DV

DR.VIDHYA VENUGOPAL

Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research, Johnson and Johnson PGSM, University of Heidelberg, British Occupational Hygiene Society, Central Queensland University, Conestoga College

ORCID iD 0000-0002-8720-1969
Follow

About

I work with a specialized team of interdisciplinary scientists as an Occupational Hygienist and Climate Change Scientist to discover the links between "Heat, workload, and dehydration" and Renal Health. With national and international agencies, I completed six large-scale epidemiological projects on "Occupational Heat Stress and Health" (SIDA, DST, La Isla Network, Swedish Research Council). Currently working on a DHR-funded "Heat stress and heat strain assessment in the Uddanam community: A cross-sectional study," and five international research projects related to Climate change, heat, health and intervention. Our findings with formal and informal work sectors in the Indian and Indonesian working populations show that workplace exposures, including heat, play a significant role in determining the health of the large working population in the Asian subcontinent, which is largely overlooked because "heat is considered a natural phenomenon." As a certified Industrial Hygienist (British Occupational Health Society) and a key member of the HOTHAPS research group principally focused on Heat stress and Occupational Health, I have key collaborators in Europe, China, Indonesia, the United States, Australia, New Zealand, and Sri Lanka. As a Consultant Occupational Hygienist, I've worked with 108 different industries and have successfully implemented positive interventional changes in several of them to reduce occupational exposures through engineering, administrative, and personal protection. 350 enterprises in India, as well as several in the Middle East, have used the "Heat Stress Prevention Guide", prepared by the team for workers' protection from heat. In the domain of Heat and Health, I have supervised 7-Ph.D. students as a guide in India and 4-international students as a co-supervisor. Our findings were presented at more than 40 international conferences, and I was invited to talk at the International Congress on Occupational Health as a plenary speaker (ICOH, 2018). As main author on the Working Group report on Heat Stress, Dehydration, and Kidney Disease for CENCAM, I was also invited to the 51st Meeting of the CIS Network by the International Labour Organization in Turin. I contributed to the WHO-WMO State-of-the-Art report on Occupational Heat Stress's Health Effects. Current research interests are heat intervention in industries, informal work settings and vulnerable population including migrant workers and pregnant women.

Employment

  • Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research PROFESSOR & COUNTRY DIRECTOR
    2009 - Present
  • Johnson and Johnson PGSM SCIENTIST
    2001 - 2009
  • Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research Research Officer
    2000 - 2001
  • Central Queensland University Post Doctoral Fellow
    1999 - 2000
  • National Environmental Engineering Research Institute Senior Research Fellow
    1993 - 1997
  • National Environmental Engineering Research Institute Junior Research Fellow
    1991 - 1993

Education

  • University of Heidelberg Certified course on "Climate Change and Health - Impact and Adaptation Strategies"
    2011 - 2014
  • British Occupational Hygiene Society Certified Industrial Hygienist
    2011 - 2014
  • Conestoga College Certified course on "Project Management"
    2007 - 2008
  • Central Queensland University Post-doctoral training
    1999 - 2000
  • University of Madras Master of Science (Environmental Chemistry)
    1988 - 1990
  • University of Madras Bachelor of Science (Chemistry)
    1983 - 1986
  • Umeå Universitet Certified course on "Climate Change and Health - Research Methods"
    ? - 2011

Projects & Funding

Projects & funding information is unavailable.

Publications (152)