Theodore Courtney

Appointed at the School of Public Health since 1995, Mr. Courtney teaches ergonomics and injury prevention in the graduate curriculum and collaborates on a variety of scientific endeavors. His research interests include epidemiology of injury- particularly injuries due to falls, surveillance, obesity, upper extremity musculoskeletal disorders, biomechanics, and public health policy. He has published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, American Journal of Industrial Medicine, Ergonomics, the Journal of General Internal Medicine, International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics, OEM, and Professional Safety, among others, on subjects ranging from epidemiologic methods to lifting technique to the application of research in professional practice. At Liberty Mutual since 1993, Mr. Courtney is currently the Director of the Center for Injury Epidemiology, which conducts injury epidemiology studies. He also oversees the Institute's extramural research programs and collaborations. In 2003, he received the William F. Floyd Medal from the Ergonomics Society for his work in advancing occupational slips and falls research. In 2006, he received the National Occupational Research Agenda Partnering Award for his work on a multi-institutional study of falls in health care workers. In 2014, he received the Excellence in Science Award from the Injury Control and Emergency Health Services Section of the American Public Health Association. Mr. Courtney also currently serves on the Board of Scientific Counselors of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).

Prior to joining Liberty Mutual and Harvard, Mr. Courtney was a member of the engineering faculty at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI), where his ergonomics and safety research included projects with durable and non-durable products manufacturers as well as work in OSHA regulatory policy and U.S. DOT intelligent vehicle highway systems (IVHS). His field experience in ergonomics and human factors was developed through extensive industrial consulting while at GTRI, human factors design engineering at GTE Corporation, and in private safety, health and environmental consulting. Mr. Courtney has served as an invited speaker for industry and government audiences, including presentations for Fortune 500 manufacturers, NASA, OSHA, NIOSH, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission, and State Boards of Workers Compensation.

Mr. Courtney holds a BS (Human Factors) from the Georgia Institute of Technology, an MS in Industrial and Operations Engineering from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. He is certified in comprehensive practice and ergonomics by the Board of Certified Safety Professionals and was co-developer of the national board examination in ergonomics for safety professionals. From 1993–2001, he represented the insurance industry on the ASC Z-365 Committee on Control of Cumulative Trauma Disorders. He is an Associate Editor at Accident Analysis and Prevention and serves on the Editorial Boards of Injury Epidemiology and the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene. He is also a member of the American Society of Safety Engineers, the American Industrial Hygiene Association, the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, the American Public Health Association and the System Safety Society.