Introduction to the Bill Morgan Memorial Special Issue on Biology, Epidemiology, and Implications for Radiation Protection

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Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.

Funding

The authors receive no specific funding for this work.

Messages from contributing authors to Bill Morgan

From Edouard I. Azzam: You were there during my student days to guide, and you were there when I started my professional career to support. You remained there to guide and support the new generation from the laboratory. The scientific exchanges in Whistler, on the road to the Diamond Head volcano, in Richland, Baltimore, Seoul, Sapporo and New York, and during the many meetings of the Radiation Research Society were always touched with your humanity and energy. Like many, I will never forget and I am ever grateful! Rest assured that the memory of yesterday’s joy and the feeling of the friendship will remain with us all forever!

From Patrick Concannon: I first met Bill when I picked up the phone one day in late 1997 and heard him, with his now familiar accent say, ‘Hi Pat, this is Bill Morgan. I hear we are collaborating!’. From that day on I had a collaborator, colleague and friend. Of course, that meant getting talked into serving on various committees over the years with Bill, but he always found a way to make that service seem like it was a lot more fun than it probably really was. I will miss him, his honest and straightforward advice and his always upbeat demeanor.

From Lawrence T. Dauer: Bill Morgan was a trusted mentor, friend, and colleague of mine. He and I had the opportunity to first work together on a project beginning in 2007 to review radiobiology and epidemiology studies on low dose health effects. Bill and Antone Brooks, along with Ludwig Feinendegen, later organized a seminal conference on biological consequences and health risks of low-level exposure to ionizing radiation in honor of Victor P. Bond in 2010. Bill rightly insisted that the conference include discussions and not just one-way presentations. He knew that shared creative dialogue and inquiry with interdisciplinary inclusiveness was an important (and typically missing) ingredient in moving our understanding ahead. His global approach spilled into his expertise on systems biology, his tireless service in professional organizations, and his willingness to teach, encourage, and thoughtfully provoke those of us blessed to work with him. I deeply appreciate the many hours of discussions that we had.

From Evagelia C. Laiakis: Dearest Bill, my mentor, my teacher, but most importantly my friend. Your undeniable love for everything in your life was infectious. Your laughter and ability to make everyone feel like you have known each other for decades were warm and admirable. You were always welcoming and being close to your family is a testament to that. However, your mischievous character playing pranks on graduate students… not so much! Despite those few moments, you were always there in my early professional career with help and guidance when needed, providing serious advice mixed in with humor, and reminding me that no matter what, everything would be OK. What better teacher a young student could have asked for! Your untimely loss left a huge emptiness, but it brought everyone in your radiation research community closer, forging new friendships. I often find myself asking: ‘What would Bill say in this situation? How would he handle it?’ and then I hear your laughter in my head mixed in with other words, sometimes not so politically correct. So, to you my friend, I raise a glass in your memory and remain thankful for the times we had together and express my gratitude for everything you have given me. May you rest in peace until we meet again.

From Charles L. Limoli: My first and only postdoctoral position was with Bill Morgan in the Laboratory of Radiobiology and Environmental Health at UCSF from 1995–1998. Bill served as my mentor during that time where we developed a close friendship that lasted until his untimely passing in November 2015. I studied radiation-induced genomic instability in Bill’s lab, and liked to believe that together we helped shape the field during the mid to late-1990s. I enjoyed many lively discussions with Bill over the years, and grew quite close to his family and friends during many weekend trips to his cabin in the gold country, and over numerous dinner and social engagements at his home and at meetings throughout the world. Bill’s zest for life was contagious and brought out the best on all those fortunate to have known him. Few people do my boys Kyle and Bryce remember more vividly as they chased Bill relentlessly through the home exchanging insults and occasional blows, but always ending in laughter with good times had by all. Importantly, and more than any other, Bill taught me how to be a professor and for that along with his enthusiasm for life and science, I will miss him like no other. Take care my friend.

From Kotaro Ozasa: Dr Bill Morgan had a long history of contact with the Radiation Effects Research Foundation and its scientists. I first met him together with some Japanese scientists during an evening at some scientific meeting abroad some time later after my coming to RERF in 2008 although I don’t remember it precisely, so I have only short history with him. He was a special advisor at the meeting of the Scientific Advisory Committee in March, 2012, an external evaluation committee for RERF. Probably he became aware of me and our works during the course and valued our epidemiological works. Every time we met in scientific meetings he talked to me friendly. When I met him at the ICRP symposium in Seoul, I never thought it was the last time. I sincerely appreciate his kindness and support.

From R. Julian Preston: I first met Bill Morgan in the early 1980s not long after he came to the U.S. We shared chromosomes as our research passion and talking and drinking beer as our platform for discussions. Over the years we shared so many memorable discussions on research and everything else at our respective homes and laboratories. Bill was the most engaging person I have met. He saw the issues and never let them go until he had developed a solution or a plan to reach a solution. We also shared service on national and international committees and both recognized the value of this and the need through this activity to enhance the process of risk assessment. Having travelled quite a lot with Bill, I fully appreciated that he loved to travel and meet friends and colleagues around the world. You were always important to Bill. I will miss you a great deal for all these facets of our lifelong interactions.

From Werner Rühm: It was in 2005 when I met Bill Morgan for the first time personally. We came to Geneva, Switzerland, for ICRP, because we were both newly elected members of Committee 1 (C1). While this was a rather new experience for me at that time, Bill had already served in many international committees before. He was an eminent scientist, well-known worldwide for his significant scientific contributions to radiation biology. From the very beginning I learned from his profound knowledge, and it was him who always encouraged and supported me by his open-minded, warm-hearted and trustful personality. When Julian Preston stepped down as C1 Chair in 2011, Bill took over and I felt honored when he asked me to support him as Secretary. Since then, we often met on various occasions worldwide, including ICRP meetings, scientific conferences, or the symposium organized on the occasion of the 80th birthday of Christian Streffer in 2014 in Essen, Germany. In 2012 and 2013 I had invited Bill to come to Bad Honnef, Germany, and teach radiation biology at the WE-Heraeus Physics School on ‘Ionising Radiation and the Protection of Man’. Although his schedule was always very tight he accepted, and I will never forget the discussions we had in the evenings in the bar of the Physics Center of the German Physical Society, where the School was held. It was at one of those occasions when Bill asked me to chair a new C1 Task Group and review the scientific evidence of low dose and low dose rate effects of ionizing radiation, which is still ongoing. After Bill’s death, I was elected as the new C1 Chair. I consider this as one of the legacies Bill left to me, and I will do my very best to continue in his spirit. Bill, wherever you may be now, I can still feel your encouragement and I am pretty sure that you will do whatever you can to support me in these efforts.

From Laure Sabatier: I first met Bill in Dallas at the 41st Annual Meeting of the Radiation Research Society in 1993, where we were both invited to give a talk and I presented our work on ‘Radiation-induced chromosomal instability and alterations of telomeric repeats’. He was enthusiastic to introduce me to his office mate John P. Murnane. Our scientific discussions were so interesting that we started to collaborate. In the following year, we all published together the first paper (Murnane et al. 1994. Telomere dynamics in an immortal human cell line. EMBO J. 13:4953–4963). Bill and I met many times all over the years, at the scientific meetings, or for the European projects. Beside all the scientific exchanges, my dearest memory is his warm welcome in his laboratory at Parnassus, entrusting me with the keys so that I could use the lab at my own convenience at nights. He had a bright and open mind.

From John E. Till: Bill Morgan was not only a great scientist, but was also a gentleman. What I recall most about Bill was how he treated everyone with such kindness, caring, and sincerity. This struck me the first time I met him and every time we met he showed the same attitude toward me and others. When he spoke to someone, that person was the focus of his attention. This personal trait of character, in my view, is one of the most important that should be shared by all mankind.

From Gayle E. Woloschak: I first met Bill when he came to Argonne National Laboratory in around 1990 and gave a seminar about his work showing that restriction enzymes can be used to mimic DNA double-strand breaks. From the first moment I met him, it seemed I had always known him. We became friends and interacted closely on many different low-dose related projects over the years. He was an advisor, a compatriot, and a friend. His influence in the broad radiation community was strong from study sections and grant reviews to paper and journal editorial boards to the radiation protection community. He provided advice and help to me and to the broad community throughout. When I became President of the Radiation Research Society, I invited Bill to be one of the speakers in the Presidential Symposium because of his remarkable contributions to the field. We miss him but are comforted knowing his legacy continues in his students, in his family, and in his work.