Dr. Desre Kramer is the Associate Director of OCRC. She is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Waterloo and the School of Public and Occupational Health at Ryerson University, and an Adjunct Scientist at the Institute for Work & Health. Until the end of 2011, she was the Associate Director of the Centre of Research Expertise for the Prevention of Musculoskeletal Disorders (CRE-MSD) at the University of Waterloo. Her MES was from Environmental Studies at York University; her MSc from Public Health Sciences at the University of Toronto; and her PhD was from OISE/University of Toronto. Her research interests are in knowledge transfer, knowledge mobilization, social network analysis, qualitative research, diffusion of innovation, and workplace intervention research. For the last seven years she has led a research study in the diffusion of innovation to improve the health of construction workers. Her present research is looking at ways to facilitate access to compensation for workers with occupational cancer, and investigating the gap between awareness of occupational carcinogens and achieving change in workplace policies and practice. She has conducted research in the construction, transportation, electrical utilities and manufacturing sectors. She was a journalist for many years and has over 550 articles published.
Key Appointments
- Adjunct Professor, Department of Kinesiology, 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
- Associate Director of the Centre of Research Expertise for the Prevention of Musculoskeletal Disorders (CRE-MSD) at the University of Waterloo (2004-2011)
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)
Current OCRC Projects
- Did you have an impact? A theory-based method for planning and evaluation knowledge-transfer and exchange activities in occupational health & safety
- The Examination of Accepted Workplace Fatality Claims Within Ontario and Canada
- Shiftwork in Canadian industries: A probable cancer risk factor
- The human and economic burden of occupational cancer in Canada
- Making the link between exposure to asbestos and respiratory cancer in the clinical setting: What are the steps?
