Occupational and Environmental Medicine

Forever Ends Here: PFAS & Policy for Worker Health and Safety

Conference Sessions are Now Available Online, On-Demand

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) represent one of the most pressing environmental and occupational health challenges of our time. These persistent chemicals are found in water, soil, consumer products, and workplaces, raising urgent questions about health risks, exposure pathways, and strategies for prevention, treatment, and policy action.

Hot, Dusty, and Smoky: Navigating Extremes, Climate Change Impacts on OEH

Conference Sessions are Now Available Online, On-Demand

Climate change is pressing public health crisis that is already impacting the world of work. Join the Northern California Centers for Occupational and Environmental Health for a deep dive into the chemical, biological, and physical hazards of navigating climate extremes. Learn about the rising prevalence of Valley Fever, a fungal infection caused by inhaling dust or soil particles, particularly in drought-affected regions. Discuss the impacts of rising temperatures on worker safety, heat-related illness, and...

Mastering Medical Legal Report Writing: Unraveling Complexities

Delve into the intricacies of medical legal report writing and unlock your potential to create reports that withstand scrutiny, effectively communicate findings, and serve as compelling evidence in legal proceedings. Differentiate between contributing-causal factors, both industrial and nonindustrial, influencing the resultant permanent disability. Develop proficiency in assessing the percentage of permanent disability caused by work injuries or industrial exposure, while considering the impact of other nonindustrial contributing factors. Learn to employ the most...

Mastering Medical Legal Report Writing: Mitigating Implicit Bias

Delve into the intricacies of medical legal report writing and unlock your potential to create reports that withstand scrutiny, effectively communicate findings, and serve as compelling evidence in legal proceedings. Understand the impact of unconscious bias, stereotyping, and discrimination on medical assessments, and gain insights into how these biases can inadvertently influence perceptions and decision-making, leading to disparities in healthcare strategies. Learn practical techniques to mitigate implicit bias in your evaluations and report writing. You'll also examine the...

Mastering Medical Legal Report Writing: Evidence-Based Evaluation

Delve into the intricacies of medical legal report writing and unlock your potential to create reports that withstand scrutiny, effectively communicate findings, and serve as compelling evidence in legal proceedings. Define Permanent and Stationary Status (P&S) and Maximum Medical Improvement (MMI), develop your proficiency in evaluating and confirming patient disability status, differentiate whether an injury arose out of employment, and make precise determinations for QME medical-legal reporting. You'll also learn to clearly and concisely report the rationale behind your assessment...

Mastering Medical Legal Report Writing: Navigating QME Requirements

Delve into the intricacies of medical legal report writing and unlock your potential to create reports that withstand scrutiny, effectively communicate findings, and serve as compelling evidence in legal proceedings. Gain a comprehensive understanding of the statutory and regulatory requirements that govern medical legal report writing, and learn to navigate these complex legal frameworks as you apply standards to your practice. Learn to identify common mistakes, such as insufficient documentation or inadequate analysis, that can compromise the integrity of your reports. Discover how...

California Workers' Compensation Medical Legal Report Writing | On-Demand Online Course

Produced in partnership with the California Department of Industrial Relations, Division of Workers' Compensation, this course will provide a clear and comprehensive outline of essential components for a Workers' Compensation Medical Legal Report. Review key concepts and terminology, identify statutes and regulations governing medical legal report writing in California, and leverage the QME Guided Report Quality Assurance Checklist to author medical legal reports that withstand scrutiny, effectively communicate findings, and serve as compelling evidence in legal proceedings.

02/05/2026 - 02/06/2026: COEH Builds Bridges - Forever Ends Here: PFAS & Policy for Worker Health and Safety

Thursday, February 5 (Online) &
Friday, February 6, 2026 (In-Person | Berkeley, CA)

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) represent one of the most pressing environmental and occupational health challenges of our time. These persistent chemicals are found in water, soil, consumer products, and workplaces, raising urgent questions about health risks, exposure pathways, and strategies for prevention, treatment, and policy action.

Thursday, February 5th (Online) - Participants will engage with leading experts exploring the...

Acute differences in blood lipids and inflammatory biomarkers following controlled exposures to cookstove air pollution in the STOVES study

Ethan S Walker
Kristen M Fedak
Nicholas Good
John Balmes
Robert D Brook
Maggie L Clark
Tom Cole-Hunter
Robert B Devlin
Christian L'Orange
Gary Luckasen
John Mehaffy
Rhiannon Shelton
Ander Wilson
John Volckens
Jennifer L Peel
2020

Household air pollution is a leading risk factor for morbidity and premature mortality. Numerous cookstoves have been developed to reduce household air pollution, but it is unclear whether such cookstoves meaningfully improve health. In a controlled exposure study with a crossover design, we assessed the effect of pollution emitted from multiple cookstoves on acute differences in blood lipids and inflammatory biomarkers. Participants (n = 48) were assigned to treatment sequences of exposure to air pollution emitted from five cookstoves and a filtered-air control. Blood lipids and...

The TOPAZ study: a home-based trial of zoledronic acid to prevent fractures in neurodegenerative parkinsonism

Caroline M Tanner
Steven R Cummings
Michael A Schwarzschild
Ethan G Brown
E Ray Dorsey
Alberto J Espay
Nicholas B Galifianakis
Samuel M Goldman
Irene Litvan
Nijee Luthra
Nikolaus R McFarland
Kyle T Mitchell
David G Standaert
Douglas C Bauer
Susan L Greenspan
James C Beck
Kenneth W Lyles
2021

The Trial of Parkinson's And Zoledronic acid (TOPAZ, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03924414 ) is a unique collaboration between experts in movement disorders and osteoporosis to test the efficacy of zoledronic acid, an FDA-approved parenteral treatment for osteoporosis, for fracture prevention in people with neurodegenerative parkinsonism. Aiming to enroll 3,500 participants age 65 years or older, TOPAZ is one of the largest randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trials ever attempted in parkinsonism....