Annals of Occupational Hygiene Advance Access originally published online on October 30, 2007
Annals of Occupational Hygiene 2008 52(1):1; doi:10.1093/annhyg/mem055
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
President BOHS 2007–2008
I graduated from the University of Edinburgh in 1977 with an Honours degree in Physics, and soon after joined the Institute of Occupational Medicine (IOM) in Edinburgh. My first major job at the IOM was to work on a large epidemiological study investigating the possible cancer risks from occupational exposure to man-made mineral fibres (MMMF). IOM were responsible for assessing the exposure to fibres and other pollutants in several plants throughout Europe. The epidemiological study was coordinated by the International Agency for Research on Cancer in France, with local collaborators in each country, and I worked on this project, off and on, over the following 20 years.During my early career, I worked for Jim Dodgson and worked alongside Jim Vincent and Henry Walton, all former Presidents of British Occupational Hygiene Society (BOHS). All three in different ways were important influences on my career. In addition to the MMMF epidemiological study, I worked on a wide variety of research and consulting activities. In the early 1980s, I was fortunate to receive a travel scholarship from BOHS funded by Exxon, which enabled me to visit the American Industrial Hygiene conference and spend another 2 weeks travelling around North America meeting others involved in occupational health and discussing the role of cost–benefit analysis in relation to occupational exposure limits (you can read the report of these endeavours in one of IOMs research reports, which are freely available on the Internet—http://www.iom-world.org/pubs/IOM_TM8602.pdf). In 1984, I was awarded the Diploma in Occupational Hygiene by examination.
While working at IOM, I began running short courses on sampling and analysis of asbestos and later in several other aspects of occupational hygiene practice. At the same time, I was elected to the British Examination and Registration Board in Occupational Hygiene (BERBOH), which was at that time responsible for occupational hygiene qualifications. I was Treasurer of BERBOH for a number of years and later chaired the BOHS, Institute of Occupational Hygienists and BERBOH joint Education and Training Committee.
I applied for a Senior Lecturer post at the University of Aberdeen in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Medicine (DEOM) in 1990. The post was to work in the department under Professor Anthony Seaton and to develop a Masters level course in Occupational Hygiene in collaboration with IOM. Although I changed employer, I was still based most of the time at IOM and the bulk of our Masters course was taught there, making use of their expertise and resources. This taught course ran for >10 years and on five occasions one of our students won the annual prize from BOHS for the best occupational hygiene thesis. I became a Reader in Occupational Hygiene at DEOM in 1999.
During this time, I was Chair of the BOHS Standards Committee and a member of Council. I have been a member of the Editorial Board of the Annals of Occupational Hygiene for a number for years and I am part of the Scientific Committee organizing the next Inhaled Particles Symposium, which will take place in Manchester in 2008.
In 2003, I returned to work full time for IOM and subsequently became their Research Director. I now lead a team of scientists involved in a diverse range of occupational and environmental research for governments, industry, charities and other clients. Our work ranges from a joint investigation with the Health and Safety Executive of a cancer cluster in a semiconductor factory in the West of Scotland to a study of the health benefits of green spaces in our towns and cities. I am a member of the UK Advisory Committee on Pesticides and I remain an Honorary Reader at the University of Aberdeen.
I am married to Sandra, and we have three children.
|
Received September 27, 2007; in final form September 28, 2007
CiteULike 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us What's this?
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||