Illinois ERC Program Awarded Another 5 Years of Funding

The University of Illinois at Chicago Occupational and Environmental Health and Safety Education and Research Center (Illinois ERC), a National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) funded training grant, has been awarded another 5 years of funding. The program will provide MS and PhD training in industrial hygiene, occupational health nursing, occupational medicine residency training, including MPH graduate degree, and specialized training in agricultural safety and health to students in a variety of degree programs. Additionally the Continuing Education and Outreach program exists as a resource on occupational health and safety issues for all and to support the goals and objectives of the NIOSH Training Grants Program and the WHO Global Plan of Action on Workers’ Health 2007-2017.

Over the past 30 years the Illinois ERC has worked with professional associations, government agencies, other university and college programs, and individuals to understand and address the occupational safety and health training needs in the region, nationally, and internationally. Each year approximately 17 new occupational safety and health professionals graduate and continuing education is provided to more than 2000 such professionals.

Two research training programs, a targeted research training program and a pilot projects research training program will also received continued funding. Beginning in July 2008, two new graduate programs in occupational safety and occupational and environmental epidemiology will be funded. The total award for the first year is $1,660,000 and the entire award is $7,278,000.

The review summarized the following strengths of the Illinois ERC: the Center’s sound past performance in training occupational safety and health professionals; the quality and continuity of leadership; the synergy generated in the Center by the leadership and the multidisciplinary nature of many of the training activities; the overall coordination and integration of activities within the ERC; the depth and extent of interdisciplinary training and research training for all trainees and professionals; the depth and diversity of outreach to the Chicago regional area; a strong, model Pilot Project Research Training Program; and focused efforts to train minority students.

Opportunities for students include:

•Traineeships in industrial hygiene, safety, occupational epidemiology, occupational health nursing, and occupational medicine

•International research and internships (Switzerland, Ukraine, India, South Africa)

•Distance education for academic and continuing education courses (occupational and environmental health)

•Participation in regional, national and international conferences

•Employment in the environmental and occupational field in government, industry, academia and consulting(U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Abbott Laboratories, Ford Motor Co., Motorola, LTV Steel, the Cook County Department of Environmental Control, and the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory).

The Illinois ERC, funded since 1977 and comprised of 13 programs, is a multi-campus, multi-college Center that is administratively housed in the Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences division in the School of Public Health. Lorraine M. Conroy, ScD, CIH is the Director and also serves as program director for the Targeted Research Training program. Leslie Nickels, MEd, is Deputy Director and Director of the Continuing Education and Outreach programs. Peter A. Scheff, PhD, CIH is Director of the Industrial Hygiene and Hazardous Substances Academic Training Programs; Arlene Miller, PhD, RN, FAAN, is Director of the Occupational Health Nursing Program; Susan Buchanan, MD, MPH is Director of the Occupational Medicine Program; Steven E. Lacey, PhD, CIH, CSP is the Director of the Occupational Safety Program; Robert Aherin, PhD, CSP is the Director of the Agricultural Safety and Health Academic Program; and Leslie Stayner PhD is the Director of the Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology Program. Rosemary Sokas, MD, MOH directs the Pilot Project Research Training Program.