Marissa Baker, PhD
About
Dr. Marissa Baker is an associate professor in the UW Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences (DEOHS). She also serves as deputy director of the Northwest Center for Occupational Health and Safety, housed at DEOHS. She is an affiliate faculty in the Harry Bridges Center for Labor Studies at UW.
Dr. Baker's research centers on occupational experiences of vulnerable or underrepresented groups. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she worked closely with a variety of worker organizations, government and industry partners to characterize physical and mental health outcomes experienced by workers, characterize their risk perceptions and needs, and propose and evaluate interventions for safe work. Dr. Baker also studies the experiences of women in the workplace.
Trained as an industrial hygienist, Dr. Baker has expertise in workplace exposure assessment, using techniques such as air sampling, biomonitoring and exposure modeling. Recently, her interests and expertise have expanded to characterize stress and mental health in worker populations, using both survey and qualitative methods. Based on her occupational studies of manganese exposures and health effects, she was invited to serve as a committee member for the International Agency for Research on Cancer in reviewing welding fume as a carcinogen. In 2021, Baker was appointed by the administrator of the US Environmental Protection Agency to the Science Advisory Committee on Chemicals. She also serves as a member of the WHO Technical Advisory Group on Occupational Burden of Disease Estimation.
Education
- PhD, University of Washington
- MS, University of Washington
- BA, Northwestern University
Affiliations
Deputy Director, Northwest Center for Occupational Health and SafetyCo-Director, Industrial Hygiene Training Program, Northwest Center for Occupational Health and Safety
Affiliate Faculty, Harry Bridges Center for Labor Studies
Member, WHO Technical Advisory Group on Occupational Burden of Disease Estimation
Member, EPA Science Advisory Committee on Chemicals
Mentorship
Available to mentor new master's students in autumn 2026. Please follow the instructions on the How To Apply page.
DEOHS Students Mentored
Comparison of the Parallel Particle Impactor and Cyclone for Respirable Crystalline Silica Sampling
Heather Larsen | MS Applied | 2025 | View
Applying the Haddon Matrix to Industrial Hygiene in the Aerospace Manufacturing Industry
Nathan Winward | MS Applied | 2023 | View
Occupational Health in U.S. Transit Agencies: Trends in OSHA-Reportable Illnesses and Injuries (2016–2023)
Hunter Solaro | MS Thesis | 2025 | View
Characterizing drug use incidents on transit vehicles and its impact on transit operators
Pranav Srikanth | PhD | 2025 | View
Salience of Automation and Insomnia in Young Adults
Christopher Barnes | MPH | 2024 | View
Engagement
Equity, diversity and inclusion
I recognize the barriers faced by women and historically marginalized communities in an academic setting and strive to promote equity through my teaching methods, classroom climate and the research activity I undertake. It is important that I acknowledge that my identities have provided me with unearned advantages. While I recognize the immense amount of privilege I have, I believe it is my duty to use my privilege, and the voice that accompanies it, to promote social justice, to call out instances of social oppression, to advocate for women and historically marginalized individuals and to create a learning environment that celebrates diversity, promotes inclusion and is ultimately equitable for all.
Additionally, I will continue to work to unveil and recognize my inherent blind spots and biases, push myself out of my comfort zone to challenge and overcome my limitations and initiate conversations with those who can challenge me to recognize and overcome my limitations. My journey is a work in progress, but both as a researcher and instructor, I will continue to look for opportunities to combat social oppressions and address disparities when I see them. I will continuously strive to promote the voices of those students and workers that have been historically silenced.
Community and research partnerships
I work closely with a variety of organizations, including:
Teamsters Local 117 (Drivers Union); Teamsters Local 763, Amalgamated Transit Union 587, SMART International and locals across the country, and Washington Labor Education & Research Center.
I am in my third year of an intergovernmental personnel agreement (IPA) with NIOSH and have worked with US Department of Transportation (MARAD).
I have also assisted Seattle & King County - Public Health, the Washington State Department of Health and the King County Auditor's Office.
Teaching practices
I strive to create a classroom climate where all students feel motivated to show up, contribute and grow in their learning. I use a variety of active learning techniques in my classrooms and ensure every class session has time for discussions with peers or working on applied problems to practice concepts. I try to ensure that the examples used in class are applied and students have ample opportunities to practice new concepts.
I value creating connections with my students, whether at office hours or during class time. I also strive to continuously improve my teaching methods and content delivery through updating not only my teaching methods but the content I teach. I aim to give my students opportunities to provide me with feedback to ensure that their needs as students are being met in the classroom.
Service
Service inside DEOHS/SPH
Chair, DEOHS Curriculum and Academic Policy Committee
Member, SPH Curriculum and Education Policy Committee
Co-Director, ERC Industrial Hygiene Training Program
Deputy Director, Northwest Center for Occupational Safety & Health
Member, DEOHS Admissions Committee
Service to outside organizations
Member, EPA Science Advisory on Chemicals
Member, WHO Technical Advisory Group on Occupational Burden of Disease Estimation
Assistant Editor, International Archives of Occupational & Environmental Health
Member, NIOSH NORA Council on Transportation, Warehousing and Utilities