UAB Center Earns $1.2 Million To Continue Research

The Deep South Center for Occupational Health and Safety at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) School of Public Health has received a $1.2 million funding continuation for another five years of research from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).

August 9, 2007

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The Deep South Center for Occupational Health and Safety at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) School of Public Health has received a $1.2 million funding continuation for another five years of research from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).

The center is one of only 16 in the United States funded by NIOSH. Its mission is to develop professionals who protect and promote the health and safety of workers through interdisciplinary education, research and outreach.

Kent Oestenstad, Ph.D., director of the center, said the continuation not only marks 24 years of consecutive funding by NIOSH, it also means more educational opportunities for those in occupational health and safety. “We are committed to another year of serving the safety and health needs of our region and developing the safety and health professionals of the future.”

Oestenstad said several new initiatives will be supported by the NIOSH funds. These include:

  • Pilot/Small Grant Research Program, supporting the research of new investigators in the region.
  • Diversity Recruitment, including an advisee mentoring program and efforts to reach underrepresented populations.
  • Outreach, including establishing a summer Occupational Health and Safety Institute for undergraduate students.
  • Managed Preventive Care for Employee Health, a research project under the direction of Kathleen Brown, Ph.D. professor and chair in the UAB School of Nursing and one of only 2 NIOSH funded research projects from this round of funding.

 

The Deep South Center for Occupational Health and Safety began at UAB in 1981, and the program became an NIOSH-funded educational research center in 1983. The center, which has trained occupational health and safety professionals through its academic programs at the UAB School of Nursing, UAB School of Public Health and Auburn University’s College of Engineering, offers academic programs to students in a range of disciplines, including industrial hygiene, occupational safety and ergonomics and occupational health nursing program.

It also is involved with the community-based program Citizens’ Lead Education Poisoning Prevention (CLEPP). Through this project, the center and the UAB School of Public Health are training community members to work with families to identify and eliminate environmental hazards, such as lead and mold, in the home.