Ming-Lun Lu
Current Position：
Co-Manager, Musculoskeletal Health Program, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), USA
Education：
Ph.D., Industrial Hygiene and Ergonomics, University of Cincinnati
Professional Experience：
Dr. Lu has 26 years of research experience in biomechanics and epidemiology for the prevention of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). He is the co-manager for the NIOSH Musculoskeletal Health Cross-sector Program and the co-chair for the National Occupational Research Agenda Musculoskeletal Health Council. His expertise on ergonomics includes wearable sensor and computer vision based ergonomic risk assessments, psychosocial risk factors, industrial exoskeletons, healthcare ergonomics, and practical interventions for airport baggage handling operations. He has 65 peer-reviewed journal articles and conference proceedings, and authored two book chapters and many other governmental publications on preventing MSDs. Dr. Lu has or is serving on many professional committees, such as the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES) Technical Assistance Group to the ISO Ergonomics Standard Technical Group 159, National Safety Council MSD Solutions Lab, US military ergonomic standard MIL-STD-1472G, Automotive Industrial Action Group Ergonomics Guidelines for Small Lot Delivery, Transportation Security Administration Planning Guidelines and Design Standards for Checked Baggage Inspection Systems. He is an invited speaker at numerous professional conferences and a frequent referee/editor for peer-review journals.
Special Honor
Dr. Lu is a certified professional ergonomist (2006-present). He has won the AIHCE Tichauer Award (1998), the American Industrial Hygiene Foundation Award (1999), the Applied Ergonomics Conference Thomas Waters Award (2016), the NIOSH Alice Hamilton Award Honorable Mention (2018), the NIOSH Bullard-Sherwood Research-to-Practice Award (2020, 2022).
Speaking Topics
Prevention through design for sustainable ergonomics programs
The mission of the NIOSH prevention through design program is to eliminate hazards and control risks to workers at the source as early as possible. For decades, musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) in the workplace have been a major occupational health problem resulting in productivity loss, high workers’ compensation cost and societal burden. Because of the multifactorial cause of MSDs involving personal, physical and psychosocial risk factors, prevention through design may be the best risk mitigation strategy. Promoting workers’ psychosocial well-being as a supplementary risk mitigation strategy can enhance the sustainability of the prevention though design effort. The speaker will present elements of ergonomics programs using the combined prevention through design and psychosocial well-being approach.
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