NRC Commissioner Baran Tours NIH

Joining NRC Commissioner Jeff Baran (third from l) are (from l) Dr. Ron Neumann, chief, CC nuclear medicine department; Dr. Elizabeth Jones, director, CC radiology and imaging sciences department; Tim Tosten, acting director, Office of Research Services; Dr. Brad Wood, chair, NIH radiation safety committee; and Cathy Ribaudo, director, Office of Research Services’ Division of Radiation Safety.

In early February, NIH hosted a visit by Commissioner Jeff Baran of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), which is the lead regulatory agency licensing the use of radioactive material for the NIH Intramural Research Program. The visit was not an inspection, but a brief tour of NIH programs, showcasing the variety of applications using radioactive materials. The tour included a visit to: the Clinical Center’s cyclotron and PET department; NIBIB’s Current Good Manufacturing Practice Laboratory, where radiopharmaceuticals are custom-made; the CC nuclear medicine and transfusion medicine departments; and the NCI Laboratory of Tumor Immunology and Biology. Seeing operations first-hand and hearing NIH researchers discuss the challenges involved in radiation safety regulations will allow Baran to better understand the impact of regulatory rulemaking in a biomedical research environment. For more information on radiation safety at NIH, visit https://drs.ors.od.nih.gov.