Mary O'Reilly
Postdoc, Upstate Medical Center, Viral-Chemical Co-carcinogenicity
PhD, The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Human Anatomy and Cell Biology
MS, Human Anatomy and Cell Biology
BS, University of Michigan, Biological Sciences
Mary O’Reilly, PhD, has worked as an industrial hygienist in the New York State Department of Labor and private industry and as an environmental specialist in the New York State Department of Transportation. She is certified in the practice of both industrial hygiene (CIH) and ergonomics (CPE) and has served on a number of professional boards and committees. She is a founding member of Workplace Health Without Borders (WHWB) and its US branch. As a WHWB member she has taught two occupational health courses in Viet Nam at the invitation of the National Institute of Occupational and Environmental Health in Ha Noi. She is a fellow of the American Industrial Hygiene Association and the recipient of their 2016 Alice Hamilton Award.
Her research has integrated practical application with scientific knowledge and skills to improve worker and environmental health. Because most people spend a third to a half of their lives at work it is important to establish workplaces that ensure safe and healthy working conditions. As the line between the workplace and the rest of life becomes more blurred in gig economies as well as in the developing world new approaches are needed to encourage and create healthy and sustainable environments.
Research Interests
- Understand the role of perception in how humans make decisions regarding environmental and occupational risk
- Explore how consumers affect environmental sustainability and workplace health on a global scale
- Improve industrial hygiene capacity to improve industrial hygiene and safety in underserved populations
- Expand the use of plants to clean up environmental pollution (phytoremediation)