Linda Susan Forst, MD, MPH
Professor
Attending Physician
Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences
Pronouns: She, her, hers
Contact
Building & Room:
1045 SPHPI
Address:
1603 W. Taylor St.
Office Phone:
Email:
CV Download:
About
Dr. Forst is a Professor of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences in a School of Public Health, with over 30 years of experience in occupational health research, training, teaching, and continuous patient care in Occupational Medicine. She has completed several multi-year field projects as PI and Co-I with precarious worker populations, including migrant farm workers, day labor construction workers, and workers hired through temporary staffing companies. She leads the Great Lakes Center for Farmworker Health and Wellbeing, a NIOSH Center for Agricultural Safety and Health. She also leads a WHO/PAHO Collaborating Center on works Occupational and Environmental Health. She is part of the NIOSH funded Illinois Occupational Surveillance Program, NIOSH funded, which conducts occupational illness and injury surveillance. She works with a network of government agencies, employers, workers, and worker advocates to share actionable data and plan policy and practice interventions to protect the health and well-being of the Illinois workforce.
Selected Grants
CDC/National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Great Lakes Center for Farmworker Health and Wellbeing, Center Director and Principal Investigator of "Measuring Farmworker Health and Wellbeing
CDC/National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Illinois Occupational Surveillance Program, Co-Investigator; leads Reducing Pesticide Related Illness in Illinois
Consumer Product Safety Commission, National Electronic Injury Surveillance System, Manager of UIHealth sample
Selected Publications
Bonney T, Madigan D, Espinosa-Ravi V, Forst L. Applying the NIOSH Worker Well-Being Framework to Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers: Insights From the Literature. Am J Ind Med. 2025 Jul;68(7):573-587. doi: 10.1002/ajim.23728. Epub 2025 May 2. PMID: 40318081; PMCID: PMC12159524.
Forst L, Martin A, Madigan D, Jacobs DE. Agricultural Worker Housing: A Review and a New Framework for Action. New Solut. 2025 Dec 11:10482911251399795. doi: 10.1177/10482911251399795. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 41379587.
Topete L, Forst L, Zanoni J, Friedman L. Workers’ Compensation and the Working Poor. Am J Industr Med 2018;61(3):189-97
Forst LS, Lacey S, Chen HY, Jimenez R, Bauer S, Skinner S, Alvarado R, Nickels L, Zanoni J, Petrea R, Conroy L. Effectiveness of Community Health Workers for Promoting Use of Safety Eyewear by Latino Farm Workers. Am J Industr Med 2004;46(6):607-13
Gottlieb N, Jungwirth I, Glassner M, de Lange T, Mantu S, Forst L. Immigrant workers in the meat industry during COVID-19: comparing governmental protection in Germany, the Netherlands, and the USA. Global Health. 2025 Mar 22;21(1):10. doi: 10.1186/s12992-025-01104-9. PMID: 40121426; PMCID: PMC11929214.
Walker J, Madigan D, Friedman LS, Forst L. Injuries Among Hispanic/Latinx Agricultural Workers Seen in Illinois Hospitals. J Agromedicine. 2024 Apr;29(2):246-256. doi: 10.1080/1059924X.2023.2293826. Epub 2023 Dec 18. PMID: 38108302.
Bonney T, Forst L, Rivers S, Love M, Pratap P, Bell T, Fulkerson S. Occupational Safety and Health in the Temporary Services Industry: A Model for a Community-University Partnership. New Solut. 2017 Aug;27(2):246-259.
World Health Organization. Environmental and Occupational Hazards Associated with Artisanal and Small Scale Gold Mining. A Summary of Current Knowledge. 2016. Available at: http://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/247195
Forst L, Ahonen E, Zanoni J, Oschner M, Kimmel L, Martino C, Kader A, Rodriguez E, Ringholm E, Sokas R. More than Training: Community Based Participatory Research to Reduce Injuries among Hispanic Construction Workers. Am J Ind Med. 2013 Aug;56(8):827-37
Forst L, Friedman L, Chin B, Madigan D. Spatial Clustering of Occupational Injuries in Communities.Am J Public Health 2015;105(suppl 3):S526-33.
Publication Aggregators
Service to Community
Illinois Partnership for Safety: implementation of strategic plan for the State of Illinois; data committee
Governor's Health Advisory Committee on health in immigrant workforce
Professional Leadership
Director, WHO/PAHO Collaborating Center in Occupational and Environmental Health
Notable Honors
2016, Dozor Award, Ben Gurion University
2007-present, Delta Omega, Public Health Honor Society
2005-2009, Senior Specialist, Fulbright
2023, Partner of the Year, Community Health Partnership of Illinois
Education
Michigan State University, E. Lansing, Michigan Bachelor of Science. Horticulture. 1977.
University of Arizona. Tucson, Arizona Master of Science. Genetics. 1980.
Michigan State University, E. Lansing, Michigan Doctor of Medicine (MD). 1983.
University of Illinois Chicago. Chicago, Illinois Master of Public Health. 1987.
Cook County Hospital Residency, Chicago, Illinois. Specialization: Internal Medicine & Preventive/Occupational Medicine, 1983-1987
Licensures and Certifications
Medical Board Certifications
Diplomate, American Board of Internal Medicine, 1988
Diplomate, American Board of Preventive Medicine (Occupational Medicine), 1991
Medical Licensure
State of Illinois, Physician and Surgeon, #036-070836
Professional Memberships
- American Public Health Association
- American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
- Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists
- International Commission on Occupational Health
Selected Presentations
Forst L. Occupational Hazards among Artisanal and Small Scale Gold Miners. American Occupational Health Conference. Chicago, April 2016
Forst L, Chin B, Madigan D, Friedman L. Burden of Occupational Injury on Communities. Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists. Anchorage, June 2016
Madrigal J, Forst L. Occupational Health in the Illinois Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. EPICOH. Barcelona, September 2016
Forst L. Global Activities to Develop Diagnostic Criteria for Occupational Diseases. Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists. Boise, Idaho, June 2017
Forst L. WHO Curriculum in Artisanal and Small Scale Gold Mining for Signatory Compliance with Minamata Convention on Mercury. SCETOH/ICOH. Zagreb, 2017
Forst L. Immigration, Work, and Health. Ben Gurion University of the Negev. Beer Sheva, Israel. June 2017, June 2018
Forst L. Workers’ Compensation Claims for COVID-19 in Illinois. NIOSH Workers’ Compensation section Feb 2022
Forst L. Reaching migrant farmworkers to promote health and wellbeing. AGRICOH (research group conduct cohort studies of agricultural workers). https://youtu.be/iCTN1dTHFlY. Sept 11, 2024
Forst L. Establishing active surveillance for Pesticide Related Illness in Illinois. NIOSH SENSOR Pesticides Annual Training Workshop. Austin, Texas. Sept 26,2024
Forst L. Silicosis in an Engineered Stone Investigation and the Occupational Health Response. American Occupational Health Conference. Austin Texas. April 29, 2025
Forst L. Occupational Hazards among Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Miners. N. American Congress of Clinical Toxicology Conference. Chicago IL Sept 20, 2025
Research Currently in Progress
Intersection of employment, housing, health, immigration
Survey research on health and wellbeing of farmworkers
Surveillance of occupational injuries
Surveillance of Pesticide Related Illness