FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 22, 2004
FY04-36
Doran Christensen Joins REAC/TS
OAK RIDGE, Tenn.—Dr. Doran Christensen has joined the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) as a staff physician with the Radiation Emergency Assistance Center/Training Site (REAC/TS). REAC/TS is a 24-hour emergency medical response program at ORISE that consults and assists in response to all types of radiation accidents or incidents. A specially trained team of physicians, nurses, health physicists, radiation biologists, and emergency coordinators is prepared around the clock to provide assistance on the local, national, or international level.
Prior to his arrival in Oak Ridge, Christensen spent 12 years as medical director of the Fernald Environmental Management Project, which is a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) effort to clean up and restore the Fernald uranium processing site in southwest Ohio. Since 1982 Christensen has also served as medical director of The Consortium for Environmental & Occupational Safety & Health, an emergency and occupational health consulting firm in Aurora, Indiana.
“Dr. Christensen brings a unique medical experience and background as both an emergency and occupational health physician,” Dr. Robert C. Ricks, director of REAC/TS, said. “His prior management experience as medical director at a DOE facility and his contact with other occupational physicians within the DOE complex will be valuable in our future interactions with these sites. On behalf of the entire REAC/TS staff I welcome Doran to our team.”
Christensen earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Iowa and his Doctor of Osteopathy degree from the College of Osteopathic Medicine and Surgery in Des Moines, Iowa. He also completed an internship at the U.S. Naval Hospital in Philadelphia, and mini-residencies at the U.S. Naval Hospital in Norfolk, Va., and the University of Cincinnati.
Christensen also has extensive military experience having served in the U.S. Army Medical Service, the U.S. Navy Medical Service Corps and the U.S. Air Force Reserve Medical Corps, including active duty in both Vietnam and Operation Desert Storm.
Christensen and his wife Bonnie will be living on a farm in Cumberland County. They have four grown children: Vasthi J. Christensen, M.D., of Philadelphia; Kimberly Lane, R.N., of Hamilton, Ohio; Jason Short of Boston; and Julia Anna St. Pierre of Everett, Mass.
The Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) is a U.S. Department of Energy institute focusing on scientific initiatives to research health risks from occupational hazards, assess environmental cleanup, respond to radiation medical emergencies, support national security and emergency preparedness, and educate the next generation of scientists. ORISE is managed by Oak Ridge Associated Universities.