Expert Interview William Marras

William Marras, PhD, CPE holds the Honda Chair in the Department of Integrated Systems Engineering at the Ohio State University. He serves as the director of the Biodynamics Laboratory, Spine Research Institute, the Center for Occupational Health in Automobile Manufacturing and is Executive Director for the Institute for Ergonomics. Dr. Marras also holds joint academic appointments in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, the Department of Neurosurgery, and the Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation. His research is centered on understanding multidimensional causal pathways for spine disorders through quantitative epidemiologic evaluations, laboratory biomechanics studies, personalized mathematical modeling, and clinical studies of the lumbar and cervical spine. His findings have been published in over 200 peer-reviewed journal articles and numerous books and book chapters including a recent book entitled “The Working Back: A Systems View.” He holds Fellow status in six professional societies including the American Society for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and has been widely recognized for his contributions through numerous national and international awards including two Volvo Awards for Low Back Pain Research and an honorary Sc.D. degree. Professor Marras has been active in the National Research Council (NRC) having served on over a dozen boards and committees and has served two times as Chair of the Board on Human Systems Integration for multiple terms. He has also served as Editor-in-Chief of Human Factors and is currently Deputy Editor of Spine. In 2009 he was elected to the National Academy of Engineering (the National Academies). Recently he recorded a TEDx talk entitled “Back Pain and your Brain.”