Public Event Showcases Occupational Health and Safety Research

CINCINNATI—The University of Cincinnati (UC) Education and Research Center’s 7^th Annual Pilot Research Training Project (PRP) Symposium will put occupational health and safety student research in the limelight.

The event takes place Thursday, Oct. 12 (noon to 5:30 p.m.), and Friday, Oct. 13 (8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.), in Kettering Laboratory's Kehoe Auditorium. The event is free and open to the public.

Led by Amit Bhattacharya, PhD, professor of environmental health, the PRP seeks to increase the Tristate region’s research capacity through collaboration with 10 universities and colleges. The program offers financial support to doctoral students and junior faculty with promising research ideas.

In the past six years, UC has awarded nearly $500,000 to 83 new researchers through the PRP. These pilot grants have led to more than $3 million in additional external grant funding for the investigators.

“Our goal is to increase the research capacity of trainees and junior investigators in occupational health and safety,” says Bhattacharya. “This program also gives people in related disciplines—such as nursing, allied health, psychology and engineering—an opportunity to pursue occupational health and safety research.”

Previous PRP award winners will present their results, while 2006 winners will give a poster presentation on their proposed work. Keynote speakers DeLon Hull, PhD, of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), will present on moving research from the laboratory into practice, and Gurumurthy Ramachandran, PhD, University of Minnesota, will discuss professional judgment in industrial hygiene decision making. 

Continuing medical education credits are available. For more information or to register, contact Maryanne Kautz at (513) 558-1730 or kautzm@uc.edu  or Amber Twitty at (513) 558-5710 or amber.twitty@uc.edu. 

UC is one of only 16 NIOSH-funded Education and Research Center programs in the United States. The center includes eight specialty occupational safety and health program tracks with more than 50 students at the graduate and residency levels.