Occupational Health Speaker Series 2016

JANUARY 8, 2016

“The Effects of Systems and Design on Employee Health and Safety from the Office to the Construction Site: Identifying Causal Pathways Through Modern Ergonomics and Human Factors”
Jack Dennerlein, PhD, Professor, Dept. of Physical Therapy, Movement, and Rehabilitation Science, Northeastern University

JANUARY 15, 2016

“The Health Hazard Evaluation (HHE) Program at NIOSH – Solving Problems in the Workplace”
Christine West, PhD, RN, MSN/MPH, Nurse Epidemiologist, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

JANUARY 22, 2016

“Large-Scale Agricultural Industry, Women Workers, and the Implications for Child Development: The Case of the Ecuadorian Flower Industry”
Alexis Handal, PhD, MPH, Associate Professor, Public Health Program, Dept. of Family and Community Medicine, University of New Mexico

JANUARY 29, 2016

“The Role of Unions in Occupational Safety and Health”
Scott Schneider, MS, CIH, FAIHA, Director of Occupational Safety and Health, Laborers’ Health and Safety Fund of North America

FEBRUARY 5, 2016

“Occupational & Environmental Health: Version 2.0”
David Dyjack, DrPH, CIH, Executive Director, National Environmental Health Association

FEBRUARY 12, 2016

“Collaborating for Hearing Conservation: A Simulation”
Marjorie McCullagh, PhD, RN, APHN-BC, COHN-S, FAAOHN, FAAN, Associate Professor, School of Nursing, University of Michigan
Richard L. Neitzel, PhD, CIH, Assistant Professor, Environmental Health Sciences, University of Michigan

FEBRUARY 19, 2016

“The Exposome: Implications for Occupational Health”
Gayle DeBord, PhD, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

FEBRUARY 26, 2016

“Computer Vision-based Automated Ergonomic Risk Assessment of Working Postures”
SangHyun Lee, PhD, Associate Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Michigan

March 4, 2016
NO CLASS – SPRING BREAK

MARCH 11, 2016

“Environmental-Wide Association Study of Job Families Related to Musculoskeletal Disorders Among U.S. Employees of a Large Company”
Hien Le, PhD, MPH, Research Investigator, Epidemiology, Global Health Services, The Chemours Company

MARCH 18, 2016 – RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM KEYNOTE

“From Industry to Academia – The Ongoing Quest to Identify the Offending Antigen”
Melissa Millerick-May, PhD, Assistant Professor of Medicine at Michigan State University, Division of Occupational Medicine

Abstract: Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis (HP) is a serious, potentially fatal respiratory disease caused by an immune response to inhaled environmental antigens. Patients with acute symptoms are often misdiagnosed with pneumonia or after repeated exposures and development of scarring may be incorrectly diagnosed as having idiopathic fibrosis or sarcoidosis. To identify antigens, standard clinical test are currently available that detect serum antibodies to 3-8 antigens in contrast with the ~300 known to cause disease. Results of our preliminary studies indicate that a cross-disciplinary patient-centered approach is more effective for identifying the offending antigen(s) than what is currently available to clinicians, results from which may be used to develop targeted exposure avoidance plans potentially allowing for reversal or stabilization of disease.

MARCH 25, 2016

“NIEHS Support for Transformative Research for the Integration of Exposure and Response”
David Balshaw, PhD, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

APRIL 1, 2016

“Every 15 Seconds: The Global Dimensions of Occupational Disease”
Marianne Levitsky, Workplace Health Without Borders

APRIL 8, 2016

“A 21st Century Toolkit for the Modern Exposure Scientist: Crayons, Paper, and Plastic”
John Volckens, PhD, Colorado State University

APRIL 15, 2016

“Hotel Houskeepers: A Low Wage Worker Group at Risk for Poor Health Outcomes”
Marie-Anne S. Rosemberg, PhD, RN, School of Nursing, University of Michigan

Abstract: Hotel housekeepers are a group of low wagers who often work in substandard conditions and are exposed to physical, chemical, biological, and psychological hazards. They experience multiple work and non-work related stressors of undefined magnitude which put them at risk for poor health outcomes. This talk provides an overview of this worker group, and resituate the urgency of their welfare as a public concern and a priority of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). Previous studies conducted among this worker group are presented and research gaps are discussed.

This session was available via live webcast!