November 20, 2014 – Laurentian University today announced the appointment of Dr. Tammy Eger as Research Chair in Occupation Health and Safety effective January 1, 2015. Dr. Eger is an Associate Professor at Laurentian University in the School of Human Kinetics and is currently Director of the Centre for Research in Occupational Safety and Health (CROSH).
As Research Chair, Dr. Eger will be responsible for research growth and development at CROSH. Dr. Eger will also work closely with other members of the CROSH team to further develop national and international collaborations in Occupational Health and Safety research, training, and global best practices.
“Tammy has done an outstanding job of bringing attention and funding to this important area of research, which affects the lives of so many workers in our region and beyond,” said Acting Vice-President, Research, Dr. Anne-Marie Mawhiney.
Dr. Eger has received over $2.8 million dollars in research funding as a principal and co-investigator from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Canadian Foundation for Innovation, and the Ontario Workplace Safety and Insurance Board, and the Ontario Ministry of Labour. She has attracted an additional $1.9 million in funding as Director of the Centre for Research in Occupational Safety and Health. She is an invited member of the ISO standards committee concerned with human exposure to vibration, the Mining Legislative Review sub-committee on proximity detection, and a resource member to the hazards committee, and management of change committee of the Mining Health, Safety and Prevention Review.
“Our industrial history here in Sudbury and across Ontario, has made this area of research a matter of urgency,” said Leo Gerard President, USW International and Chair of the CROSH advisory board. “Dr. Eger’s appointment will provide the leadership needed to build upon successes and expand CROSH’s influence to respond to community needs identifying health and safety concerns and eliminating hazards and occupational disease from workplaces around the North.”
For over a decade, Laurentian University has been building on its expertise in the area of occupational health and safety, beginning with mining and expanding to other workplace sectors. Officially approved by Laurentian University’s Senate in 2008, CROSH is a multidisciplinary group of researchers, guided by an advisory board comprised of representatives from labour, industry and local health and safety organizations. CROSH researchers are engaged in innovative studies aimed at identifying solutions to prevent occupational injuries and diseases of concern to northern Ontario workplaces.
“Dr. Eger brings depth, breadth, commitment and passion to her role as Research Chair, and on behalf of industry, we applaud her appointment,” said Jody Kuzenko, Director of Production Services for Vale’s Ontario Operations and member of the CROSH advisory board. “Under her leadership, CROSH is poised to meet its vision of uniting industry, labour, government and other key partners to find solutions that will support our collective goal of ensuring every worker gets home safe and healthy every day.”
“CROSH is uniquely positioned to become a national leader in Occupational Health and Safety and I look forward to taking on this new role and focusing my energy on research development,” said Dr. Eger.
Key funders for the position of Research Chair in Occupational Health and Safety include: the Northern Ontario Heritage Funding Corporation, Vale, United Steelworkers, TECK, Domtar and Unifor.