In Memoriam: Dr. C. Norman Coleman

DCTD mourns the loss of an icon in the field of radiation research — Dr. Norm Coleman — who passed on March 01, 2024. Our heartfelt condolences go out to his family, friends, staff, collaborators, and the many colleagues who had the pleasure of knowing him. Dr. Coleman will be greatly missed.

Since joining NCI in 1999, Dr. Coleman served as associate director of DCTD’s Radiation Research Program and as senior investigator in the Radiation Oncology Branch in the Center for Cancer Research. Since 2004, he was also senior medical advisor and medical chief of the Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and High-Yield Explosives Team in the Office of Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response. He wrote extensively in the fields of radiation modifiers and on preparedness and planning for radiological or nuclear emergencies and global health. In 2011, Dr. Coleman received a Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Homeland Security Medal for his work in the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan and he also received the American Society for Radiation Oncology Gold Medal in 2005, the Failla Medal from the Radiation Research Society in 2016, and an honorary Doctor of Science degree from the University of Vermont in 2015.

Dr. Coleman received his medical training at the Yale University School of Medicine. He completed his internship and residency in internal medicine at the University of California, San Francisco; a fellowship in medical oncology at NCI; and a fellowship in radiation oncology at Stanford University. He was board certified in internal medicine, medical oncology, and radiation oncology.