Diane Rohlman

In her work, Rohlman, Associate Professor in the Department of Occupational and Environmental Health at the University of Iowa College of Public Health, has collaborated with researchers from Brazil, Thailand, the Philippines and elsewhere. One of those collaborations has taken her to Egypt, to examine the health effects of organophosphorus pesticides on young Egyptian field workers.

Rohlman received both her master’s and Ph.D in experimental psychology from Bowling Green State University in Ohio. Her early research examined the impact of low-level occupational exposure to organophosphorus pesticides in adult and adolescent farm workers in Oregon. Young workers are less likely to recognize hazards, be less aware of their legal rights and more reluctant to speak up regarding safety, putting them at increased risk for occupational injuries. They also often engage in behaviors that may increase their risk of injury, such as sleep deprivation, substance use and distracted work behaviors.

Her research was later extended to examine environmental pesticide exposure among children living in agricultural communities. Since many chemicals can attack the brain and nervous system, having methods to assess memory, attention and learning can be used to identify early deficits.

While she has been actively involved in research on five continents and more than 10 countries, Rohlman, who served as director of the Agricultural Safety and Health Training Program in the UI’s Heartland Center for Occupational Health and Safety, also offers training closer to home. The center provides graduate training programs in Industrial Hygiene, Occupational Medicine, Ergonomics, Occupational Epidemiology, Occupational Injury Prevention, and Agricultural Safety and Health.

Rohlman also serves as the Director of the UI’s Healthier Workforce Center for Excellence, a NIOSH Total Worker Health Center of Excellence. The Center focuses on promotion of safety, health, and well-being among working populations. She has mentored undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral trainees.