Progress report - Physics and Health Sciences - Health Sciences Section 1987 January 1 - June 30

This report covers the third semi-annual period since the Reserach Company was reorganized. A highlight of the period was the first peer review of all the activities in Physics and Health Sciences by external examiners. The review was conducted in April by three separate Technical Review Committees (TRC) one for each of the three main areas: health sciences, nuclear physics and condensed matter physics. In all cases the TRCs gave strong support to our programs having a mandate to assess research programs with respect to (a) their quality and (b) their relevance to Canada. The principal programs reviewed were: DNA damage and repair mechanisms; synergistic effects of chemicals and radiation; the tritium RBE study; radiosensitivity of human bone marrow cells; radioprotective enzymes; radiation biochemistry; chemistry of oxazolinones, benzofuroxanes and cyclodextrins; myeloid leukemia in mice; tritium monitoring, and quality factors; metabolic modeling; neutron dosimetry; groundwater/contaminant modeling; sediment exchange and speciation; and atmospheric dispersion. Very considerable effort was spent on preparing a proposal for a centre of excellence in toxicology for presentation in March to the Premier's Council in the Province of Ontario. Although the proposal was not one of the 7 (out of 28) successful proposals, much useful preparatory work was done towards the establishing of a centre for health and environmental research on toxic agents