About Us

About Us

About the Program

The Targeted Research Training (TRT) Program includes competitive fellowships and free seminars intended to promote interdisciplinary research training in occupational health and safety. The interdisciplinary research training embeds the Northern California Education Research Center's three core training programs: industrial hygiene, occupational health nursing, occupational medicine; and three allied programs: ergonomics, occupational epidemiology, and agricultural safety and health. The application process is competitive, but trainees receive a contribution to their research costs, as well as a stipend for living expenses and in-state tuition and fees. They are expected to attend a monthly training seminar which alternates between sessions where they discuss their research progress and any problems they encounter at sessions involving practical research training.  Before applying to the TRT, applicants should be accepted into their program by one of the other ERC Program Directors.

Goals of the program 

The goal of the Targeted Research Training Fellowships are intended to promote interdisciplinary research training in occupational health and safety. TRT trainees receive one-on-one mentorship from the Program Director and participate in group trainee meetings. The monthly seminar series, open to all ERC trainees, staff, and faculty, covers a range of occupational research topics typically not covered in other courses.

History of Program

 In 2008, the Targeted Research Training (TRT) Program was added to provide a more integrated and interdisciplinary approach to research training. The TRT Program has been continuously funded since then. Professor Michael Bates, an environmental and occupational epidemiologist in the UC Berkeley School of Public Health, was the previous TRT Program Director from 2013-2020. Before becoming Director, Dr. Bates ran the TRT Interdisciplinary Research Seminar for 3 years. In 2021, Dr. Sadie Costello, an occupational and environmental epidemiologist at the School of Public Health at UC Berkeley, was appointed as the new TRT Program Director.