Doctor Maggie Davidson

Doctor Maggie Davidson

Senior Lecturer, Environmental Health and Management,
Life Sciences

Biography

Thank you for your interest.  I am a graduate of the Western Sydney University Environmental Health degree program (Hons) in 2004, after which I went on to work for ACT Health as a Public Health Officer, before completing a Ph.D. in Occupational Hygiene and Environmental Health monitoring the impact of smoking bans on indoor and outdoor air quality in pubs and clubs under the supervision of Associate Professor Sue Reed FAIOH CIH COH.  I've worked as a consultant in occupational hygiene and environmental health, before moving to Colorado State University (IHCAHS NIOSH Centre for Agricultural Health and Safety) to undertake Post Doctoral studies measuring biological aerosol exposure and metagenomics of agricultural aerosols, as well as their health impacts on agricultural workers (respiratory function, immune response, gene by environment interactions) and working with in vitro models to study the proinflammatory effects of biological aerosols.  I've been working in the field of biological aerosols and biotoxins for over 15 years, and current research includes studying the toxicology of organic dust (mainly cannabis) and artificial stone dust using air-liquid interface (ALI) models with primary bronchial cells, as well as occupational and environmental monitoring for workers, workplaces and public exposures to aerosols such as silica, bushfire smoke, hemp dust, solvents, and noise. 

I also hold an adjunct Senior Lecturer position with Edith Cowan University, collaborating in occupational hygiene research projects and supervising higher degree research students.  I'm a  full member of the Australian Institute of Occupational Hygienists, Thoracic Society Australia and New Zealand, Environmental Health Australia, and International Society for Exposure Science, as well as current AIOH representative on the Department of Health's Biotoxin related illness committee, and peer reviewer for a variety of environmental health and occupational hygiene journals.

My research and papers can be accessed through:

  • https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Margaret-Davidson
  • https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8426-1843
  • https://scholar.google.com.au/citations?user=MMkFhwkAAAAJ&hl=en

Professional Associations

  • The Australian Institute of Occupational Hygienists (full member MAIOH)
  • American Industrial Hygiene Association
  • Thoracic Society of Australian and New Zealand (normal member)
  • Australasian College of Toxicology and Risk Assessment 
  • International Society for Exposure Science
  • Environmental Health Australia

Research Interests

Cannabis related respiratory disease and allergy

Health and Safety in the Australian Hemp Industry

Occupational health and safety in relation to the manufacture and installation of engineered stone products.

Occupational health and safety in the emerging medicinal and recreational cannabis industry.

Biological aerosols (method standardisation, collection, measurement, transportation, identification, and control);

Communicable diseases, infection control, respiratory diseases, innate immune response/pathways, epidemiology, toxicology and molecular biology;

High-throughput DNA/RNA sequencing, epigenomics, transcriptomics, metagenomics, and genomics;

Health and wellbeing in the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Industry; and

Indoor Air Quality and Environmental Tobacco Smoke

This information has been contributed by Doctor Davidson.

Qualifications

  • PhD University of Western Sydney
  • BSc(Hons) University of Western Sydney
  • BAppSc(EH) University of Western Sydney

Professional Memberships

  • Environmental Health Australia (2020 - 2020)
  • Association of Inhalation Toxicologists (2020)
  • Committee for Biotoxin-related Illnesses in Australia (2021 - 2021)
  • American Society for Microbiology (2011 - 2015)
  • Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand (2018)
  • Full Member Australian Institute of Occupational Hygienists (2012)
  • British Occupational Hygiene Society (2009 - 2016)

Interests

  • Occupational Hygiene Assessment
  • Aerosol Toxicology
  • Biological Aerosols
  • Environmental Health
  • Metagenomics
  • Public Health

Organisational Unit (School / Division)

  • Life Sciences

Committees

  • TSANZ and Lung Function Australia Occupational Lung Disease Short Course
  • Dept Health Biotoxin-related Illnesses in Australia
  • TSANZ Occupational and Environmental Lung Diseases SEG
  • AIOH Indoor Air Quality SIG
  • WSU School of Science SAC
  • AIOH Mentorship
  • Australian Industrial Hemp Assc. Regenerative Ag Committee
  • EHA Educators Forum
  • WSU Haweksbury Provost Committee
  • Australian Medicinal Cannabis Research and Education Collaboration
  • WSU Academic Senate Research Committee
  • Age Friendly University Network Committee
  • WSU Academic Senate

Contact

Email: Ma.Davidson@westernsydney.edu.au
Phone: (02) 4570 1413
Mobile:
Location: M15.G.16
Hawkesbury

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Teaching

Previous Teaching Areas

  • 300702 Disaster and Emergency Management, 2021
  • 300852 Air Quality and Climate Change, 2017
  • 300867 Disease Prevention and Control, 2016
  • 300877 Toxicology, 2021
  • 300913 Field Project 1, 2019
  • 300914 Field Project 2, 2019
  • 300919 Occupational Health and Safety, 2018
  • 301271 Environmental Issues and Solutions, 2021
  • 301276 Air Pollution & Control, 2021
  • 301408 Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 2021

Publications

Books

  • Reed, S., Quartararo, M., Kift, R., Davidson, M. and Mulley, R. (2006), 'Respiratory Illness in Farmers - Dust and bioaerosols exposures in animal handling facilities', : Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation 1741513707.

Chapters in Books

  • Davidson, M., Kift, R. and Reed, S. (2019), 'Biological hazards', Principals of Occupational Health and Hygiene: An Introduction, Allen & Unwin 9781760528508.
  • Davidson, M. and Thornton, S. (2013), 'Biological hazards', Principles of Occupational Health and Hygiene: An Introduction, Allen & Unwin 9781743311295.

Journal Articles

  • Gardner, M., Cross, M., Reed, S., Davidson, M., Hughes, R. and Oosthuizen, J. (2022), 'Pathogenic potential of respirable spodumene cleavage fragments following application of regulatory counting criteria for asbestiform fibres', International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, vol 19, no 24 .
  • Masaka, E., Reed, S., Oosthuizen, J. and Davidson, M. (2022), 'Awareness of business owners and environmental health officers regarding health risks associated with the use of water mist systems in Australia', Journal of Environmental health, vol 84, no 10 , pp 8 - 14.
  • Davidson, M., Madden, C., Reed, S. and O'Donnell, G. (2022), 'More than silica : exposure of stonemasons to volatile organic compounds', Safety and Health at Work, vol 13, no Suppl. , pp 140 - 140.
  • Masaka, E., Reed, S., Davidson, M. and Oosthuizen, J. (2021), 'Opportunistic premise plumbing pathogens : a potential health risk in water mist systems used as a cooling intervention', Pathogens, vol 10, no 4 .
  • Masaka, E., Reed, S., Oosthuizen, J. and Davidson, M. (2021), 'Health risks associated with the use of water mist systems as a cooling intervention in public places in Australia', Journal of Environmental Health, vol 83, no 9 , pp 16 - 22.
  • Yates, D., Perret, J., Davidson, M., Miles, S. and Musk, A. (2021), 'Dust diseases in modern Australia : a discussion of the new TSANZ position statement on respiratory surveillance', Medical Journal of Australia, vol 215, no 1 , pp 13 - 151.
  • Sarris, J., Sinclair, J., Karamacoska, D., Davidson, M. and Firth, J. (2020), 'Medicinal cannabis for psychiatric disorders : a clinically-focused systematic review', BMC Psychiatry, vol 20 .
  • Sinclair, J., Adams, C., Thurgood, G., Davidson, M., Armour, M. and Sarris, J. (2020), 'Cannabidiol (CBD) oil : rehashing the research, roles and regulations in Australia', Australian Journal of Herbal and Naturopathic Medicine, vol 32, no 2 , pp 54 - 60.
  • Gardner, M., Reed, S. and Davidson, M. (2020), 'Assessment of worker exposure to occupational organic dust in a hemp processing facility', Annals of Work Exposures and Health, vol 64, no 7 , pp 745 - 753.
  • Perret, J., Miles, S., Brims, F., Newbigin, K., Davidson, M., Jersmann, H., Edwards, A., Zosky, G., Frankel, A., Johnson, A., Hoy, R., Reid, D., Musk, A., Abramson, M., Edwards, B., Cohen, R. and Yates, D. (2020), 'Respiratory surveillance for coal mine dust and artificial stone exposed workers in Australia and New Zealand : a position statement from the Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand', Respirology, vol 25, no 11 , pp 1193 - 1202.
  • Davidson, M., Schaeffer, J., Clark, M., Magzamen, S., Brooks, E., Keefe, T., Bradford, M., Roman-Muniz, N., Mehaffy, J., Dooley, G., Poole, J., Mitloehner, F., Reed, S., Schenker, M. and Reynolds, S. (2018), 'Personal exposure of dairy workers to dust, endotoxin, muramic acid, ergosterol and ammonia on large-scale dairies in the high plains western United States', Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene, vol 15, no 3 , pp 182 - 193.
  • Davidson, M., Reed, S., Oosthuizen, J., O?Donnell, G., Gaur, P., Cross, M. and Dennis, G. (2018), 'Occupational health and safety in cannabis production : an Australian perspective', International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health, vol 24, no 3-4 , pp 75 - 85.
  • Schaeffer, J., Chandler, J., Davidson, M., Magzamen, S., Perez-Mendez, A., Reynolds, S., Goodridge, L., Volckens, J., Franklin, A., Shriner, S. and Bisha, B. (2018), 'Detection of viruses from bioaerosols using anion exchange resin', Journal of Visualized Experiments, vol 138 .
  • Chandler, J., Schaeffer, J., Davidson, M., Magzamen, S., Perez-Mendez, A., Reynolds, S., Goodridge, L., Volckens, J., Franklin, A., Shriner, S. and Bisha, B. (2017), 'A method for the improved detection of aerosolized influenza viruses and the male-specific (F+) RNA coliphage MS2', Journal of Virological Methods, vol 246 , pp 38 - 14.
  • Mulloy, K., Sumner, S., Rose, C., Conway, G., Reynolds, S., Davidson, M., Heidel, D. and Layde, P. (2013), 'Renewable energy and occupational health and safety research directions : a white paper from the Energy Summit, Denver Colorado, April 11-13, 2011', American Journal of Industrial Medicine, vol 56, no 11 , pp 1359 - 1370.
  • Reynolds, S., Nonnenmann, M., Basinas, I., Davidson, M., Elfman, L., Gordon, J., Kirychuck, S., Reed, S., Schaeffer, J., Schenker, M., Schlunssen, V. and Sigsgaard, T. (2013), 'Systematic review of respiratory health among dairy workers', Journal of Agromedicine, vol 18, no 3 , pp 219 - 243.
  • Reynolds, S., Clark, M., Koehncke, N., Von Essen, S., Prinz, L., Keefe, T., Mehaffy, J., Bradford, M., Cranmer, B., Davidson, M., Yang, I. and Burch, J. (2012), 'Pulmonary function reductions among potentially susceptible subgroups of agricultural workers in Colorado and Nebraska', Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, vol 54, no 5 , pp 632 - 641.
  • Reynolds, S., Clark, M., Koehncke, N., Von Essen, S., Prinz, L., Keefe, T., Mehaffy, J., Bradford, M., Cranmer, B., Davidson, M., Yang, I. and Burch, J. (2012), 'Pulmonary function reductions among potentially susceptible subgroups of agricultural workers in Colorado and Nebraska', Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, vol 54, no 5 , pp 632 - 641.
  • Davidson, M., Reed, S. and Markham, J. (2011), 'Evaluation of the impact of indoor smoking bans on air quality in Australian licensed clubs', Air Quality and Climate Change, vol 45, no 1 , pp 12 - 13.
  • Kift, R., Reed, S., Mulley, R. and Davidson, M. (2007), 'Comparing shearing shed dust and bioaerosol concentrations over a three-year period', The Journal of Occupational Health and Safety: Australia and New Zealand, vol 23, no 3 , pp 219 - 224.

Conference Papers

  • Gardner, M., Reed, S. and Davidson, M. (2018), 'Assessment of worker exposure to occupational organic dust in hemp processing facility', Australian Institute of Occupational Hygienists. Conference, Melbourne, Vic..
  • Chandler, J., Davidson, M., Schaeffer, J., Perez-Mendez, A., Volckens, J., Magzamen, S., Goodridge, L., Reynolds, S. and Bisha, B. (2015), 'Development of an improved sampling method for concentrating viruses from bioaerosols', International Association for Food Protection. Annual Meeting, Portland, Or..
  • Schaeffer, J., Volckens, J., Davidson, M., Van Dyke, A., Krause, L., Tryon, J., Bradford, M. and Reynolds, S. (2014), 'Size characterization and composition of inhalable bioaerosols at Colorado dairies', Nordic Meeting on Agricultural Occupational Health and Safety , Porvoo, Finland.
  • Reynolds, S., Clark, M., Davidson, M., Keefe, T., Mehaffy, J., Bradford, M., Poole, J., Mitloehner, F., Schenker, M. and Yang, I. (2014), 'Candidate innate immunity genes and cross shift pulmonary function changes among Western US dairy workers', Nordic Meeting on Agricultural Occupational Health and Safety, Porvoo, Finland.
  • Davidson, M., Hawley, B., Schaeffer, J., Bradford, M., Volckens, J. and Reynolds, S. (2014), 'Use of Rhino-Probe sampling for analyzing cross-shift variation in the expression of IL8, IL6 and TNF alpha in nasal epithelial cells from Colorado dairy workers', Nordic Meeting on Agricultural Occupational Health and Safety, Porvoo, Finland.
  • Davidson, M., Hawley, B., Schaeffer, J., Volckens, J. and Reynolds, S. (2014), 'Extraction of RNA from rhino-probe samples : the good, the bad and the ugly', International Symposium on Safety and Health in Agriculture and Rural Populations, Saskatoon, Canada.
  • Reynolds, S., Clark, M., Davidson, M., Keefe, T., Mehaffy, J., Bradford, M., Poole, J., Mitloehner, F., Schenker, M. and Yang, I. (2014), 'Candidate TLR and NLR innate immunity genes and cross shift pulmonary function changes among Western US dairy workers', International Symposium on Safety and Health in Agriculture and Rural Populations, Saskatoon, Canada.
  • Davidson, M., Goodridge, L., Bledar, B. and Reynolds, S. (2013), 'Evaluation of the NIOSH BC-251 personal bioaerosol sampler for sampling viable and culturable pathogenic bacteria', American Industrial Hygiene Association. Conference, Montreal, Canada.
  • Davidson, M., Reynolds, S., Clark, M., Keefe, T., Mehaffy, J., Bradford, M., Roman-Muniz, N., Dooley, G., Poole, J., Mitloehner, F. and Schenker, M. (2013), 'Tasked based assessment of dairy worker exposure to bioaerosols', American Industrial Hygiene Association. Conference, Montreal, Canada.
  • Davidson, M., Clark, M., Keefe, T., Mehaffy, J., Bradford, M., Roman-Muniz, N., Dooley, G., Poole, J., Mitloehner, F., Schenker, M. and Reynolds, S. (2012), 'Similar exposure group (task) based analysis of bioaerosol exposures in dairies', Nordic Meeting on Agricultural Occupational Health and Safety, Ystad, Sweden.
  • Davidson, M. and Reed, S. (2006), 'Prelimerary Assessment of Real-Time Air Quality Instruments foir Monitoring Environmental Tobacco Smoke', 24th Annual Conference of the Australian Institute of Occuaptional Hygienists, Gold Coast Australia.
  • Kift, R., Reed, S., Mulley, R., Davidson, M. and Cusbert, S. (2005), 'Comparison of indoor and outdoor bioaerosol concentrations in sheep shearing sheds in Eastern NSW', IOHA2005: Promoting Occupational Hygiene in Africa and Globally, North West Province, South Africa.

Respirable Crystalline Silica Exposure in the Engineered Stone Industry in Collaboration with Edith Cowan University, TestSafe NSW

An outbreak of accelerated silicosis has been documented in the global engineered stone industry.  There is no cure for this disease, and prevention is the only cure.  Western Sydney University in conjunction with TestSafe NSW and Edith Cowan University are currently investigating exposure to respirable crystalline silica, solvents and noise in the engineered stone industry, and assessment of controls to reduce worker exposure to potentially hazardous substances.  

From Farm to Pharmacy: Occupational Health and Safety in the Australian Marijuana Industry-2016 ongoing- in collaboration with Edith Cowan UniversityRole: Co PI

In February 2016 the Narcotic Drugs Act 1967 was amended to enable the lawful cultivation and manufacture of medicinal cannabis products. Cannabis was a Schedule 9 prohibited substance under the Australian Therapeutic Good (TGA) Administration’s Standard for the Uniform Scheduling of Medicine and Poisons (SUSMP) with limited exceptions.  However, the restrictions on its use have been changed to allow for the limited production medicinal grade cannabis for research in Australia.   Worker health and safety relating to the rapidly developing field of medical cannabis has primarily been focused on its potential use workplace (Phillips et al., 2015), and there is limited knowledge regarding the health and safety issues associated with cultivation, processing and manufacture of medicinal cannabis.  The aim of this project is to anticipate and evaluate potential health and safety hazards associated with the cultivation and manufacture of cannabis-based medicinal, dietary, textile and construction products to aid the emergent Australian cannabis industry in the development of best practice guidelines for workplace health and safety.

New innovations in screening for coal miners’ pneumoconiosis (black lung)-2016 ongoing - in collaboration with Edith Cowan UniversityRole: Co PI

CDC/NIOSH MAP ERC Pilot Grants, Davidson (PI) 2014-2015Microbial sampling and metagenomic approaches for workplace exposure studies Role: Co PI

CSU Ventures Bioscience Discovery Evaluation Grant Program, Reynolds (PI) 2014-2015Modified Bioaerosol Sampling for Influenza Virus in Agricultural EnvironmentsRole: Co PI

CDC/NIOSH HICAHS Pilot Grants,  Bisha (PI) 2013-2014Modified Bioaerosol Sampling for Influenza Virus in Agricultural EnvironmentsRole: Co Investigator

CDC/NIOSH 2 U54 OH008085 Schaeffer (PI) 2013-2014Modelling and Predicting Microbiomes in Dairies: A Metagenomic Assessment of Bioaerosols. Role: Co PI

CDC/NIOSH 2 U54 OH008085 Davidson (PI) 2012-2013Bioaerosol Monitoring: preventing the spread of infectious diseases among farmers. Role: PI 

The Impact of Indoor Smoking Bans on Air Quality Inside and Outside of Australian Licensed Clubs - PhDRole: PI

Evaluation of the Endpoint LAL Assay for the Assessment of Airborne Endotoxin in Australian Animal Handling Environments - HonoursRole: PI

This information has been contributed by Doctor Davidson.

Current Projects

Title: Beyond Respirable Crystalline Silica; what makes artificial stone different?
Funder:
  • icare - Insurance and Care NSW
Western Researchers: Maggie Davidson and Gary Dennis
Years: 2022-01-03 - 2024-10-31
ID: P00027248

Western Sydney University

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Penrith NSW 2751

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