Trial lecture: "The global burden of occupational respiratory disease"
Time and place: 21 Sep. 2023, 10 AM, Auditorium at STAMI, Gydas vei 8
Main research findings:
Waste workers are regularly exposed to air-borne agents with allergenic, toxic, or irritating properties and occupational exposure to bioaerosols has been associated with adverse health outcomes, such as reduced lung function and respiratory disease. However, due to the complexity of bioaerosols and the diversity of potential exposure-related symptoms, associations between work-exposure and underlying immunological effects are still poorly described. This thesis contributed to closing the knowledge gap on occupational exposure in contemporary waste sorting by systematically measuring exposure to bioaerosols in different waste sorting plants, studying the potential of work air samples to induce an immune response in vitro and in vivo, and exploring the association between occupational exposure and adverse health outcomes in waste workers.
Adjudication committee
Professor Vivi Schlünssen, Aarhus University
Assoc. Professor Anne Kristin Møller Fell, University of Oslo & Telemark Hospital
Professor Dirk Linke, University of Oslo
Chair of defense
Assoc. Professor Øystein Ole Gahr Langangen, University of Oslo
Supervisors
Senior Researcher Pål Graff, STAMI – The National Institute of Occupational Health in Norway
Senior Researcher Anne Straumfors, STAMI – The National Institute of Occupational Health in Norway
Researcher Anani K. Afanou, STAMI – The National Institute of Occupational Health in Norway
Professor Alexander Eiler, University of Oslo