Joe Coble is with the National Cancer Institute, working on identifying and preventing occupational health hazards. He conducts retrospective exposure assessments for occupational epidemiology studies. Because the Institute collaborates on a wide variety of national and international studies, he interacts with some of the world’s leading experts on occupational health.

After graduating from UW in 1984, he worked for 12 years as an industrial hygienist in the private sector, primarily in the forest products industry. In 1996, he entered a doctoral program in Environmental Health Engineering at Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene
and Public Health, and received a Doctorate of Science (ScD) in 2000. He was hired by Occupational Epidemiology Branch at the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland.

He feels the interdisciplinary curriculum at UW provided him with a solid scientific foundation for his work in industry, and later in research. He learned the basic principles of industrial hygiene,
as well as toxicology, epidemiology, and biostatistics. His master’s thesis on the development and validation of monitoring methods to assess occupational exposure to formaldehyde led directly
to a job as an industrial hygienist in private industry.

Although he specialized in occupational health and safety, he appreciated that the faculty at DEH has expertise on a wide spectrum of issues. “Exposure to a range of environmental as well as occupational health topics provided a broad perspective from which to understand the larger aspects of health policy and risk assessment, as well as some of the more scientific and technical issues associated with
the identification and control of health risks.”

He encourages students to “learn as much as you can about the science, as well as the applied aspects of occupational and environmental health.” While most graduates will not end up working in research, he thinks an understanding of the scientific method would serve them well in other fields. He sees a Master’s Degree in Industrial Hygiene as a launching pad for a variety of careers in the private sector, government, and academia.

For more information:
http://www.dceg.cancer.gov/

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