Marks, Sydney

Sidney Marks was born in Chicago, Illinois on June 28, 1918. He initially trained as a medical doctor with a specialty certification in human pathology. He received his medical degree in 1942 from the University of Illinois and obtained a board certification in pathology in 1947. He worked as a pathologist for the Veterans Administration Hospital in Albuquerque, New Mexico from 1947 to 1948, and in 1950 he moved to Richland, Washington. In Richland, he worked both at Kadlec Hospital and at General Electric Hanford's Biology Laboratory. His work at Hanford cultivated a new interest in the effects of low-level radiation exposure and inspired him to further his education. In 1961, he earned a Master of Science degree in physics from the University of Idaho and a Ph.D. in biostatistics at the University of California Los Angeles in 1970. His dual skills in medicine and biostatistics, along with his keen interest in radiation, led Dr. Marks to a long and productive career with the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), the Energy Research Development Administration (ERDA, predecessor of the Department of Energy), and the U.S. Department of Energy Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. In 1971, after several years in graduate school and an appointment as associate professor at University of Maryland Medical School, Marks joined the Atomic Energy Commission's Division of Biology and Medicine (later the ERDA). He served as the agency's coordinator of human studies and biostatistics until 1976. While in this position he worked with the Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission (ABCC), oversaw health physics studies and radiobiology of uranium studies, and was involved in the highly controversial epidemiologic study of Hanford workers commonly known as the Mancuso study. In 1976, Marks left the ERDA and returned to Richland to accept a position as program manager for epidemiological studies at Battelle Pacific Northwest National Laboratory's Environmental, Health, and Safety Research Program. Dr. Marks was instrumental in the creation of the United States Uranium Registry and the development of standard for uranium exposure.