Williams Chairs National Space Biomedical Research Institute Science Committee

Jacqueline Williams, Ph.D., was named chair of the National Space Biomedical Research Institute’s Scientific Advisory Committee for its Center of Acute Radiation Research. Williams is grant director and core leader of the Center for Biophysical Assessment and Risk Management Following Irradiation at the University of Rochester Medical Center.

NSBRI is a NASA-funded consortium of institutions studying the health risks related to long-duration spaceflight and developing countermeasures to mitigate the risks. The CARR, which is headed at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, is responsible for studying the acute effects of exposure to space radiation during exploration missions. The Scientific Advisory Committee provides advice on the Center’s productivity and effectiveness.

Williams is also a member of NSBRI’s External Advisory Council, which is composed of leaders in research fields central to the Institute’s mission and advises management on strategic issues and programmatic effectiveness.

Williams is an associate professor of Radiation Oncology at the Medical Center’s James P. Wilmot Cancer Center. She has 30 years experience in radiation biology research and education. She has conducted radiation studies for health care on Earth and for radiation exposure during spaceflight.

Williams holds leadership positions in the Radiation Research Society, the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology, and the Southwestern Oncology Group.

The Cardiff, Wales, native earned a bachelor’s degree in zoology/pharmacology from the University of Nottingham and a Ph.D. in radiation biology from the University of London. She came to Rochester in 1990.