Elaine Straus Ron (

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

: איליין רון) (1943-November 20, 2010) was an American epidemiologist specializing in radiation and

thyroid cancer Thyroid cancer is cancer that develops from the tissues of the thyroid gland. It is a disease in which cells grow abnormally and have the potential to spread to other parts of the body. Symptoms can include swelling or a lump in the neck, ...

. She was a senior investigator in the radiation epidemiology branch at the

National Cancer Institute The National Cancer Institute (NCI) coordinates the United States National Cancer Program and is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which is one of eleven agencies that are part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. ...

. Ron was an advocate for women in science.

Early life and education

Ron was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. She earned a bachelor's degree at Case Western Reserve University. Ron completed a M.P.H. at Yale School of Public Health in 1974. Her thesis was titled ''Israeli medical graduates, a subgroup of the FMG population''. Ron earned a Ph.D. from Sackler Faculty of Medicine at

Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) is a Public university, public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Located in northwest Tel Aviv, the university is the center of teaching and ...

. She was a

postdoctoral researcher A postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral researcher, or simply postdoc, is a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies (typically a PhD). Postdocs most commonly, but not always, have a temporary acade ...

and visiting associate in the

(NCI) environmental epidemiology branch from 1980 to 1981.

Career and research

From 1981 to 1986, Ron was chief of the cancer unit in the department of clinical epidemiology at the Sheba Medical Center. While there, she investigated cancer in infertile women. She joined the NCI in 1986 and served as chief of the radiation epidemiology branch from 1997 to 2002. Ron was an advocate of equity for women scientists at work, preventing cruelty to animals, and advancing

human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

. She was the first woman scientist advisor in the division of cancer epidemiology and genetics at the NCI. Her advocacy for women led to regular salary comparisons by gender, expanded NIH daycare facilities, workplace flexibility for tenure-track investigators to work part time, and named lectureships honoring women scientists. Ron specialized in radiation epidemiology and in the causes of

. In her earliest work in Israel, she identified the long-term cancer effects of radiation treatment for tinea capitis. She conducted studies of the atomic bomb survivors in Japan, residents of the former Soviet Union exposed to the radioactive compounds from the Chernobyl accident and patients exposed to diagnostic and therapeutic radiation. Ron led the largest study of cancer risks among patients treated with

radioactive iodine There are 40 known isotopes of iodine (53I) from 108I to 147I; all undergo radioactive decay except 127I, which is stable. Iodine is thus a monoisotopic element. Its longest-lived radioactive isotope, 129I, has a half-life of 16.14 million year ...

for hyperthyroidism and the first international effort to pool epidemiologic data on thyroid cancer. She launched a major investigation into the potential adverse effects of

clinical trial Clinical trials are prospective biomedical or behavioral research studies on human subject research, human participants designed to answer specific questions about biomedical or behavioral interventions, including new treatments (such as novel v ...

screening among children and young adults. On March 9, 2011, the NCI hosted a memorial symposium on research strategies in radiation and cancer in Ron's honor.

Personal life

Ron died of cancer on November 20, 2010, at her home in

Bethesda, Maryland Bethesda () is an unincorporated, census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. Located just northwest of Washington, D.C., it is a major business and government center of the Washington metropolitan region ...

. She was survived by her son, Ariel.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ron, Elaine 1943 births 2010 deaths Deaths from cancer in Maryland Scientists from New York City 20th-century American women scientists 21st-century American women scientists American women epidemiologists American epidemiologists American cancer researchers National Institutes of Health people Case Western Reserve University alumni Yale School of Public Health alumni Tel Aviv University alumni American women's rights activists