sudbury professor named one of the top women in occupational safety
sandra dorman is director of the centre for research in occupational safety and health in sudbury
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sandra dorman is director of the centre for research in occupational safety and health in sudbury. supplied
sandra dorman, a professor in the faculty of health and education at laurentian university and director of the centre for research in occupational safety and health (crosh), has earned a top women in canadian occupational safety award.
a long-standing advocate of health promotion and disease prevention in occupational settings, dorman was hired by lu in 2003. she has been involved with crosh since its launch in 2008 and became its director in 2015.
“this award means a great deal to me, especially because some of my mentors nominated me,” dorman said in a release.
under her leadership, crosh co-launched the innovative multidisciplinary mobile research lab, which travels to workplaces throughout northern ontario, providing group training and private health consultations for workers.
in recent years, dorman has studied vaccine hesitancy in northern ontario workplaces and heat stress mitigation among mine workers. dorman has also worked with wildland firefighters since 2007 to assess the impact of smoke inhalation; fatigue and fitness interventions; psychological risk factors; post-traumatic stress disorder; and heat stress.
“heat strain is an occupational illness and has become a priority issue,” said dorman, who received funding from the ministry of labour, in collaboration with occupational health clinics for ontario workers, to build an educational program to help health and safety specialists manage the dangers workers face when exposed to acute or chronic heat stress.
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“i’m proud of our heat stress prevention toolkit,” she added. “since its launch in may 2024, it has been widely accessed, which is important because with climate change, in addition to preventing heat stroke events, we need to prevent long-term health illnesses such as kidney disease.”
with dorman at the helm, crosh has awarded $350,000 in student scholarships; placed 106 students in paid workplace internships; and raised more than $10 million dollars in funding.
“dorman has substantially contributed to the occupational health and safety industry through her leadership with crosh and through her research, which lu has recognized with a faculty of health excellence in research award (2018) and a top 10 research innovation award (2020),” said tammy eger, vp of research. “we are fortunate to have world-class researchers like dr. dorman amongst our faculty, whose research directly benefits members of our communities.”
dorman said she remains as dedicated as ever to advancing the field of occupational health and safety; an interdisciplinary domain that she explains enables collaboration among researchers.
“we all work or know someone who works, so workplace health and safety is a huge component of everyone’s life. work intersects with every discipline,” she said. “we all have something to bring to the table.
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“we’ve seen a shift with more women entering jobs in health and safety, and i think that’s great. there’s so much potential in the field of occupational health and safety. it’s rewarding. my work with crosh keeps me happy, working and focused. i love what i do.”
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