Rate My Professor Diane Rohlman

Diane Rohlman is Professor of Occupational and Environmental Health, Endowed Chair in Rural Safety and Health, and Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs in the University of Iowa College of Public Health. She directs the Healthier Workforce Center of the Midwest and the Agricultural Safety and Health Training Program within the Heartland Center for Occupational Health and Safety. Additionally, she holds faculty appointments in the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Human Toxicology and serves as Vice President of Northwest Education Training and Assessment. Rohlman earned her M.A. and Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology from Bowling Green State University. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Center for Research on Occupational and Environmental Toxicology at Oregon Health & Science University, where she subsequently joined the faculty. In 2012, she joined the University of Iowa faculty in the Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, became part of the Human Toxicology program in 2013, and was appointed Endowed Chair in Rural Safety and Health in 2016. She was named Associate Dean for Research in March 2022.

Rohlman's research examines neurotoxic effects and neurological disorders resulting from chemical and other agent exposures, with a focus on pesticide impacts on neurobehavioral performance in vulnerable populations exposed to workplace hazards, including agricultural workers, children, adolescents, young workers, and immigrants. Her work encompasses Total Worker Health approaches, workplace mental health, and the development of safety and health interventions to prevent exposures, reduce injuries, and promote healthy behaviors. She has chaired the College of Public Health’s Global Public Health committee and led international research teams across five continents and more than ten countries, such as Egypt, Brazil, Thailand, and the Philippines. Notable publications include "Studying health outcomes in farmworker populations exposed to pesticides" (2006, Environmental Health Perspectives), "Effectiveness of total worker health interventions" (2015, Journal of Occupational Health Psychology), "Correlating neurobehavioral performance with biomarkers of organophosphorous pesticide exposure" (2011, Neurotoxicology), "Neurobehavioral and neurodevelopmental effects of pesticide exposures" (2012, Neurotoxicology), and "Organophosphate pesticide exposure and neurobehavioral performance in agricultural and nonagricultural Hispanic workers" (2006, Environmental Health Perspectives). In 2025, she received the Agricultural Safety & Health Council of America Achievement Award for her contributions to agricultural safety and health.