Occupational Health and Safety Training Grant

Project Summary/Abstract
This renewal application (2020-2025) requests support for the Work Environment program at the University of
Massachusetts Lowell to continue its current training program grant with two funded occupational safety and
health training programs: a) Occupational Safety/Ergonomics (OS/E) in the College of Engineering; and b)
Occupational Epidemiology (Occ Epi) in the College of Health Sciences. These programs have been funded by
NIOSH since 1991. They had been housed in the Department of Work Environment until 2016 when that
department was merged with another to form the Department of Public Health. In 2018, Drs. Buchholz and
Punnett, the Program Directors for each of these two programs, moved to the Department of Biomedical
Engineering.
The mission of the program, to train work environment professionals and conduct research on the identification
and evaluation of safety and health hazards and the design of safe and efficient alternatives, thereby
promoting the development of healthy and sustainable workplaces, has not changed. In this mission, we are
guided by an overarching vision to: design and promote systems of production that are environmentally-sound,
safe, healthy and rewarding for workers, communities, and consumers. Our integrated approach to health and
safety strives to answer the basic question, “What is the optimal design of a healthy workplace, and how can it
be achieved?”
Trainees, regardless of discipline, will be required to complete a three-course core: Work Environment Policy &
Practice; Ergonomics & Work and Epidemiology & Biostatistics. In addition, all students will need to complete
an occupational health & safety based project. The program’s integrated curriculum has three broad academic
objectives: (1) recognition and evaluation of occupational safety and health hazards; (2) control and prevention
of occupational safety and health hazards; and (3) development and implementation of workplace interventions
including safety and health programs, as well as other social and economic policies.
Graduates of the Work Environment program include many successful practitioners and researchers whose
careers in occupational safety and health indicate overall success towards these goals. The proposal requests
five years of funding to support a total of six graduate trainees: three trainees each in OS/E and Occ Epi. It is
expected that we will, in general, support masters trainees for two years, but will also occasionally support
doctoral students.

Grant Number: 6T03OH008424-20M001
NIH Institute/Center: ALLCDC
Principal Investigator: BRYAN BUCHHOLZ