NIOSH Education and Research Centers

A partnership of the University of Kentucky and Eastern Kentucky University, the Central Appalachian Regional Education and Research Center (CARERC) is one of only 18 such university-based occupational safety and health training programs in the United States.

Funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and its National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health (CDC/NIOSH), ERCs...

• Conduct state-of-the-art research in worker safety and health;

• Provide graduate-level academic programs and continuing education (CE) in occupational safety, industrial hygiene, occupational health nursing, and occupational medicine;

• Develop control technologies, workplace interventions and other solutions designed to protect worker health and safety and avert injury-related costs to businesses and families.

NIOSH ERCs exist to provide an adequate supply of personnel qualified to carry out the purposes of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA Act) and to reduce the national burden of work-related injuries, illnesses, and deaths. CARERC is the only NIOSH-funded Education and Research Center dedicated exclusively to serving workers, employers and other stakeholders in 177 high-need counties in eastern Kentucky, east Tennessee, western North Carolina, West Virginia, and Virginia.

General correspondence may be addressed to

​Christin Kane
Research Project Manager
233 Bowman Hall
University of Kentucky
Lexington, KY 40536
859-323-1278

Program-specific inquiries may be addressed to

Wayne T. Sanderson, PhD, CIH
Director, Central Appalachian Regional
Education and Research Center
Professor, Department of Epidemiology &
Department of Preventive Medicine and Environmental Health
University of Kentucky
College of Public Health
151 Washington Ave
355 Bowman Hall
Lexington, Kentucky 40536
Phone: (859) 218-2227
Email: wsa223@uky.edu

Steven R. Browning, PhD
Associate Professor
Department of Epidemiology
111 Washington Ave, Suite 209B
University of Kentucky
College of Public Health
Lexington, Kentucky 40536-0003
Phone: (859) 218-2235
Email: srbrown@email.uky.edu

Scotty Dunlap, EdD, CSP
Associate Professor
Safety Security and Emergency Management
College of Justice and Safety
250 Stratton Bldg
Eastern Kentucky University
Richmond, KY 40475 
Phone: (859) 622-7208
Email: Scotty.Dunlap@eku.edu