Dr. Holness’ research was central to the development of Ontario’s 2017 Occupational Disease Action Plan. Years in the making, the action plan has made it undeniable that occupational disease is debilitating and costly, yet under-reported and often poorly addressed.
Dr. Holness is the director and co-founder of the Centre for Research Expertise in Occupational Disease (CREOD). Policy-focused and grounded in partnerships at all levels of the occupational health-and-safety system, CREOD research has been instrumental in defining the link between work and health. Vulnerable workers, such as ‘under-the-table’ and migrant workers, are emerging as an important CREOD research priority. These workers are often at high risk of occupational disease, yet hidden from the traditional occupational health-and-safety system.
Dr. Holness is a scientist with MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions in the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute of St. Michael’s Hospital. She was chief of the St. Michael’s Hospital Department of Occupational and Environmental Health for 30 years. She is a professor in the University of Toronto’s Department of Medicine as well as Dalla Lana School of Public Health.