“I really enjoy the investigative aspect of occupational hygiene and find that determining the root causes of exposures and accidents is complex yet rewarding work.

I have been most interested in hazard communication. It is critically important for those working in the field of public health to be able to clearly articulate why something is hazardous to human health. If the perceived risk of a hazard is low, then people will not take the issue seriously whether we’re talking about obesity, chemical exposure, opioid addiction and so on.

Hazard communication drives and influences the public’s perception of almost all public health concerns. Effectively communicating the why, how, and who brings the issues to the people and engages them. As a result, public opinion can greatly influence public health policy, so it’s vital to make sure the public correctly understands the issues at hand.”