Deep South Center for Occupational Health and Safety

Director: R. Kent Oestenstad, PhD, CIH

Established: 1982

Mission

The mission of the Deep South Center for Occupational Health and Safety is to develop professionals who protect and promote the health and safety of workers through interdisciplinary education, research, and outreach efforts. The Center’s vision is to become a regional center of excellence that promotes occupational health and safety through interdisciplinary education, research, and outreach. The region includes Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, Tennessee, and the Florida panhandle.

Demographics

The Center is a consortium of UAB’s Schools of Nursing and Public Health and Auburn University’s Samuel Ginn College of Engineering. The Center has an external Board of Advisors representing occupational health and safety professionals to assist in program development and evaluation.

Accomplishments

The Center is one of 16 Education and Research Centers funded by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. It facilitates development of current and potential occupational health and safety professionals using innovative technology and effective education delivery systems. Opportunities provide for study in the fields of industrial hygiene, occupational health nursing, hazardous substances academic training, occupational safety and ergonomics, and injury prevention.

Center Research

Research efforts in occupational health and safety are promoted through the activities of faculty, staff, students, and through the financial support of research projects. Currently/recently funded projects include:

Occupational Safety and Health Education Research Center	Kent Oestenstad, PhD, CIH
Wood Dust Sampling	Elizabeth H. Maples, PhD
Risk Reduction in a Municipal Workforce: The City of Birmingham Good Health Program	Kathleen Brown, RN, PhD
Adsorption of Gas Phase Contaminants	Claudiu Lungu, PhD
College of Engineering Safety Project	Jerry Davis, PhD
Sequencing Human Tasks: A New Paradigm for Scheduling Research - National Science Foundation	Jerry Davis, PhD, Co-PI
Occupational Safety and Ergonomics Program Research Center Training Grant	Robert Thomas, PhD

Training

The Center offers graduate and postgraduate programs in occupational health nursing, industrial hygiene, hazardous substances, occupational safety and ergonomics, and occupational injury prevention research.

The Deep South Center’s Continuing Education and Outreach Program also offers professional development to meet the educational needs of professionals working in occupational health and safety. In its commitment to Outreach, the Center collaborates with other academic institutions, non-profits and professional associations to promote worker health and safe work sites.

For additional information:

Director: R. Kent Oestenstad, PhD, CIH

Email: oestensk@uab.edu

Direct Phone: 205-934-6208

Deputy Director: Elizabeth H. Maples, PhD

Email: ehm@uab.edu

Direct Phone: 205-934-7209

Approved by: R. Kent Oestenstad, PhD, CIH, Director

Date: April 29, 2008

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