Center for Occupational Safety and Health
The Center for Occupational Safety and Health (COSH) improves worker health and safety through centralized research focused on manufacturing, public safety and injury prevention.
COSH Investigators
School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
- Lora Cavuoto, PhD (Industrial and Systems Engineering)
- Victor Paquet, ScD (Industrial and Systems Engineering)
Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
- Brian Clemency, DO (Emergency Medicine)
- Brian Monaco, MD (Emergency Medicine)
School of Public Health and Health Professions
- Hayden Hess, PhD, ATC (Exercise and Nutrition Sciences)
- David Hostler, PhD (Exercise and Nutrition Sciences)
- Doug Landsittel, PhD (Biostatistics)
- Riana Pryor, PhD, ATC (Exercise and Nutrition Sciences)
COSH utilizes a central infrastructure to address issues related to worker health and safety with an emphasis on manufacturing, public safety and personal protective equipment use. Specific research areas designed to protect an evolving workforce include protecting workers in cold/hot environments, predicting slip, trip, and fall injuries and understanding the relationship between fatigue and injury. The COSH is the research home for the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) funded University at Buffalo Occupational Safety and Health Training Project.
For more than 18 years, COSH has focused on strengthening the pool of qualified occupational safety and health professionals in New York and the surrounding region. The center aims to meet industry needs by providing multidisciplinary training that includes coursework and practical experience to develop technical skills in safety, industrial hygiene and ergonomics, along with professional competencies in management, effective communication and regulatory affairs. COSH investigators direct the program and local industry members serve on an advisory committee guiding the training efforts.
COSH research is backed by extensive infrastructure including three environmental chambers capable of creating extreme cold and hot temperatures and a wide range of relative humidity. Specialized equipment supporting COSH research include a National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) compliant compressed air filling station for breathing apparatus, ultrasound, metabolic carts, electromyography, force plates, exercise training facilities, Doppler skin blood flow monitors and temperature monitoring devices. A full biochemistry and histology lab is available to support the research mission. Two heavy duty ladder mills, a wide range of thermal and chemical protective clothing and respiratory protection appropriate for workers is available. A portable biomechanics lab-in-a-box includes electromyography, motion, and insole force sensors along with two cameras integrated into a data collection unit with wireless communication, which allows for lab- and field-based data collection.