UCLA Fielding School of Public Health professor honored for exceptional contribution to research into cardiovascular diseases

A professor at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health has been honored for his research into how working conditions lead to cardiovascular diseases (CVD), currently the leading cause of death in many countries, in both the West and globally.

“During the past three decades, the nature of work and employment has been dramatically changed, while cardiovascular diseases continue to be the biggest cause of death in many Western countries, such trends have also been observed, increasingly, in many other nations,” said Dr. Jian Li, an occupational epidemiologist who serves as a professor in the UCLA Fielding School‘s departments of environmental health sciences and epidemiology. “The realities are that work conditions, from worksite physical, chemical, and ergonomic hazards to psychosocial work characteristics, are important determinants of CVD health. It is truly an honor to be recognized, and by my peers, for my work in this field.”

Li was recognized at the 2025 International Conference on Work Environment and Cardiovascular Diseases, in August in Bangkok, where he received the Mid-Career Award from the International Commission of Occupational Health (ICOH) Scientific Committee on Cardiology in Occupational Health.

“While there is an established body of research examining potential work factors associated with increased risk for CVD, Dr. Li has taken this further by leading studies which explore the biological pathway linking work-hazards with CVD, effects of life-course exposures in the development of CVD, and factors contributing to recurrent worker CVD,” said Dr. Imelda Wong, director of epidemiologic research in the British Columbia health department, who nominated Li for the award. “Jian Li is an exemplary leader in advancing the study of work-related cardiovascular disease and mentoring new researchers in this area. It is a privilege to continue working with him.”

Li, educated in China, South Korea, and Germany, joined UCLA in 2019; along with his work at UCLA Fielding, he is also a faculty member in the UCLA Wen School of Nursing and is affiliated with the Center for Occupational and Environmental Health and the Southern California NIOSH Education and Research Center.

“Along with his work in the U.S. and Europe, Dr. Li has developed extensive collaboration with researchers in several countries - especially China and Thailand – and finding that cardiovascular disease is prevalent among working-age populations in these countries, highlighting the importance of healthy work and cardiovascular disease prevention for economic development,” said Dr. Paul Landsbergis, a SUNY health sciences expert who recommended Li for the ICOH-CVD award.

Li has received three Early Career Awards from the U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and other international research societies and has published more than 200 scientific articles in peer-reviewed journals. His work focuses on measurement of psychosocial work environment, work stress and health, occupational health disparities, particularly on epidemiology and intervention evaluation.

"More or less, everyone is under stress in the workplace; and the annual economic burden of work stress amounts to approximately $300 billion in the U.S., alone, so recognizing stressors at work, stress management, disease prevention, and rehabilitation are all urgent issues in modern working life,” Li said. “What is really key to remember, and what I hope this recognition helps make public, is that CVD is preventable, at different stages and levels, through our efforts in the workplace.”