At the 63rd Annual Meeting of the Radiation Research Society, held in Cancun, Mexico, October 15-18, 2017, the Failla Award, the Society’s highest honor, was presented to Dr. Dale L. Preston, a biostatistician with whom the Radiation Effects Research Foundation (RERF) has enjoyed a long and productive relationship. Dr. Preston began his involvement in atomic bomb survivor studies in 1981 at RERF in Hiroshima, where he worked for 23 years.

While at RERF, Dr. Preston developed a class of risk regression models and modeling software that is now widely used for dose-response modeling in radiation epidemiology, managed the preparation of major reports on radiation effects in cancer and non-cancer mortality and incidence rates in the survivor study groups, as well as oversaw the implementation of two new dosimetry systems.

The Failla Award was established in 1962–‘63 in honor of the late Dr. Gioacchino Failla, an Italian-born American physicist and a founder of the Radiation Research Society. He achieved recognition in particular for his work on the role of radiation in cancer development and genetic mutation. The award is presented each year to an outstanding member of the radiation research community in recognition of significant contributions to the field of radiation research. Each year the awardee is presented with a medallion and cash award.

Dr. Preston continues to serve as a consultant to RERF, working on the analyses of cancer risks in the atomic bomb survivors. He is also active in studies of the Mayak Production Association workers, Techa River residents, U.S. radiologic technologists, and other exposed populations. He is an author of almost 200 peer-reviewed articles.

We offer our sincerest congratulations to Dr. Preston on being named the recipient of the Failla Award in 2017, for his many contributions to the field of radiation research.