CRE-MSD’s Steering Group

CRE-MSD's researcher Steering Group is made up of Phil Bigelow, Jack Callaghan and Peter Keir, with ex officio members Richard Wells and Desre Kramer. They help guide the Centre's research program.

 
Phil Bigelow
Dr. Phil Bigelow is an Associate Professor in the Department of Health Studies and Gerontology at the University of Waterloo and has a background in occupational epidemiology.  He teaches epidemiology in the MPH program and provides research mentorship in the Collaborative PhD Program in Work and Health, a new inter-departmental program within the Faculty of Applied Health Sciences.  Dr. Bigelow holds an appointment at the Institute for Work and Health where he was a specialist in program evaluation and intervention studies prior to joining the University of Waterloo.  He was a faculty member in the Department of Environmental Health at Colorado State University for over ten years where he conducted research in exposure assessment, occupational epidemiology, and construction health and safety.  His current research interests include gaining an understanding of factors the improve safety performance of firms and improve the implementation and uptake of health and safety interventions.  In addition to his extensive research experience, Dr. Bigelow has managed occupational health and safety programs in a variety of industries and is a Registered Occupational Hygienist.  He has served on a number of advisory boards in the field of health and safety and has held leadership positions on the Threshold Limit Values Committee and is a current member. 
Jack P. Callaghan Jack P. Callaghan
Dr. Jack Callaghan is a Professor in the Kinesiology Department at the University of Waterloo. He is CRE-MSD's Associate Director, Research and holds the Canada Research Chair in Spine Biomechanics and Injury Prevention. He completed his undergraduate education at the University of Ottawa and his Masters and Doctorate degrees at the University of Waterloo, where he specializes in spinal biomechanics. His area of research focuses primarily on spine injuires from cumulative loading exposure. His research is concerned with the etiology of spine injuries at the tissue level from exposure to cumulative loading scenarios and is currently funded by NSERC, CIHR, WSIB and AUTO21. 
Peter Keir Peter Keir
Dr. Peter Keir is a professor in the Department of Kinesiology at McMaster University.  His research aims to determine the mechanisms of work-related musculoskeletal disorders of the upper extremity.  The objectives of his research program are to improve understanding of the mechanics and control of the upper extremity to a point where biomechanical mechanisms of upper extremity musculoskeletal disorders can be defined.  By developing a solid link between control and mechanics, disorders can be prevented at a fundamental level.  The disorders include those pertaining to muscle tissue (e.g. myalgia), connective tissue (e.g. tendinitis, epicondylitis), and peripheral nerve (e.g. carpal tunnel syndrome).  His research tools include MRI, tissue measurement, computer modeling, EMG and motion measurement.
Dee Kramer Desre Kramer
Dr. Desre Kramer is the Associate Director of the Centre of Research Expertise for the Prevention of Musculoskeletal Disorders (CRE-MSD) at the University of Waterloo. She is also the Associate Director of the Occupational Cancer Research Centre (OCRC) based at Cancer Care Ontario, in Toronto. She is an Assistant Professor, Research at the University of Waterloo. She is an Adjunct Professor at the School of Public and Occupational Health at Ryerson University, and an Adjunct Scientist at the Institute for Work & Health. Her research interests are in knowledge transfer, knowledge mobilization, social network analysis, qualitative research, diffusion of innovation, and workplace intervention research. For the last seven years she has led a research study in the diffusion of innovation to improve the health of construction workers. She has conducted research in the construction, transportation, electrical utilities and manufacturing sectors. She was a journalist for many years and has over 550 articles published on many subjects, in over 35 Canadian trade and commercial magazines.
Richard Wells Richard Wells
Richard Wells is a Professor in the Department of Kinesiology, Faculty of Applied Health Sciences, University of Waterloo. He was educated as a Mechanical Engineer at the University of Manchester, England and McMaster University, Canada where he specialized in Applied Mechanics with application to human function and injury; head injury in boxing and description of human gait using assistive devices. Since joining the Department of Kinesiology, University of Waterloo, Richard has pursued similar work concerning seat belt loads and neck injury in head-first impacts. For the last two decades his main research and teaching interests have been work related musculoskeletal disorders of the upper extremity and low back in industrial and office settings.

His interests are work-related musculoskeletal disorders of the back and upper limbs; their causes, patho-physiology and prevention. He address these issues using anatomical and functional anatomical studies in cadavers and volunteers, by biomechanical modeling of the structures affected. Another approach develops measurement, recording and processing approaches to document exposure at work and using these methods in epidemiological studies to assess the work-relatedness of various workplace exposures. Lastly he is involved in the development of workplace processes and changes to prevent musculoskeletal disorders and also to monitor their health effects.

He is Director of the Centre of Research Expertise for the Prevention of Musculoskeletal Disorders, a multi-university Centre hosted at the University of Waterloo. He is also an Adjunct Scientist at the Institute for Work and Health. He is a past member of the Board of Directors of Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers (OHCOW). He has been involved in ergonomics standards and regulations with ACGIH and OSHA in the USA and in the Ontario Strategy for the Prevention of MSD and CSA. He also acts as a consultant and speaker on ergonomic issues.