Lee S Friedman

Lee S Friedman, PhD, is a Research Professor in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences at the School of Public Health, University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). His research is centered on three principal areas: injury prevention in the workplace, violence across the lifespan, and the role of conflicts of interest in public health research. He employs advanced methodologies, specializing in the analysis of large population-based datasets, longitudinal cohorts, and data linkage from multi-center projects.

His work on injury prevention uniquely integrates risk factors from the environment, home/community, and workplace, recognizing their interconnected impact. His current research projects, funded by NIOSH-CDC, focus on improving workplace hazard reporting for precarious workers, identifying risk factors for civilian injuries during law enforcement contact, understanding the health needs of people experiencing homelessness, and examining the opioid epidemic's impact on high-risk groups.

His recent publications (2023-2025) reveal a strong trend in applying epidemiological methods to pressing public health crises. Key themes include the opioid epidemic's disparities and trends, the health and safety of vulnerable workers (e.g., coal miners, farmworkers, rideshare drivers), the intersection of community violence and public health, and the refinement of surveillance systems for occupational and environmental diseases.

Dr. Friedman is the Principal Investigator of the Illinois Occupational Surveillance Program, a significant NIOSH-CDC grant, highlighting his leadership in federally funded research.

His research team actively investigates a broad range of issues, including occupational injury prevention and surveillance, the long-term impact of injuries on both documented and undocumented workers, the role of social support in preventing elder neglect, and the influence of financial conflicts of interest on research in environmental and occupational health.