What We Do

Dr. Mark Benden’s main ergonomic research is summed up in his book title, “Could You Stand to Lose.” With sedentary lifestyles contributing to a myriad of health problems, Dr. Benden’s research has focused on optimizing workspaces for position changes and regular movement for the benefit of worker health.  His research has shown active workstations not only combat sedentary behavior but increase energy levels, improve cognitive function and reduce musculoskeletal issues.

Digital people could herald a new era in training, and Kaysey Aguilar, DrPH, is conducting research on ergonomic training using the new technology. A digital person is a life-like conversational avatar designed to provide training and answer questions for a one-on-one learning experience. Aguilar partnered with Nokia to provide training and discovered that remote workers responded positively to this novel approach. Her ongoing research will continue to explore the potential for digital humans to meet training needs when in-person trainers are unavailable or unsuitable for learners.

Dr. David Douphrate, a former physical therapist, transitioned his career from injury treatment to prevention, specializing in agriculture and dairy safety. The current statistics are indicative of his experience: the dairy industry alone has a fatality rate six times higher than any other industry in the agriculture, forestry, and fishing sector, and 78% of nonfatal injuries and illnesses are not included in counts maintained by federal agencies. Douphrate works with dairies and their employees across the state to study physical exposures and musculoskeletal symptoms among workers. He has found a correlation between worker health and fatigue and the health of the cattle herd. Therefore, his research at A&M will focus on investigating the cause and effects of this linkage.

Dr. Farzan Sasangohar is committed to optimizing the intersection of technology, human cognition and organizational processes to enhance patient outcomes, reduce error and cultivate a culture of safety in health care systems. His research spans ICUs to neonatal units, studying how to improve the medical workplace environment for healthcare providers to perform their best work, and as a result, see great patient outcomes.

Occupational health disparities are found in nail salons, custodial, food service, and solid waste workers just to name a few. Dr. Aurora Le conducts research on occupational safety and health interventions for these workers, with studies focused on perceived stressors, health issues and perceived interventions. By unveiling these disparities and advocating for proactive measures in these important but often overlooked occupations, Dr. Le’s work sheds light on these issues to help ensure the well-being of these often overlooked and vulnerable occupational groups.

The leading cause of work-related deaths in the U.S. is motor vehicle crashes. In 2020, 1,038 workers died in a work-related crash.  Of those who died, more than half were not employed in motor vehicle operator jobs [Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2022], demonstrating the impact of these crashes on the larger population. Dr. Eva Shipp is a research scientist and instructor focused on examining crash data in farm and logging operations to develop training that can decrease the amount of worker injuries while transporting on the job. She studies injury prevention methods as well as injury data on crashes to determine ways to improve worker safety while driving.