RERF Holds 53rd Scientific Advisory Committee Meeting – Radiation Effects Research Foundation (RERF) (original) (raw)

The 53rd meeting of the Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) was held over three days, March 4–6, 2026 (Japan Standard Time), at the RERF Hiroshima Laboratory. The SAC is a body made up of outside experts that reviews ongoing studies and research being conducted at RERF and provides recommendations for approval of new research plans and continuation or modification of existing projects.

At the March meeting, a total of 12 members participated: nine Scientific Advisory Committee members from Japan and the United States and two Special Scientific Advisors. Also in attendance were observers from Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW), the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), and the U.S. National Academy of Sciences (NAS), as well as members of the RERF Board of Councilors.

This year’s Scientific Advisory Committee meeting concentrated its deliberations on hematopoietic tumors (blood cancers), the Trio Genome Study, which was announced at a press conference late last year, and the Research Resource Center, currently under preparation.

On the first day of the meeting, March 4, following opening remarks by RERF Chair Dr. Kenji Kamiya, RERF Vice Chair Dr. Preetha Rajaraman presented an overview of the organization’s research strategy. That was followed by a review of the analysis of the mechanisms underlying hematopoietic tumor development, a progress report on the Trio Genome Study, and a discussion involving the Research Resource Center.

On the second day, March 5, discussions were held between the Scientific Advisory Committee and each department regarding their research activities and related matters.

On the final day, March 6, the Committee prepared its recommendations based on the discussions held during the meeting and provided an overall summary. A press conference was then held, attended by representatives from 12 media organizations.

At the beginning of the press conference, the Japanese co-chair, Dr. Tatsuhiko Imaoka, Director, Department of Radiation Effects Research, Institute for Radiological Science, National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology, and the U.S. co-chair, Dr. Nilanjan Chatterjee, Bloomberg Distinguished Professor, Department of Biostatistics, Bloomberg School of Public Health and Department of Oncology, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, provided to the media a summary of the discussions held over the three days.

An overview of the discussions of the Scientific Advisory Committee and a list of participants are provided below.

Overview of Scientific Advisory Committee deliberations

Participants of the Scientific Advisory Committee meeting