Ryan Olson, PhD

I am an Occupational Health Psychologist with a training background in Industrial-Organizational Psychology and Applied Behavior Analysis. My research program has focused on safety, health, and well-being interventions for isolated (lone) workers in demanding occupations (e.g., commercial drivers, home care workers). My areas of contribution to science include: effective Total Worker Health® interventions for isolated populations; behavioral self-monitoring applied to workplace behavior change and transfer of training; self-assessment of ergonomic and safety exposures; and environmental and social motivational variables.
I joined the faculty of the Rocky Mountain Center in 2024. I am thrilled to be continuing my research program in this great state, and to help establish our exciting new graduate training emphasis in Occupational Health Psychology. My ongoing research projects are focused on supporting the health and job success of new bus operators, and on an intervention to prevent injuries and improve the lives of home care workers living with chronic pain. My projects in development focus on the health impacts of schedule and sleep regularity among shift workers, and on integrating environmental and occupational health interventions.
Prior to joining the Center I spent 18 years at the Oregon Institute of Occupational Health Sciences at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU). During my time at OHSU I established an internationally regarded research program with commercial drivers (funded by NHLBI and CDC/NIOSH). I was a founding investigator and then Co-Director (with Leslie Hammer) of the Oregon Healthy Workforce Center – a NIOSH Center of Excellence in Total Worker Health®. And, for over a decade, I helped lead Oregon’s Occupational Public Health Program (funded by CDC/NIOSH) in collaboration with colleagues at the Oregon Health Authority.