On April 11, 2025, the University of Cincinnati hosted the annual Midwest Regional Education and Research Center (ERC) Symposium. The symposium included ERC students and faculty from the University of Cincinnati, University of Illinois at Chicago, University of Kentucky, University of Michigan, and University of Minnesota as well as some industry professionals and ERC advisory board members. The topic for this year’s symposium was “Legal, Policy, and Advocacy in Occupational Safety and Health (OSH)” and included speakers, a panel discussion, poster sessions, and a presentation and deliberation on a mock trial case.

Attendees from the 5 ERCs gathered for a group photo during the symposium (photo provided by the University of Michigan ERC)

Plenary Speaker

The symposium opened with the plenary speaker, Robert Bilott who is a prominent environmental attorney, author of the book “Exposure,” lecturer at Yale School of Public Health, and the inspiration behind the film “Dark Waters” starring Mark Ruffalo. His presentation was “Dark Waters: Legal and Health Aspects of the PFOA” and he discussed his experiences with his case against the chemical manufacturing corporation, DuPont, followed by time for questions from the audience.

Adam Finkel

The next speaker was Dr. Adam Finkel from the University of Michigan, Department of Environmental Health Sciences. Dr. Finkel spoke on “Flavoring-Related Lung Disease (Diacetyl and 2,3-pentanedione) Cases.” He is an expert witness specializing in plaintiff’s exposure to toxicants in the workplace and the general environment so was able to share his perspective and experience working on various occupational safety and health legal cases.

Attendees listen to presenters during the symposium

Advocacy Panel

There was also an advocacy panel of three speakers that focused on different perspectives when advocating in support of policies and institutions that protect workers and public health. The panelists included Amira Adawe, Founder and Director of Beautywell; Dr. Zeke McKinney, Faculty Physician at HeathPartners Occupational and Environmental Medicine Residency; and Rebecca Reindel, Safety and Health Director for AFL-CIO. The three panelists each spent 5-10 minutes sharing their roles and perspectives on OSH advocacy and then answered questions from the audience.

Poster Sessions

There were two poster sessions in the morning and afternoon which included 13 posters from students and faculty at the different ERCs in attendance on various OSH topics. The presenters were;

• Hearing Between the Lines: Analyzing Occupational Hearing Loss First Reports of Injury from 2005-2019 in Kentucky. Amara Danturthi, University of Kentucky
• Assessment of Occupational Exposures for Home Care Aides in Puerto-Rico. Amour Dondi, University of Cincinnati
• Assessing the Efficacy of Air Purifiers in Smoke Aerosols Clearance in the Home Health Care Environment. Efosa Obariase, University of Cincinnati
• Examining the role of work conditions on preterm birth among Black mothers. Florence Kizza, Michigan State University
• Contact Force Data to Enhance Control Scheme Usability in a Powered Upper Limb Exoskeleton. Halina Costello, University of Michigan
• Informing exploration extravehicular activity human-systems integration architecture through geological expert interviews. Jakob Swilley, University of Michigan
• A Policy Proposal for the Assessment and Diagnosis of Concussion in Working Adults in Occupational Health Services (OHS) of Michigan Medicine. Joshua Lyon, The University of Michigan School of Nursing
• Direct-on-filter (DoF) Analysis of Airborne Nano- and Micro-Plastics in Occupational Environments. Justin Morrow, University of Cincinnati
• Impact of Job Rotation on Worker Discomfort. Mercy Omoifo-Irefo, University of Cincinnati
• Enhancing EMS Safety Using Exoskeleton Devices to Prevent Back Injury. Mousa Alsulais, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
• Evaluation of Thumb Muscle Stiffness Using Myotonometry among Vibration-Exposed Groundskeepers. Nathan Chen, University of Michigan
• Indoor Air Quality: Nanoparticle Emissions from Energy Recovery Ventilators (ERV). Onyinye Ezeifeka, University of Cincinnati
• Evaluation of OmniCount as a Real-Time Respirator Fit. Shanon Nuno, University of Illinois at Chicago

Attendees at one of the symposium poster sessions

Mock Trial

In the afternoon there was a mock trial activity for everyone to participate in. First, faculty from the ERCs presented the defense and plaintiff sides of a mock case involving a worker for the defendant company who is now deceased. The worker was required to work with liquid nitrogen and was exposed to it at work due to a leak from a collar device. The two sides presented case facts and argued whether the defendant company was liable or if the worker was negligent. After the case was presented, the audience broke out into juries of about 10 people each from different universities to deliberate, come up with a group consensus, and prepare to present their reasoning. After returning from groups, each of the juries shared their verdicts and reasoning.

Dr. Victoria Wulsin, UC ERC Occupational Medicine Director, presenting facts of the mock trial case

Additional Activities

In addition to the symposium, there was also a social gathering on Thursday night for all attendees at the Gatherall in Norwood. On Friday after the symposium, students gathered at Madtree for informal networking, while faculty and staff went to a separate dinner. Finally, on Saturday morning, the groups toured the National Underground Freedom Center before departing. All these activities were meant to bring together interdisciplinary students and faculty from different ERCs in more informal settings to meet each other and discuss their research and other OSH topics of interest.

Attendees at the National Underground Freedom Center (photo provided by the University of Michigan ERC)

Thank you to all who were able to attend, present, and share their ideas. It was a successful symposium and as always, a great opportunity for regional ERCs to meet and share ideas!