About Us
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The Southwest Center for Occupational and Environmental Health (SWCOEH) supports research, education and outreach in occupational and environmental health funded by Grant #T42OH008421. This ERC grant is under the leadership of David Gimeno, PhD and George Delclos, MD, MPH, PhD who serve as ERC Director and Deputy Director.
2016-2021 SWCOEH ERC Program Impact and Outcomes
History
The SWCOEH was established in 1977 as one of the first nine National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)-funded Education and Research Centers (ERC), and is now one of only 18 ERCs in the nation. Marcus M. Key, MD, MIH, founding director of NIOSH, was also the first director of the SWCOEH ERC. In 1985, the SWCOEH became a World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Occupational Health. Having grown considerably since we were established, we also conduct research on how environmental and occupational exposures affect health and on how to mitigate health risks associated with these exposures. As of 2019, the SWCOEH has been officially approved as an affiliate of the NIOSH Total Worker Health program, strengthening a partnership spanning more than 40 years. SWCOEH ERC Directors
2020-Present David Gimeno Ruiz de Porras, PhD 2011-2019 Elaine Symanski, PhD 2006-2011 Sarah A. Felknor, DrPH 1997-2006 George L. Delclos, MD, MPH, PhD 1991-1997 Lawrence W. Whitehead, MPH, PhD, CIH 1988-1991 Patricia Buffler, RN, PhD 1985-1988 Edward J. Fairchild II, PhD 1977-1985 Marcus M. Key, MD, MIH Board of Advisors
An external advisory board comprised of members from industry, labor, government, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and academia provide guidance to the SWCOEH on current and future directions.
Vision
To be a primary catalyst for the improvement of workforce well-being.
Mission
To promote and improve health, safety, and well-being for workers and their communities through inspiring education, innovative research, and engaging outreach.
Purpose
To empower workers and their communities so they can attain their well-being goals in work and life.
Values
Three Core Values describe how the SWCOEH will accomplish its mission:
Excellence – Address work-related challenges through a commitment to interdisciplinary and interprofessional approaches aiming for an outstanding standard of excellence and performance.
Collaboration – Foster a network of stakeholders to collaborate with for a greater collective impact.
Integrity – Ensuring every action of the Center is conducted with integrity, honesty, fairness, and consistent with the Center’s mission.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
To create equitable opportunities for improving well-being for every worker and workplace acknowledging everyone’s diversity of backgrounds so people can work together regardless of differences in who they are, how they look, or what they think or believe in.
The threats to health and well-being posed by occupational and environmental factors are complex and require interdisciplinary and innovative approaches to improve the health of workers and communities. In addition to utilizing the best available research practices and interventions, solutions must also consider geographic, economic, behavioral, cultural and political dimensions. The SWCOEH addresses these threats by providing graduate-level education in environmental and occupational health, conducting research into the causes, prevention and control of disease and injury, engaging in research to practice activities, and providing continuing education and outreach to our stakeholders.
Research
We conduct research in areas that include military health, ergonomics, farmworker health, workplace violence and air pollution epidemiology. Funding primarily comes from the NIH, CDC NIOSH, DOD, and FEMA.
Graduate-Level Education
The SWCOEH provides a variety of graduate-level training opportunities for occupational and environmental health professionals through our industrial hygiene, occupational and environmental medicine, occupational epidemiology, and Total Worker Health®.
Continuing Education and Outreach
The SWCOEH Continuing Education (CE) and Outreach Program serves as a training resource for professionals by delivering specialized courses in response to current training needs and responding to emerging issues in occupational and environmental health.
Leadership
David Gimeno, PhD — Center Director and Occupational Epidemiology Program Director
David Gimeno Ruiz de Porras, MSc, PhD, has served as Director of the Southwest Center for Occupational and Environmental Health since 2020. He is a tenured Professor within the EHGES Department at UTHealth School of Public Health in San Antonio. Since 2014, he has been the Program Director of the Occupational Epidemiology Doctoral Training Program, part of the U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Education and Research Center at the Southwest Center for Occupational and Environmental Health. He is a trained psychologist and social and occupational epidemiologist with a Master in Occupational Hazards Prevention and a PhD in Public Health.
George Delclos, MD, MPH, PhD — Deputy Director
George Delclos, M.D., M.P.H., Ph.D. is tenured Professor in the EHGES Department at the UTHealth School of Public Health in Houston, Professor and Marcus M. Key, M.D. – Shell Occupational and Environmental Health Endowed Chair, and Distinguished Teaching Professor of The University of Texas System. He served as Director of the Southwest Center for Occupational and Environmental Health from 1997-2006 and currently serves as the Deputy Director of the SWCOEH. His current areas of research focus include: occupational and environmental asthma (epidemiological and clinical aspects, with an emphasis on healthcare workers and cleaners); national surveys of working conditions, employment and health, with a focus in Latin America; determinants of sickness absence, presenteeism and disability; and Total Worker Health and expanding paradigms for occupational safety and health. In collaboration with NIOSH, Dr. Delclos planned and led the 2021 Ex4OSH conference in 2021, a virtual conference with an expanded focus on occupational safety and health.
Annette Allett — Program Manager
Annette Allett serves as the Program Manager for the Southwest Center for Occupational and Environmental Health, overseeing all administrative aspects of the center as well as serving as a liaison for the trainees. She has been with the SWCOEH since 2013. Annette attended Chaminade University of Honolulu for her undergraduate studies. She is a veteran of the United States Navy and her hobbies include travel and running half-marathons.
David Douphrate, PhD — Industrial Hygiene Program Director
David Douphrate is the Industrial Hygiene Program Director for the Southwest Center for Occupational and Environmental Health. His academic background includes master's degrees in physical therapy as well as business administration, and a doctorate in environmental health with an emphasis in occupational ergonomics and safety. He is a Certified Professional Ergonomist (CPE) as well as Certified Safety Professional (CSP). He is particularly interested in the etiology and prevention of work-related musculoskeletal disorders, and the application of ergonomic principles to improve worker health and performance, as well as organizational productivity and efficiency. His research is primarily directed at worker health and safety issues in the agricultural industrial sector.
William “Brett” Perkison, MD, MPH — Occupational Medicine Residency Program Director
William “Brett” Perkison is the Occupational Medicine Residency Program Director for the Southwest Center for Occupational and Environmental Health. He holds a joint appointment at UTHealth Dept. of Family Medicine. He is currently involved in research in the specific areas of heat stress prevention and improving readiness for restoring post flood buildings in a safe manner. Originally from Texarkana, Texas, he obtained his undergraduate degree in Biology at Texas A&M University and then his medical degree at UTMB Galveston. He completed his intern year in Family Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine and then served three years as General Medical Officer stationed overseas in the U.S. Navy.
Michelle McDaniel — Continuing Education Program Director
Michelle McDaniel, BS, CHES, is the Director of Continuing Education (CE) for the Southwest Center of Occupational and Environmental Health at UTHealth School of Public Health. Michelle has been with the SWCOEH since January 2016, and oversees all aspects of the CE Program including development, implementation, evaluation of training activities and program. She brings both health science education and research experience to her work in occupational health and safety and is currently pursuing a MS in Health Science with a focus on health education. Prior to joining UTHealth in 2016, she worked in clinical research and research administration at UT MD Anderson Cancer Center and behavioral research at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, where she worked extensively with patient and health education interactions. Michelle enjoys yoga, hiking, reading, and spending time with her family.
Anabel Rodriguez, PhD — Outreach Program Director
Anabel Rodriguez is the Outreach Program Director for the Southwest Center for Occupational and Environmental Health. Her research and outreach efforts focus on improving the health and safety of vulnerable working populations, in particular Spanish and Mayan (Indigenous) language-speaking, Hispanic agricultural working populations. As a former SWCOEH Occupational Epidemiology Trainee, her collaborative research and outreach work aims to improve the level of awareness and knowledge of health problems and the assessment of health care needs, barriers, and feasibility of on-worksite health service delivery and its application to Total Worker Health®. More recently her focus has been on the delivery of culturally, linguistically, and literacy appropriate health resources and the facilitation of on-worksite clinics for agricultural workers and their families. As a former migrant seasonal farmworker and daughter of Spanish-speaking Mexican immigrants, the intentions and purpose of her research and outreach work are personal and heartfelt.
Jenil Patel, PhD — Pilot Project Research Program Director
Jenil Patel is the Director of the Pilot Projects Research Training Program at Southwest Center for Occupational and Environmental Health. He led the first virtual joint Southwest Centers Occupational Health Research Symposium in June 2021. He received his PhD in Epidemiology from the University of Texas School of Public Health at Houston. Dr. Patel is a trained physician from India and received his Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery (MBBS) degree from Smt. B. K. Shah Medical Institute and Research Center, Gujarat University. He holds an MPH in health education from Western Kentucky University. Dr. Patel is also a UW Collaborative Center for Health Equity’s HELI program Scholar.
Faculty and Staff
Masoud Afshar
Masoud Afshar is an Analytical Chemist for the Southwest Center for Occupational and Environmental Health at UTHealth School of Public Health, since he joined the University in 1995. Masoud received his Master Degree in Analytical Chemistry from Sam Houston State University.
Kira Litvin
Kira Litvin is an Instructional Designer for continuing, professional, and higher education. She has been an educator and learning facilitator for more than 20 years in the United States, South Korea, Indonesia and Qatar. Her experience includes both classroom and online instruction, synchronous webinars, workshops, and conferences. She earned an MA degree in American Culture Studies from Bowling Green State University, a Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) from Clarion University, and a graduate certificate in eLearning Instructional Design from UC Irvine. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, traveling, and spending time with her husband and teenager.
Kristina Mena, PhD
Kristina D. (Crabtree) Mena, MSPH, PhD is the El Paso Campus Dean of UT-Houston School of Public Health. She is Associate Professor and Program Head of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences. Dr. Mena earned a BA in Biology at Franklin College (Indiana), a MSPH at the University of South Florida, a PhD in environmental microbiology at The University of Arizona, and completed a Post-Doctoral Fellowship at Kansas State University. Dr. Mena has over 25 years of experience addressing disease transmission through water and food using risk assessment and epidemiological studies. Dr. Mena was re-appointed by former USEPA Administrator Scott Pruitt to serve second terms on both the USEPA Chartered Science Advisory Board and the USEPA Drinking Water Committee. Read Kristina Mena's Bio.
Aurelia “Leah” Merrill
Leah Merrill has been with the University of Texas Health Science Center for 25 years. She currently serves as the Sr. Data Analyst with the Southwest Center of Occupational and Environmental Health. Leah enjoys watching sports, traveling, and spending time with her family and friends.
Matthew Pedersen
Matthew Pedersen joined the Southwest Center for Occupational and Environmental Health in April 2021 as communication specialist. He manages the Southwest Center website and social media channels, creates written and video content and oversees storytelling for the Southwest Center. Before UTHealth, he served as senior communications manager with the Houston Dynamo for five years, managing written communication for the club and serving as liaison between the media and club.
Silvia Santiago
Silvia P. Santiago serves as the Continuing Education Coordinator for the Southwest Center for Occupational and Environmental Health. She works closely with the course director to facilitate new courses. Prior to joining the Center, she worked for the Department of Epidemiology Human Genetics and Environmental Sciences. She graduated with a Master Degree in Human Health Services from Liberty University. She has lived in Guatemala and Canada and enjoys traveling to new places.
Mary Ann Smith, PhD
Mary Ann Smith's training is in Pharmacy and in Pharmacology / Toxicology. Her interests focus on understanding mechanisms of xenobiotic-induced toxicity as they relate to environmental & occupational exposures and subsequent adverse health effects. In addition, she has an interest in the translation of complex scientific information to language which is accessible to the general lay public, with a particular emphasis on accessibility to underserved communities.
Wei-Chung Su, PhD
Wei-Chung Su's research interests are centered on airborne particulate matter (aerosol) related to environmental and occupational health. His expertise is aerosol respiratory deposition experiments particularly for airborne particles with irregular shapes such as fibers, nanomaterials, and ultrafine particles. Built on his prior research experiences, he has established an Aerosol Lung Deposition Lab in UTHealth focusing on studying work-related aerosol respiratory deposition issues. He is a Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH), and the past chair of the Aerosol Technology Committee in the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA). As a faculty member in EHGES and the SWCOEH, he provides several core and elective courses to the environmental and occupational health program, such as Fundamental of Industrial Hygiene (PH 2245), Occupational Health Controls (PH 2250), and Risk Analysis (PH 2135).
Peggy Weinshilboum
Peggy Weinshilboum joined the UTHealth School of Public Health in 2011 and the Southwest Center in 2016. Presently, she's the Program Coordinator for the Occupational and Environmental Medicine Residency Program. She enjoys taking walks with her husband and two dogs, and is looking forward to traveling.