Col. Mark Melanson, chief of Health Physics at Walter Reed, has been selected to become the next director of the Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute (AFRRI) at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md.
Melanson leaves Walter Reed at the end of this month to assume his new assignment at AFRRI, which he describes as ‘‘the [Department of Defense’s] premier radiation research laboratory.” He has been at Walter Reed since 2005, where he’s not only been chief of Health Physics, but also Walter Reed’s radiation safety officer. In addition, Melanson serves as the nuclear medical science consultant to the Army surgeon general, and specialty leader for the nuclear medical science officer career field. He’s also an adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Preventive Medicine⁄Biometrics for the School of Medicine at the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences in Bethesda.
As director of AFRRI, Melanson will be responsible for overseeing and managing its radiobiology research, developing a graduate degree program for radiobiology, providing consultation to senior level U.S. government officials, developing training on the health effects of radiation, and fielding emergency response teams to support nuclear and radiological incidents.
Melanson said AFRRI is DoD’s premier radiation research laboratory for a number of reasons, foremost for its ‘‘pioneering work in the acute effects of radiation, including the combined effects of radiation and injuries in terms of lethality and survivability.
‘‘It leads the world in developing radioprotectants, and biodosmetric tools to estimate radiation exposure and dose,” Melanson added. ‘‘It has also provided medical guidance for the management of radiologically-exposed patients and individuals with acute intakes of radionuclides.”
Melanson is a 1983 graduate of Dickinson College in Carlisle, Penn., where he earned his bachelor’s degree in physics. He earned his master’s and doctorate degrees in radiation health sciences from The Johns Hopkins University, School of Hygiene and Public Health.
He’s been the radiation safety officer at Landstuhl Army Regional Medical Center in Germany, and health physicist at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., where he was also the program manager for health physics. (Stripe)
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