UC Irvine Researcher Awarded $1.8M NIH Grant to Study Cancer Risks From Low-Dose Radiation

A University of California, Irvine researcher has received a $1.8 million National Cancer Institute grant to investigate the long-term cancer risks associated with low-dose ionizing radiation exposure, using data from more than 300,000 nuclear workers in the United States, France and the United Kingdom.

The five-year study, led by David Richardson, associate dean of research and professor of environmental and occupational health at UC Irvine's Joe C. Wen School of Population & Public Health, will extend the International Nuclear Workers Study by another decade, creating one of the largest and most comprehensive analyses of low-dose radiation exposure to date.

Researchers will examine links between radiation exposure and the risk of leukemia and solid cancers, evaluate how age at exposure influences cancer risk, and compare findings with current radiation protection models. The study will also incorporate evidence from research involving Japanese atomic bomb survivors to improve estimates of cancer risk from low-dose radiation.

“Understanding the health effects of low-dose radiation exposure is increasingly important as medical, occupational, and environmental sources of radiation become more common,” Richardson said. “This research will provide critical evidence to inform radiation protection standards and public health policy.”