Fellow at Macquarie University
Amy has expressed her wish to engage in supporting students to join IUR and this is fully acknowledged as a required need. This is meant as the main source of building the future IUR membership. She will also deal with education and teaching in Radioecology in close collaboration with Tom..
Dr. Frédéric ALONZO
Officer for the promotion of radioecology networks and risk assessments of ecosystems
IRSN - Institute for Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety
FRANCE
Current professional position: Frédéric is a senior researcher in
nuclear ecotoxicology at French IRSN.
Fred is a good connaisseur of scientific radioecology networks and a leader in promoting holistic approaches to deal with ecological risk assessments as a follow on of the past IUR efforts to promote ecosystem approaches in radioecology. He will contribute to establishing and reinforcing appropriate linkage with international organizations having interest in radioecology scientific achievements (IAEA, UNSCEAR, ICRP, EURADOS, etc…)
Dr. Kentaro ARIYOSHI
Officer for the coordination of radioecology research interests
in Fukushima
Fukushima Medical University
JAPAN
Current professional position: Kentaro is associate professor at Fukushima Medical University, Integrated Center for Science and Humanities. Based on radiation biology, we are working on (1) research on the non-targeted effects of radiation and personal sensitivity (2) the relationship between aneuploidy and cancer. Since 2014, we have been conducting radiation effects on wild animals in Namie-town, Fukushima Prefecture. We are currently developing assays that combine bench work and field work to investigate the biological effects of environmental radiation. Kentaro is member of the Japanese Radiation Research Society.
There is still much to be learnt from the Fukushima accident and Kentaro is in the right place to stimulate IUR engagement in co-exploring this research and disseminating the new knowledge gained. He will also be in charge of doing a membership drive in Japan where there is still a lot of Fukushima related work going on
Dr. Shaofei CAO
Officer for the IUR FORUM development
CIRP
China Institute for Radiation Protection
P.R. of CHINA
Current professional position: Director of Radioecology Laboratory
The IUR Forum is a worldwide structure designed to link networks of various natures, scientific, regulatory, infrastructures, etc… Started one decade ago, it needs to be revisited with respect to new existing networks and further developed to include other regions around the world, such as AustralAsia (including Japan and China where nuclear industry is recognized as important). Shaofei is heading the Radioecology Lab at the Chinese Institute for Radiation Protection and shows especial interest in breakthrough scientific developments, cross-fertilization and promotion of worldwide sharing of experimental facilities.
Dr. Tom CRESSWEL
Officer for education and outreach, communication and fund rising
ANSTO
Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation
AUSTRALIA
Current professional position: Tom is Senior Research Scientist, Isotope Ecologist, in Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry. Tom is an environmental research scientist with a passion for understanding how humans impact our environment. He studies how pollution interacts with living organisms in freshwaters through to coastal areas. Tom’s position at ANSTO allows him to use nuclear techniques (radioisotope tracers) to very precisely study how quickly pollutants get into a living organism, where it goes within the tissues and then how quickly they are removed from the tissues if the source of pollution is removed or the animal moves to cleaner waters.
Tom has strong interest in education and outreach. He also benefits from deep liaison with sister organizations (SETAC, SPERA, etc…) and has proposed to stimulate or carry the above-mentioned areas. He has also been promoting the last IUR Forum initiative successfully held in Melbourne in September 2024. He will carry out his duties in close collaboration with Amy Macintosh.