Core Faculty
Faculty from within the Departments of Health Services and Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences make up the core faculty of the training program. These faculty bring a diverse set of backgrounds, disciplines, and research experience to the program.
- Jeff Harris, MD, MBH, MBA
Dr. Harris is the director of the Occupational Health Services Research Training Program. He is a nationally recognized expert in worker health, and an experienced mentor. He is the director of the University of Washington's Health Promotion Research Center, one of 33 Prevention Research Centers funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). A Professor of Health Services, he also directs a CDC Center of Excellence in Health Marketing and Health Communication. In both of these centers, his research has focused on improving worker health, particularly the health of low-income workers. Working with the American Cancer Society (ACS) both locally and nationally, he has developed, tested, and disseminated ACS Workplace Solutions, which takes a structural approach to improving worker health by focusing on health-insurance design and workplace policy. Dr. Harris is currently leading a randomized, controlled trial of Workplace Solutions, with 48 mid-sized, low-wage employers. Meanwhile, ACS has disseminated Workplace Solutions to more than 700 workplaces with more than 2.5 million workers. Prior to joining the University, Dr. Harris spent 20 years in the Public Health Service, largely at the CDC. His work at CDC included leading the Division of Prevention Research and Analytic Methods; developing the Guide to Community Preventive Services; leading CDC's efforts to enhance chronic disease prevention in managed care; acting as the CDC liaison to the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force; and working with the private health care sector, including the American Association of Health Plans, the Pacific Business Group on Health, and General Motors. - Gary Franklin, MD, MPH
Dr. Franklin is a physician with years of leadership in occupational health and safety, workers' compensation, and the implementation and evaluation of state policy aimed at increasing system efficiency and to improve workers' health. He is a Research Professor in the Department of Occupational and Environmental Health Sciences (School of Public Health) and Adjunct Research Professor in the Departments of Health Services and Neurology (UW School of Medicine). He is also the Medical Director of the Department of Labor and Industries for the State of Washington, and the Chair of the Agency Medical Directors Group, representing all public payers of health care in WA State. He has directed the Occupational Epidemiology and Health Outcomes Program at the UW since 1988. The focus of the program has been to conduct epidemiologic, health outcome, disability prevention, health care delivery, and program evaluation research relevant to the injuries and illnesses affecting workers in the WA workers' compensation program. In addition, Dr Franklin is a state and national leader in the development of methods aimed at improving the development of health policies related to use of evidence-based medicine. Dr. Franklin's research has focused on (1) evaluating a major quality improvement program within L&I to reduce worker disability and improve outcomes; (2) identifying predictors of long-term disability among workers with back sprain and carpal tunnel syndrome; (3) assessing the risks associated with opiate use for chronic pain; and (4) evaluating outcomes of lumbar fusion. - Branko Kopjar, MD, PhD, MA
Dr. Kopjar, Associate Professor in Health Services, received his clinical training at the University of Zagreb, and received his PhD in epidemiology from the University of Oslo. He holds a MA degree in biostatistics and informatics. Prior to coming to the University of Washington in 1997, Dr. Kopjar was head of the Division of Health Promotion at the Institute for Public Health in Oslo. He has published extensively on the epidemiology of injuries, health outcomes and health system performance. Much of his current work involves assessing outcomes of patients undergoing orthopedic or neurologic surgery. - Donald Patrick, PhD, MHSA
Dr. Patrick is an internationally recognized expert in health outcomes and disability research. He is a sociologist and teaches a doctoral course in health outcomes. - David Grembowski, PhD
Dr. Grembowski earned his doctorate in urban planning, and is a national evaluation expert and the author of the widely used graduate textbook on Program Evaluation. He has conducted numerous evaluations of health programs and teaches program evaluation and the doctoral course on population health and health disparities. - Douglas Conrad, PhD
Dr. Conrad is a national expert on health care finance and has conducted many studies examining how financing and provider compensation affect the cost and use of health services. He teaches health economics. - Bill Dowling, PhD
Dr. Dowling is the former chair of the Department of Health Services and former hospital system administrator. He is an expert in and teaches health management and strategic planning. - Barbara Silverstein, PhD
Dr. Silverstein is director of the SHARP at L&I. SHARP is nationally recognized for research in the area of injury prevention. Dr. Silverstein has provided data for dissertation research from her ongoing, prospective study of upper extremity musculoskeletal disorders. - Robert Mootz, DC, MPH
Mr. Mootz is Associate Medical Director of the Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) is centrally involved in L&I's ongoing efforts to improve quality and outcomes for injured workers. He has substantial ties to the business and labor communities. - Engelberta (Beti) Thompson, PhD
Dr. Thompson is a senior investigator at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. She has ongoing research projects in the Yakima Valley directed at identifying and preventing health risks arising from pesticide exposure among Hispanic migrant farm workers. - Michael Muhm, MD
Dr. Muhm is the Associate Medical Director of the Boeing Company, and supports the OHSRT program by facilitating opportunities for field-based research experiences.