Professor John Harrison

Visiting Professor

School of Biological and Medical Sciences

jharrison@brookes.ac.uk

Role

John was, until his retirement in 2015, Director of the Centre for Radiation, Chemical and Environmental Hazards at Public Health England, which is now part of the UK Health Security Agency. Since retirement, he has continued with international and national work on radiological protection and the advancement of the scientific understanding of radiation dosimetry and effects. He was until recently a member of the International Commission on Radiological Protection and currently chairs the DHSC Committee on Medical Aspects of Radiation in the Environment. The Committee is currently evaluating risks of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases from radiation exposures.

John is a member of the Council of the Society for Radiological Protection and also a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Radiological Protection.

In March 2025, John was awarded the prestigious Gray Medal by the International Commission on Radiation Measurements and Units. The award is given in recognition of outstanding contributions to radiation science.

At Oxford Brookes, John works with Munira Kadhim, Professor of Radiation Biology in the School of Biological and Medical Sciences. He is currently providing support for student projects on aspects of risks posed by radiation exposure of people and how those risks should be controlled.

Research

Groups

Radiation Biology, Genomic Instability and Cellular Communication

Publications

Harrison J, Smith T, Fell T, Smith J, Ham G, Haylock R, Hodgson A, Etherington G, Collateral contamination concomitant to the polonium-210 poisoning of Mr Alexander Litvinenko
Journal of Radiological Protection 37 (4) (2017) pp.837-851 ISSN: 0952-4746 eISSN: 1361-6498 Collateral contamination concomitant to the polonium-210 poisoning of Mr Alexander Litvinenko Open Access version on RADAR
Puncher M, Zhang W, Harrison JD, Wakeford R, Assessing the reliability of dose coefficients for exposure to radioiodine by members of the public, accounting for dosimetric and risk model uncertainties
Journal of Radiological Protection 37 (2) (2017) pp.506-526 ISSN: 0952-4746 eISSN: 1361-6498 Assessing the reliability of dose coefficients for exposure to radioiodine by members of the public, accounting for dosimetric and risk model uncertainties Open Access version on RADAR
Harrison J, Fell T, Leggett R, Lloyd D, Puncher M, Youngman M, The polonium-210 poisoning of Mr Alexander Litvinenko
Journal of Radiological Protection 37 (1) (2017) pp.266-278 ISSN: 0952-4746 eISSN: 1361-6498

Harrison JD, Leggett RW, Appropriate selection of dose coefficients in radiological assessments: C-14 and Cl-36: response to the letter of G Smith and M Thorne ,
(2016)

Harrison, J.D., Balonov, M., Bochud, F., Martin, C.J., Menzel, H.-G., Ortiz-Lopez, P., Simmonds, J.R., Smith-Bindman, R., Wakeford, R. (2021) The use of dose quantities in radiological protection: ICRP Publication 147 Ann ICRP 50 (1) 2021. J. Radiol. Prot. 41, 410-422 https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6498/abe548
Harrison, J.D. (2021) Lung cancer risk and effective dose coefficients for radon: UNSCEAR review and ICRP conclusions. J. Radiol. Prot. 41, 433-441 https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6498/abf547

Professor John Harrison

Role

Research

Groups

Publications

Journal articles