Desre comes to OCRC from our sister organization, the Centre of Research Expertise for the Prevention of Musculoskeletal Disorders (CRE-MSD), where she established a network of 35 researchers across 11 universities and institutions, and networks of health and safety consultants, organized labour, employers, and practitioners. She conducts research in the construction, transportation, electrical utilities and manufacturing sectors focusing on diffusion of innovations and the process of collaborative research studies. She is a qualitative researcher with research interests in knowledge transfer, knowledge mobilization, social network analysis, and workplace intervention research. Her most recent submission has been on developing a theory-based method of evaluation for knowledge transfer and exchange interventions. She was a journalist for many years and has over 500 articles published on many subjects, including occupational health and safety.
Key Appointments
- Associate Director of the Centre of Research Expertise for the Prevention of Musculoskeletal Disorders (CRE-MSD) at the University of Waterloo.
- Assistant Professor, Research, at the University of Waterloo
- Adjunct Professor at the School of Public and Occupational Health at Ryerson University
- Adjunct Scientist at the Institute for Work & Health
Education
- MES (Work and Health), York University (1997)
- M.Sc (Sociology of Medicine), University of Toronto (1999)
- Ph.D. (Adult Education), Ontario Institute for Studies in Education/University of Toronto (2002)
