Dr. Newman is a physician-scientist, public health practitioner, and educator. He is a distinguished university professor in the Departments of Environmental & Occupational Health and Epidemiology at the Colorado School of Public Health and the Division of Pulmonary Sciences and Critical Care Medicine at CU School of Medicine. He is the founding director of two national centers supported by the CDC/National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH): the Center for Health, Work & Environment, and the Mountain & Plains Education and Research Center. He co-founded Health Links™, the ColoradoSPH Certificate in Total Worker Health®, and the University of Colorado Consortium for Climate Change & Health. Dr. Newman’s research program is largely supported by the National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Department of Energy, the CDC, the Department of Labor, and the EPA, among other agencies and institutions.
He is recognized for his scientific and practical contributions to occupational health and safety, applying the concepts of Total Worker Health, and his prevention efforts to mitigate the impact of climate change on workers in the U.S., Mexico, and Latin America. In an academic career spanning four decades, he has contributed to our understanding of how heat stress and nephrotoxins contribute to acute kidney disease, chronic kidney disease of unknown cause, and other health consequences of climate change. Other contributions include research on the mechanisms and prevention of occupational lung disorders, including transdisciplinary work in immunotoxicology, biomarker development, medical surveillance, and health informatics. He is known for pioneering work on the health effects, prevention, and treatment of dust-induced lung disorders, including chronic beryllium disease and other granulomatous diseases such as sarcoidosis. He has authored over 250 scientific papers and over 150 books, chapters, and monographs.
Dr. Newman consults for government agencies, businesses, labor groups, and community organizations. An avid educator, Dr. Newman is a founding faculty member of the ColoradoSPH and continues to teach and mentor master’s and doctoral students and junior faculty members. His favorite role is as a mentor, second only to husband and father. He is hopeful and, at times, irrationally optimistic.
Areas of Expertise
- Interventions to mitigate the impact of heat stress on worker health and safety
- Etiology and prevention of chronic kidney disease in agricultural workers
- Total Worker Health, especially applied to small enterprises and internationally
- Prevention of occupational injuries and illnesses
- Etiology of occupational and environmental disorders
- Immunotoxicology, especially immune effects of metals (beryllium)
- Granulomatous lung disorders: Chronic beryllium disease and sarcoidosis
- Biomarker development
- Medical surveillance in the workplace
- Health informatics in the healthcare industry
Education, Licensure & Certifications
- Fellowship, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, University of Colorado, 1987
- Internship and Residency, Internal Medicine, Emory University, 1983
- MD, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, 1980
- MA, Cornell University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, 1977
- BA, Amherst College, 1975
Awards
- 2019 designation as a University of Colorado Distinguished Professor, the highest honor for faculty at CU
- 2016 Chancellor’s Award for Teaching Excellence, University of Colorado, CU Anschutz
- 2015 Diversity Award, CDC/National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Diversity Steering Council
- 2012 Chancellor’s Award for Teaching Excellence, University of Colorado, CU Anschutz
- 2011 Delta Omega, National Public Health Honorary Society, Alpha Upsilon Chapter
- 2004 Fellow, Collegium Ramazzini
- 2004 Fellow, American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (FACOEM)
- 1990 Fellow, American College of Chest Physicians (FCCP)
Courses
- EHOH 6638 Communication Skills for Public Health Impact
- EHOH 7405 Advanced Communication Skills for Public Health Impact
Research Interest
- Biomarker Development
- Etiology and Prevention of Chronic Kidney Disease
- Etiology of Occupational and Environmental Disorders
- Ganulomatous Lung Disorders
- Health informatics
- Immunotoxicology
- Medical Surveillance
- Prevention of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses
- Total Worker Health
- Workplace Health Promotion
Research
- CDC/National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). "Center for Health, Work & Environment - Total Worker Health National Center of Excellence." (September 2021-August 2026). Role: Center Director/Principal Investigator; "WeCanWork - Well-being, Cancer and Worker Study." (September 2021-August 2026). Role: Co-Investigator.
- CDC/National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). "Mountain and Plains Education and Research Center". (July 2020-June 2025). Role: Center Director and Program Director “Climate and Worker Health Targeted Research Training Program
- National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS). "Particulate Exposure and Kidney Health" (March 2021-December 2026). Role: Co-Principal Investigator
- National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS). Air pollutants, heat exposure, and kidney health: A longitudinal study in women in Central America
- (April 2023-January 2028). Role: Principal Investigator
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)/Westat, Inc., Mountain West ACE-CH Hub: Climate Change Engagement Platform to Support Resilient Rural and Urban Communities, (March 2023-February 2025). Role: Co-Investigator
- US Department of Labor, Improving workers’ occupational safety and health in selected supply chains in Mexico – A Vision Zero Fund Project. International Labor Organization, Cooperative Agreement : “A collective action approach to understanding and preventing heat-associated impacts on agricultural worker health and safety in Jalisco, Mexico” (April 2023-December 2025). Role: Implementing Partner, Principal Investigator.
- National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disease (NIDDK) “Silica Nephropathy and Chronic Kidney Disease of Unknown Etiology” (July 2020 – June 2025). Role: Co-Investigator
- Department of Energy (DOE)/Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU). "National Supplemental Screening Program." (August 2005-January 2025). Role: Co-Principal Investigator.
Publications and Presentations
- Krisher L, Boeldt DL, Sigmon CAN, Rimel SE, Newman LS. Pragmatic Approach to the Assessment and Use of Digital Mental Health Interventions for Health Workers. Am J Public Health. 2024 Feb;114(S2):171-179. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2023.307505. PMID: 38354345; PMCID: PMC10916727.
- Kunz JJ, Fisher GG, Ganster DC, Gibbons AM, Graham DJ, Schwatka NV, Dally MJ, Shore E, Brown CE, Tenney L, Newman LS. The Relationship Between Stress and Sleep Sufficiency in the Context of Varied Workplace Social Support. J Occup Environ Med. 2023 Sep 1;65(9):769-774. doi: 10.1097/JOM.0000000000002902. Epub 2023 Jun 9. PMID: 37278150.
- Dally M, Suresh K, Van Dyke M, James KA, Bauer AK, Krisher L, Newman LS. Occurrence of Occupational Injuries and Within Day Changes in Wet Bulb Temperature Among Sugarcane Harvesters. J Agromedicine. 2023 Jul;28(3):523-531. doi: 10.1080/1059924X.2023.2169425. Epub 2023 Feb 3. PMID: 36650099; PMCID: PMC10225312.
- Butler-Dawson J, James KA, Krisher L, Jaramillo D, Dally M, Neumann N, Pilloni D, Cruz A, Asensio C, Johnson RJ, Adgate J, Newman LS. Environmental metal exposures and kidney function of Guatemalan sugarcane workers. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol. 2022 May;32(3):461-471. doi: 10.1038/s41370-021-00292-x. Epub 2021 Feb 18. PMID: 33603096; PMCID: PMC8371072.
- Schwatka NV, Jaramillo D, Dally M, Krisher L, Dexter L, Butler-Dawson J, Clancy R, Fisher GG, Newman LS. Latin American Agricultural Workers' Job Demands and Resources and the Association With Health Behaviors at Work and Overall Health. Front Public Health. 2022 Apr 7;10:838417. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.838417. PMID: 35462804; PMCID: PMC9021611.
- Tenney L, Huebschmann AG, Brown CE, Schwatka NV, Newman LS. Leveraging an Implementation Science Framework to Measure the Impact of Efforts to Scale Out a Total Worker Health® Intervention to Employers. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Jan 26;19(3):1372. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19031372. PMID: 35162408; PMCID: PMC8834848.
- Dally M, Sorensen CJ, Butler-Dawson J, Griffin BR, Johnson RJ, Krisher L, Jaramillo D, Asensio C, Newman LS. Sugarcane Workweek Study: Mechanisms Underlying Daily Changes in Creatinine. Kidney Int Rep. 2021 Aug 27;6(12):3083-3086. doi: 10.1016/j.ekir.2021.08.014. PMID: 34901578; PMCID: PMC8640536.
- Butler-Dawson J, Krisher L, Dally M, James KA, Johnson RJ, Jaramillo D, Yoder H, Johnson EC, Pilloni D, Asensio C, Cruz A, Newman LS. Sugarcane Workweek Study: Risk Factors for Daily Changes in Creatinine. Kidney Int Rep. 2021 Jun 22;6(9):2404-2414. doi: 10.1016/j.ekir.2021.06.003. PMID: 34514201; PMCID: PMC8418948.
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