Carisa Harris-Adamson, PhD

Professor

Dr. Harris and her team performs research in a variety of areas focused on understanding and preventing work related injuries and improving human performance, productivity and health. Her epidemiological research assesses and adjusts for healthy worker survivor bias in the assessment of physical, personal and work psychosocial factors associated with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and subsequent work disability. Additionally, her team is developing a variety of exposure assessment devices (wearables) for primary and secondary prevention purposes and performs various intervention studies on occupational tasks with high risk of musculoskeletal injuries. The lab has a history of performing research in the construction, computer, medical, hotel and manufacturing sectors. From a global health perspective, Dr. Harris collaborates on research assessing the impact of heavy load carrying among women in developing countries (Nepal, Tanzania, Ethiopia) on associated morbidity.

Education
PhD, 2011 - Environmental Health Sciences, University of California, Berkeley
Masters of Arts, 2001 - Kinesiology, San Francisco State University
Masters of Science, 2000 - Physical Therapy, University of California, San Francisco
Bachelor of Science, 1997 - Psychology, Tufts University
Honors and Awards
  • AIHCe Don Chaffin Award, Best Ergonomics Speaker/Presentation, American Industrial Hygiene Conference & Exposition, 2015
  • NIOSH Career Development Award, NIOSH, 2014-2017
  • M. Donald Whorton Writing Award, Honorable Mention, Northern California Center of Occupational and Environmental Health, 2013
  • Best Student Paper Award, Human Factors & Ergonomics Society Conference,, 2011
  • 1st place, PREMUS Best Paper Competition, PREMUS & Scandinavian Journal of Work & Environmental Health, 2010
  • NIOSH Targeted Research Training Program Awardee, NIOSH, 2009
  • Center for Occupational & Environmental Health Grant, 2007
Websites
Publications

  1. Gutierrez N, Ojelade A, Kim S, Barr A, Akanmu A, Nussbaum MA, Harris-Adamson C. Perceived benefits, barriers, perceptions, and readiness to use exoskeletons in the construction industry: Differences by demographic characteristics. Applied ergonomics 2023. PMID: 38134719


  2. Kim S, Ojelade A, Moore A, Gutierrez N, Harris-Adamson C, Barr A, Srinivasan D, Rempel DM, Nussbaum MA. Understanding contributing factors to exoskeleton use-intention in construction: A decision tree approach using results from an online survey. Ergonomics 2023. PMID: 38085690


  3. Arippa F, Nguyen A, Pau M, Harris-Adamson C. Movement Behavior and Health Outcomes among Sedentary Adults: A Cross-Sectional Study. International journal of environmental research and public health 2023. PMID: 36901678


  4. Radwin RG, Hu YH, Akkas O, Bao S, Harris-Adamson C, Lin JH, Meyers AR, Rempel D. Comparison of the observer, single-frame video and computer vision hand activity levels. Ergonomics 2022. PMID: 36227226


  5. Dinh-Dang D, Khafagy A, Krause N, Harris-Adamson C. Assessment of cardiovascular load among hotel room cleaners. Applied ergonomics 2022. PMID: 36162273


  6. Zimbalist A, Rempel D, Feng L, Harris-Adamson C. The association between forceful hand exertions and musculoskeletal disorders of the neck and shoulder: a prospective cohort study of US manufacturing workers. Journal of occupational and environmental medicine 2022. PMID: 35902359


  7. Arippa F, Nguyen A, Pau M, Harris-Adamson C. Postural strategies among office workers during a prolonged sitting bout. 2022. PMID: 35245695


  8. Harris-Adamson C, Eisen EA, Kapellusch J, Hegmann KT, Thiese MS, Dale AM, Evanoff B, Meyers AR, Bao S, Gerr F, Krause N, Rempel D. Occupational risk factors for work disability following carpal tunnel syndrome: a pooled prospective study. 2022. PMID: 35074886


  9. Harris-Adamson C, Shergill AK. Endoscopist injury: shifting our focus to interventions. Gastrointestinal endoscopy 2021. PMID: 34024633


  10. Koyuncu A, Kadota JL, Mnyippembe A, Njau PF, Sijali TR, McCoy SI, Bates MN, Harris-Adamson C, Prata N. Heavy Load Carrying and Symptoms of Pelvic Organ Prolapse among Women in Tanzania and Nepal: An Exploratory Study. International journal of environmental research and public health 2021. PMID: 33572663


  11. Fan H, Yu S, Wang M, Li M, Zhao X, Ren Y, Zhang S, Chen D, Harris Adamson C. Analysis of the external acoustic meatus for ergonomic design: part II - anthropometric variations of the external acoustic meatus by sex, age and side in Chinese population. Ergonomics 2021. PMID: 33350898


  12. Fan H, Yu S, Wang M, Li M, Chu J, Yan Y, Zhang S, Chen D, Harris-Adamson C. Analysis of the external acoustic meatus for ergonomic design: part I - measurement of the external acoustic meatus using casting, scanning and rapid estimation approaches. Ergonomics 2021. PMID: 33258415


  13. Shergill AK, Rempel D, Barr A, Lee D, Pereira A, Hsieh CM, McQuaid K, Harris-Adamson C. Biomechanical risk factors associated with distal upper extremity musculoskeletal disorders in endoscopists performing colonoscopy. Gastrointestinal endoscopy 2020. PMID: 33160978


  14. Kadota JL, McCoy SI, Bates MN, Mnyippembe A, Njau PF, Prata N, Harris-Adamson C. The Impact of Heavy Load Carrying on Musculoskeletal Pain and Disability Among Women in Shinyanga Region, Tanzania. Annals of global health 2020. PMID: 32110509


  15. Devkota HR, Sijali TR, Harris C, Ghimire DJ, Prata N, Bates MN. Bio-mechanical risk factors for uterine prolapse among women living in the hills of west Nepal: A case-control study. Women's health (London, England) 2020. PMID: 31965915


  16. Yung M, Dale AM, Kapellusch J, Bao S, Harris-Adamson C, Meyers AR, Hegmann KT, Rempel D, Evanoff BA. Modeling the Effect of the 2018 Revised ACGIH® Hand Activity Threshold Limit Value® (TLV) at Reducing Risk for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. Journal of occupational and environmental hygiene 2019. PMID: 31361578


  17. Harris-Adamson C, Lam E, Fathallah F, Tong AD, Hill S, Smith A. The ergonomic impact of a mattress lift tool and bottom sheet type on hotel room cleaners while making beds. Applied ergonomics 2019. PMID: 31422276


  18. Scott JG, Shore E, Brown C, Harris C, Rosen MA. Highlights from occupational safety and health continuing education needs assessment. American journal of industrial medicine 2019. PMID: 31180591


  19. Huang R, Harris Adamson C, Odell D, Rempel D.. Design of finger gestures for locomotion in virtual reality Virtual Reality & Intelligent Hardware. 2019. PMID:


  20. Van Engelhoven L, Poon N, Kazerooni H, Rempel D, Barr A, Harris-Adamson C.. Experimental evaluation of shoulder-support exoskeleton for overhead work: Influences of peak torque, amplitude, tasks and tool mass IISE Transactions on Occupational Ergonomics and Human Factors 2019. PMID:


  21. Yung M, Dale AM, Kapellusch J, Bao S, Harris C, Meyers A, Hegmann KT, Rempel Dm, Evanoff B.. Modeling the Effect of the 2018 Revised ACGIH Hand Activity Threshold Limit Value (TLV) at Reducing Risk for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, 2001-2010 Journal of Occupational & Environmental Hygiene 2019. PMID:


  22. Kim, S., Moore, A., Srinivasan, D., Akanmu, A., Barr, A., Harris-Adamson, C., Rempel, D.M. and Nussbaum, M.A.. Potential of exoskeleton technologies to enhance safety, health, and performance in construction: industry perspectives and future research directions IISE Transactions on Occupational Ergonomics and Human Factors 2019. PMID:


  23. Lin J, Harris-Adamson C & Rempel D.. The Design of Hand Gestures for Selecting Virtual Objects International Journal of Human Computer Interaction 2019. PMID:


  24. Harris-Adamson C, Lam E, Tong AD, Hill S, Smith A.. The ergonomic impact of a mattress lift tool and bottom sheet type on hotel room cleaners while making beds Applied ergonomics 2019. PMID:


  25. Dale AM, Ekenga CC, Buckner-Petty S, Merlino L, Thiese MS, Bao S, Meyers AR, Harris-Adamson C, Kapellusch J, Eisen EA, Gerr F, Hegmann KT, Silverstein B, Garg A, Rempel D, Zeringue A, Evanoff BA. Incident CTS in a large pooled cohort study: associations obtained by a Job Exposure Matrix versus associations obtained from observed exposures. Occupational and environmental medicine 2018. PMID: 29599164


  26. Pramchoo W, Geater AF, Harris Adamson C, Tantrakulwanich B.. Ergonomic rubber tapping knife relieves symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome among rubber tappers International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics. 2018. PMID:


  27. Harris-Adamson C, Bao S, Evanoff B.. Occupational and Environmental Health In: Levy BS, Wegman DH, Baron SL, Sokas RK eds Musculoskeletal Disorders 2018. PMID:


  28. Agarwal S, Steinmaus C, Harris-Adamson C. Sit-stand workstations and impact on low back discomfort: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Ergonomics 2017. PMID: 29115188


  29. Akkas O, Lee CH, Hu YH, Harris Adamson C, Rempel D, Radwin RG. Measuring exertion time, duty cycle and hand activity level for industrial tasks using computer vision. Ergonomics 2017. PMID: 28640656


  30. Harris-Adamson C, Chen B, Janowitz I, Rempel D.. Ergonomic evaluation of an alternative tool for cake decorating International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics. 2017. PMID:


  31. Harris-Adamson C, Eisen EA, Neophytou A, Kapellusch J, Garg A, Hegmann KT, Thiese MS, Dale AM, Evanoff B, Bao S, Silverstein B, Gerr F, Burt S, Rempel D. Biomechanical and psychosocial exposures are independent risk factors for carpal tunnel syndrome: assessment of confounding using causal diagrams. Occupational and environmental medicine 2016. PMID: 27466616


  32. Harris-Adamson C, Mielke A, Xu X, Lin J. Ergonomic evaluation of standard and alternative pallet jack handles International journal of industrial ergonomics 2016. PMID:


  33. Fan ZJ, Harris-Adamson C, Gerr F, Eisen EA, Hegmann KT, Bao S, Silverstein B, Evanoff B, Dale AM, Thiese MS, Garg A, Kapellusch J, Burt S, Merlino L, Rempel D. Associations between workplace factors and carpal tunnel syndrome: A multi-site cross sectional study. American journal of industrial medicine 2015. PMID: 25778111


  34. Dale AM, Zeringue A, Harris-Adamson C, Rempel D, Bao S, Thiese MS, Merlino L, Burt S, Kapellusch J, Garg A, Gerr F, Hegmann KT, Eisen EA, Evanoff B. General population job exposure matrix applied to a pooled study of prevalent carpal tunnel syndrome. American journal of epidemiology 2015. PMID: 25700886


  35. Rempel D, Gerr F, Harris-Adamson C, Hegmann KT, Thiese MS, Kapellusch J, Garg A, Burt S, Bao S, Silverstein B, Merlino L, Dale AM, Evanoff B. Personal and workplace factors and median nerve function in a pooled study of 2396 US workers. Journal of occupational and environmental medicine 2015. PMID: 25563546


  36. Bao SS, Kapellusch JM, Garg A, Silverstein BA, Harris-Adamson C, Burt SE, Dale AM, Evanoff BA, Gerr FE, Hegmann KT, Merlino LA, Thiese MS, Rempel DM. Developing a pooled job physical exposure data set from multiple independent studies: an example of a consortium study of carpal tunnel syndrome. Occupational and environmental medicine 2014. PMID: 25504866


  37. Harris-Adamson C, Eisen EA, Kapellusch J, Garg A, Hegmann KT, Thiese MS, Dale AM, Evanoff B, Burt S, Bao S, Silverstein B, Merlino L, Gerr F, Rempel D. Biomechanical risk factors for carpal tunnel syndrome: a pooled study of 2474 workers. Occupational and environmental medicine 2014. PMID: 25324489


  38. Kapellusch Jm JM, Gerr FE, Malloy EJ, Garg A, Harris-Adamson C, Bao SS, Burt SE, Dale AM, Eisen EA, Evanoff BA, Hegmann KT, Silverstein BA, Theise MS, Rempel DM. Exposure-response relationships for the ACGIH threshold limit value for hand-activity level: results from a pooled data study of carpal tunnel syndrome. Scandinavian journal of work, environment & health 2014. PMID: 25266844


  39. Thiese MS, Gerr F, Hegmann KT, Harris-Adamson C, Dale AM, Evanoff B, Eisen EA, Kapellusch J, Garg A, Burt S, Bao S, Silverstein B, Merlino L, Rempel D. Effects of varying case definition on carpal tunnel syndrome prevalence estimates in a pooled cohort. Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation 2014. PMID: 25175160


  40. Harris-Adamson C, Eisen EC, Dale AM, Evanoff B, Hegmann KT, Thiese MS, Kapellusch J, Garg A, Burt S, Silverstein B, Bao S, Merlino L, Gerr F, Rempel D. Personal and workplace psychosocial risk factors for carpal tunnel syndrome: a pooled study cohort: author response. Occupational and environmental medicine 2014. PMID: 24503336


  41. Harris-Adamson C, You D, Eisen EA, Goldberg R, Rempel D. The impact of posture on wrist tendinosis among blue-collar workers: the San Francisco study. Human factors 2014. PMID: 24669549


  42. Kapellusch JM, Garg A, Bao SS, Silverstein BA, Burt SE, Dale AM, Evanoff BA, Gerr FE, Harris-Adamson C, Hegmann KT, Merlino LA, Rempel DM. Pooling job physical exposure data from multiple independent studies in a consortium study of carpal tunnel syndrome. Ergonomics 2013. PMID: 23697792


  43. Harris-Adamson C, Eisen EA, Dale AM, Evanoff B, Hegmann KT, Thiese MS, Kapellusch JM, Garg A, Burt S, Bao S, Silverstein B, Gerr F, Merlino L, Rempel D. Personal and workplace psychosocial risk factors for carpal tunnel syndrome: a pooled study cohort. Occupational and environmental medicine 2013. PMID: 23645610


  44. Dale AM, Harris-Adamson C, Rempel D, Gerr F, Hegmann K, Silverstein B, Burt S, Garg A, Kapellusch J, Merlino L, Thiese MS, Eisen EA, Evanoff B. Prevalence and incidence of carpal tunnel syndrome in US working populations: pooled analysis of six prospective studies. Scandinavian journal of work, environment & health 2013. PMID: 23423472


  45. Harris-Adamson C. and Lin J.. Effect of handle design on pallet jack operations The quarterly of Human Factors Applications 2013. PMID:


  46. Harris C, Eisen EA, Goldberg R, Krause N, Rempel D. 1st place, PREMUS best paper competition: workplace and individual factors in wrist tendinosis among blue-collar workers--the San Francisco study. Scandinavian journal of work, environment & health 2011. PMID: 21298225


  47. Coelho D, Harris-Adamson C, Lima T, Janowitz I, and Rempel D.. Correlation between different hand force assessment methods from an epidemiological study Human Factors and Ergonomics in Manufacturing & Service Industries 2011. PMID: