E-Insight

June 2006

Dr. Joel Bedford to Receive Radiation Research Society Excellence in Mentoring Award

Dr. Joel Bedford, a Professor in the Department of Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences, has been selected by the Radiation Research Society to receive the organization's Excellence in Mentoring Award. Dr. Bedford is the fourth recipient of the award, which was established in 2002.

The Radiation Research Society (RRS) requested letters of nomination for the award, which were reviewed by a 10-member panel charged with selecting the recipient. Dr. Bedford will receive the Excellence in Mentoring Award at the business meeting of the RRS in Philadelphia, Penn, at the organization's 53rd Annual Meeting to be held jointly Nov. 5-8 with the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology.

Dr. Bedford became interested in radiological sciences after graduating from the University of Colorado with a degree in chemistry. He then worked in the Biochemistry Department at the University of Colorado 's Health Sciences Center and eventually enrolled in the master's program in radiology. After completing his master's degree, he went to Oxford where he completed his PhD degree in 1966, studying radiation effect.

Dr. Bedford then returned to the United States where he joined the faculty at Vanderbilt University as an instructor, earning tenure in 1971 as an Associate Professor. In 1975, Dr. Bedford gave up his tenured position for what seemed to be a good opportunity at Colorado State University, a chance to join an entire department devoted to his field of study, the Department of Radiology and Radiation Biology.

Through the years, Dr. Bedford has found his work in radiation sciences challenging and rewarding, but he says that what really keeps him going is his students.

"In my mind, the best part of this work is having students who get really interested in the scientific aspects, and they come up with their own ideas that we can discuss and explore," said Dr. Bedford. "Helping our students and our postdoctoral fellows is the most rewarding aspect of this entire enterprise."