Dr. Laura Punnett

Dr Laura Punnett is an occupational ergonomist and epidemiologist, Professor Emerita of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Massachusetts Lowell (UML), U.S.A., and co-director of the Center for the Promotion of Health in the New England Workplace (CPH-NEW), one of the first NIOSH Centers of Excellence in Total Worker Health® (TWH). She was a co-founder of the UML Department of Work Environment in 1987 and has held several visiting positions, most recently at the University of Gävle, Deakin University, and Southern Denmark University.

Punnett's research expertise includes the epidemiology of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) and related employment outcomes, assessment of physical and psychosocial stressors in the work environment; the contribution of working conditions to socioeconomic disparities and gender differences in health; and the effectiveness of workplace safety and health programs.

Within CPH-NEW, Punnett’s work has also examined the interaction of work organization with non-occupational factors, especially in the healthcare workforce, for physical and mental health. Her team has developed a definition and scientific justification of TWH that emphasizes the design, implementation and evaluation of participatory workplace interventions.