Rachel Lane

Professional biography

Rachel joined the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) in 2001. She retired in 2026 but continues to share her expertise as a member of the CNSC Alumni Program. She is an epidemiologist with extensive experience assessing the health effects of radiation and other occupational, environmental and behavioural risk factors. In her role as a radiation and health sciences specialist, she supports work related to radiation protection, risk assessment and public health.

Expertise and education

Rachel holds a PhD in epidemiology from the University of Ottawa, an MSc in community health and epidemiology from Queen’s University, and an honours BSc in health studies from the University of Waterloo. Her expertise includes radiation protection, risk assessment, risk communication, public health, disease surveillance and health economics.

Roles and responsibilities

In her role, Rachel focuses on the health effects of low levels of radiation exposure and on communicating objective scientific information clearly. She has provided expert advice at many Commission proceedings and has led large Canadian research projects on the sources and health effects of radiation. She is especially interested in working with Indigenous groups, having co-chaired a working group that supports the incorporation of Indigenous knowledge into CNSC processes and having participated in numerous outreach activities. Through the Canadian Organization on Health Effects from Radiation Exposure (COHERE), she is connected to major epidemiological research projects related to occupational and medical radiation exposure.

Other highlights

Rachel has served as an adjunct professor in Carleton University’s Department of Health Sciences since 2017, where she has supported graduate and undergraduate research. She has also contributed to international work through the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR).