Katia oversees the Total Worker Health^® education and training portfolio of the Institute. She is also tasked with developing and promoting the Institute’s strategic partnerships with academic and health care institutions, government agencies, non-profit organizations and private sector employers. With a dual clinical (B.Sc. Physical Therapy) and engineering (M.Sc. and PhD Industrial Engineering/Ergonomics) background – supplemented with a professional diploma in applied transdisciplinary research – she has extensive cross-disciplinary experience in research translation and collaboration across many sectors and types of stakeholders. She also completed a three-year post-doctoral research fellowship in the area of research translation and program evaluation for preventing and managing work incapacity.
Prior to joining the Institute, Katia served as a consultant and scientific adviser to a number of organizations and provided ergonomic services to several major corporations in the PNW and across the US. She previously served as the Senior Manager for Ergonomic Services at the New York University (NYU) Langone Health in New York City. Her research and teaching activities have focused on risk assessment, management and program implementation methods, and interventions to prevent workplace injuries/illnesses and optimize the health and well-being of workers.