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The 68th Health Physics Society (HPS) Annual Meeting in National Harbor in July will include two plenary sessions.

"Doctrinal Ethics in Research Practice: Professional Probity and Public Good"

On Monday, 24 July, 8–9:30 am, Dr. James Giordano, PhD, MPhil, will present the Robert S. Landauer, Sr., Lecture, "Doctrinal Ethics in Research Practice: Professional Probity and Public Good." Dr. Giordano is professor in the Departments of Neurology and Biochemistry, chief of the Neuroethics Studies Program, leader of the subprogram in Military Medical Ethics of the Pellegrino Center for Clinical Bioethics, special advisor to the Brain Bank, and codirector of the O'Neill-Pellegrino Program in Brain Science and Global Health Law and Policy at Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington, DC. He is also Distinguished Visiting Professor of Brain Science, Health Promotions, and Ethics at the Coburg University of Applied Sciences in Coburg, Germany, and was 2011–2012 JW Fulbright Foundation Visiting Professor of Neurosciences and Neuroethics at the Ludwig-Maximilians University in Munich, Germany.

Giordano is currently Fellow of the Project on Biosecurity, Technology, and Ethics at the US Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island; chairs the Neuroethics Program of the IEEE Brain Initiative; is Senior Science Advisory Fellow of the Strategic Multilayer Assessment Branch of the Joint Staff of the Pentagon; serves as an appointed member of the Neuroethics, Legal, and Social Issues (NELSI) Advisory Panel of the Defense Advanced Research Projects' Agency; and is consulting bioethicist to the Department of Defense Medical Ethics Center. He previously served an appointed member of United States Department of Health and Human Services Secretary's Advisory Council on Human Research Protections and as task leader of the Project on Dual-Use Neurotechnologies of the European Union Human Brain Project.

The author of over 300 publications, 7 books, and 20 government whitepapers on neurotechnology, biosecurity, and ethics, he is editor in chief of the international journal Philosophy, Ethics and Humanities in Medicine and is associate editor of the Cambridge Quarterly of Health Care Ethics. His ongoing research addresses the neurobiological bases of neuropsychiatric spectrum disorders and neuroethical issues arising in and from the development, use, and misuse of neuroscientific techniques and neurotechnologies in medicine, public life, global health, and military applications. In recognition of his work, he was elected to membership in the European Academy of Science and Arts and was named as an Overseas Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine (UK).

"Biological Responses to Low Dose Radiation: An Evolutionarily Conserved Adaptive Mechanism"

On Wednesday, 26 July, 8–9:30 am, Dr. Douglas Boreham, PhD, will present the G. William Morgan Lecture, "Biological Responses to Low Dose Radiation: An Evolutionarily Conserved Adaptive Mechanism." Dr. Boreham received his PhD from the University of Ottawa in 1990.He was a research scientist at Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd, Chalk River Laboratories for 10 years prior to becoming a professor at McMaster University from 2000 to 2012. He is currently a professor at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine University (NOSM U) and is division head for the Medical Sciences Division. While working at McMaster University and NOSM U, he also held positions at Bruce Power as principal scientist for the Environment and Integration Departments. Boreham is a recognized leader in the areas of low-dose radiation effects in medicine and health and in radioprotection of humans and the environment. He was selected as an expert Canadian delegate for the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) in 2012. He has earned several awards, including McMaster President's Award for Excellence in Instruction (2004), Canadian Nuclear Achievement Award for Outstanding Education and Communications (2005), Canadian Radiation Protection Association – Distinguished Achievement Award in Recognition of Outstanding Contributions in the Field of Radiation Protection (2009), and Radiation Research Society – Mentor of the Year Award for Scholars in Training (2010). The International Dose-Response Society selected Boreham as recipient of the 2015 Outstanding Leadership Award in the field of dose response. He has supervised numerous graduate students and postdoctoral fellows and has over 160 peer-reviewed scientific publications. He was recently voted as vice president-elect for the Radiation Research Society.

See the online program for more information on these sessions and others.