|
Tom Hinton,
Ph.D
Senior Research Scientist
University
of Georgia, Savannah River Ecology Laboratory
Aiken, SC 29802
(803) 725-7454;
Research
Theme: Development of
Research Tools and Modeling (T/M)
The most powerful research tool developed by Dr. Hinton
is the Low Dose Rate Irradiation Facility described
in the previous section.
The unique facility is ideally suited to the study
of chronic exposures to environmentally relevant concentrations
of pollutants.
The facility was
originally designed to use turtles as a model organism
for studying how effects are manifest along increasing
levels of biological complexity (i.e. from molecules
to individuals and populations) but now we are conducting
the majority of our research with Medaka
fish. Several technique papers emerged from this
line of research, including the development of a molecular
probe (Fig. 6) that facilitates the quantification
of a specific type of chromosome aberration: reciprocal
translocations. The method, developed in collaboration
with Dr. Joel Bedford and Brant Ulsh of Colorado State
University, was the first application of Fluorescence
In Situ Hybridization (FISH) in an ecological setting
and holds great promise as a biomarker that can couple
molecular effects to population-level impacts.
|
|
| |
| Figure
6. Generalized method for quantifying reciprocal
translocations in damaged chromosomes of animals
exposed to ionizing radiation using PCR and fluorescent
in situ hybridization. Photo at bottom shows a
reciprocal translocation in turtle chromosomes. |
Dr. Hinton has
also been involved in two international modeling exercises
that used globally dispersed contamination as a maker
for ecological processes. The first exercise, sponsored
by the International Atomic Energy Agency and the
European Community, tested the validity of model predictions
using data derived from the Chernobyl accident. The
models used atmospheric concentrations of radionuclides
as their starting point and then predicted the concentrations
in various human food items, culminating in a prediction
of human dose. The blind tests were compared to data
from the Chernobyl accident. The second exercise,
BIOMOVS, was funded by a consortium of European governments.
Dr. Hinton was among a team of researchers examining
the sources of variation among model predictions,
particularly, determining the influence of modeler
experience and interpretation on model results.
Relevant works
| T/M |
Low
dose rate irradiation facility: Initial study
on chronic exposures to medaka (2004). |
| T/M |
Environmental
biodosimetry: A biological relevant tool for ecological
risk assessment and biomonitoring (2003). |
| T/M |
Cytogenetic
biomarkers of radiation exposure in nonhuman organisms
(2002). |
| T/M |
Conservation
of chromosome-1 in turtles over 66 million years
(2001). |
| T/M |
Culture
methods for turtle lymphocytes (2001). |
| T/M |
Chromosome
translocations in T. scripta: The dose-rate effect
and in vivo lymphocyte radiation response (2001). |
| T/M |
Resource
allocation-based life histories: A conceptual
basis for studies of ecological toxicology (2001).
|
| T/M |
Chromosome
translocations in turtles: A biomarker in a sentinel
animal for ecological dosimetry (2000). |
| T/M |
Strong
inference, science fairs and radioecology (2000). |
| T/M |
Effect
of user interpretation on uncertainty estimates:
An example of the air-to-milk transfer of radiocesium
(1999). |
| T/M |
Operationally-defined
availability from sequential extractions compared
to plant uptake of 137Cs and 90Sr (1998). |
| T/M |
An
evaluation of whole-body potassium-40 content
for estimating lean and fat mass in pigeons (1998). |
| T/M |
Variance
partitioning as a guide for sampling and comparing
the spatial distribution of Hg and 137Cs in sediments
(1997). |
| T/M |
Radiographic
determination of fecundity: Is the technique safe
for developing embryos? (1997). |
| T/M |
A
screening model approach to determine probable
impacts to fish from historic releases of radionuclides
(1997). |
| T/M |
A
comparison of sequential extraction techniques
to estimate geochemical controls on the mobility
of fission product, actinide and heavy metal contaminants
in soil (1996). |
| T/M |
Uncertainty
and Validation: Effect of User Interpretation
on Uncertainty Estimates (1996). |
| T/M |
Validation
of Models Using Chernobyl Fallout Data from the
Central Bohemia Region of the Czech Republic (1995). |
| T/M |
Sensitivity
analysis of ECOSYS-87: An emphasis on the ingestion
pathway as a function of radionuclide and type
of deposition (1994). |
| T/M |
Variation
among model predictions within an IAEA validation
exercise (1993). |
| T/M |
Radioecological
techniques for herpetology with an emphasis on
freshwater turtles (1990). |
|
