People

People

Occupational Ergonomics and Biomechanics Laboratory

Director (Principal Investigator)

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Jay Kim, PhD

Jay Kim, PhD

Dr. Kim is an Associate Professor of Environmental and Occupational Health at OSU. He received his MS in Industrial and Systems Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and PhD in Ergonomics and Biomechanics from the University of Washington. Before joining the OSU’s faculty in 2015, he was an assistant professor at the Northern Illinois University from 2013-2015 and a research scientist at the University of Washington from 2012-2013. His major research interests are occupational ergonomics and biomechanics. He is particularly interested in developing and evaluating evidence-based interventions to reduce physical exposures to reduce occupational injuries and illness and therefore improve workers' health and well-being.

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Postdoctoral researchers

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Kiana Kia

Kiana Kia,PhD

Kiana is currently a post-doctoral researcher in the OEB lab. She is interested in topics related to usability testing, occupational safety and human-computer interaction. She received her PhD in Industrial Engineering from OSU in 2022. She is currently working on projects related to whole body vibration, computer-human interactions and occupational safety of health care workers. She enjoys hiking, listening to music and sketching in her free time.

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Seobin Choi

Seobin Choi, PhD

Seobin is currently a post-doctoral researcher in the OEB lab, specializes in Human Biomechanics, Gait Analysis, Data Analytics, and Machine Learning Methods. She received her PhD in Biomedical Engineering in 2022 from the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), South Korea, where she also completed her BS in 2016, double-majoring in Biomedical Science and Affective & Human Factors Engineering. Her current research centers on occupational safety and injury prevention, utilizing biomechanics and advanced data analysis techniques to interpret diverse human data sources, including motion capture and sensor technologies.

Student researchers

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Allen Chan

Allen Chan, MS

Allen is currently a doctoral student of Environmental and Occupational Health in the College of Health. He is interested in approaching occupational health and safety questions or problems from a Total Worker Health (TWH) perspective, which recognizes that work is a social determinant of health and that the health and safety of workers is also tied to their well-being, both within and outside of the workplace. Additionally he's interested in taking that TWH approach when looking at vulnerable populations of workers to protect their health, ensure their safety, and safeguard their well-being.

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Mina Salehi Sedeh

Mina Salehi Sedeh, MS

Mina is currently a doctoral student of Environmental and Occupational Health at OSU. She received her MS in Occupational Health and Safety from the Isfahan University of Medical Sciences in 2018. She also has five years of practical experience as an exposure science expert. Mina has measured and evaluated hazardous chemical and physical agents and ergonomics aspects in more than 250 different factories so far. She is particularly interested in taking the advantages of other sophisticated fields like Neural Networks and Artificial Intelligence in the field of Occupational Health and Ergonomics to solve current challenges in this field and improve the health and well-being of workers.

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Matt Agnew

Matt Agnew

Matt is currently a MPH student of Environmental and Occupational Health at OSU with undergraduate degrees in Kinesiology and Public Health. He is interested in industrial hygiene and exposure science, to include how rare occupational exposures can negatively impact worker health. In his free time he enjoys weight lifting, running, and backpacking.

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Andrea Danker-Chavez

Andrea Danker-Chavez

Andrea is an undergraduate student studying Kinesiology. Her hope is to pursue a career in physical therapy after she graduates. She is particularly interested in working with individuals with neurodegenerative diseases, and she enjoys bouldering and snowboarding in her free time. She is enthusiastic about gaining research experience in the lab.

Former student researchers

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Cate Petersen

Cate Petersen

Cate Petersen worked as a URSA Scholar when she was a freshman majoring in Zoology. She is a member of the Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP) and serves as internal social chair for Kappa Delta at OSU. Her hobbies include rock climbing, yoga, and everything Disney. She looks forward to getting hands-on research experiences with Dr. Kim related to augmented and virtual reality data collection.

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Hakim Ishak

Hakim Ishak

Hakim was a master student in the Mechanical Engineering Department. He is passionate about engineering design that emphasize human interactions. He worked on computer-human interactions study. On top of that, he had four years in engineering project management mainly on pipeline pre-commissioning. He enjoyed video games and spent most of his leisure time with his cats.

Ashley Chan

Ashley Chan

Ashley was a URSA Scholar studying Public Health with a concentration on Health Promotion and Behavior. She studied  different facets of health, including human factors psychology and nursing. She enjoys relaxing in her free time by watercolor painting and hand-lettering, spending time outdoors, and cooking. Ashley joined the OEB lab in November 2016 through the Undergraduate Research Award Program.

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James Wilson

James Wilson

Post-Baccalaureate student James graduated with two bachelor’s degrees in Mechemincal Engineering (2017) and Computer Science (2019). His interest in biomechanics and occupational ergonomics come from an early liking for exercise and fitness. He worked on vibrational analysis tools and augmented reality applications in the OEB lab. James enjoys BBQ, swimming, reading, and installing free and open-source software in his free time.

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Stephanie M Fitch

Stephanie M Fitch

Stevie graduated with MPH in Environmental and Occupational Healthin June 2019. She was receipient of NIOSH-funded PTOP research grant to study whole body vibration exposures among the vehicle operators of Manicipal public works deparment. She is currently a health inspector at Town of Bourne Massachusetts. In her free time, she enjoys exploring the Pacific Northwest hiking trails and food scene. Stevie joined the OEB lab in April 2018.

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Chris Kohler

Chris Kohler

Chris was a former undergraduate student researcher in OEB lab while he studied Kinesiology and Psychology. After completed his nursing program at Linfield College in Portland, OR, he currently works as a professional nurse.

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Jonathan Sisley

Jonathan Sisley

Jonathan was a former undergraduate student researcher in OEB lab while pursuing a Kinesiology Major with an Option in Pre-Med. His goals for the future include attending medical school where he can appreciate a deeper understanding and knowledge of the human body. He is currently in the MD program at Oregon Health Science University in Portland, OR.

Affiliated Faculty

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Jaejin Hwang

Jaejin Hwang, PhD

Dr. Hwang is an assistant professor in industrial and systems engineering department at Northern Illinois University. He received a Ph.D. in Industrial and Systems Engineering from the Ohio State University in 2016. His research aim is to improve the health and wellness of workers by exploring the risk of work injuries and efficacy of ergonomic interventions. His research area includes the biomechanics and neuro-ergonomics. His current research interests are the efficacy of patient transfer interventions on the musculoskeletal health among caregivers/patients, and neuromuscular benefit of the new technology in office environment.

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