Asheville, North Carolina
March 3 – 5, 2026

Faculty, staff and students from the Southeast Center for Agricultural Health and Injury Prevention (SCAHIP), Central Appalachian Regional Education and Research Center (CARERC) at the University of Kentucky (UK) participated in the 16th annual Southeastern States Occupation Network Meeting (SouthON) and the 9th annual Southeast Regional Research Symposium (SERRS) held in Asheville, North Carolina, from March 3rd through March 5th, 2026.  Ashley Rockwell and Donnie Stamper, Co-directors of Outreach for SCAHIP/CARERC, worked with outreach directors from the North Carolina Occupational Safety and Health Education and Research Center, Sunshine Education and Research Center and the Deep South Center for Occupational Health and Safety to coordinate the event.

The morning session of the SouthON meeting was led by researchers from the University of Kentucky.  The keynote speaker was Dr. Maggie Murphy, assistant professor in the UK Department of Pediatrics.  She presented on the Cardiovascular Implications of Poor Air Quality in Appalachian Children. Dr. John McMaine, UK Extension Associate Professor, followed with his interactive presentation, John’s Big Nitrate Adventure – A Tale of Water, Soil and Surprises, highlighting with song and audience participation the effects of excess nitrates in the environment.  The final SouthON presentation, Weather Alert: Beyond the Forecast, by Matt Dixon, Senior Meteorologist and Director of the UK Ag Weather Center, and Donnie Stamper, described how the free weather app, Weather Alert, can be used not only for real-time weather monitoring and alerts but also as a resource for occupational health issues, such as heat stress and tick-borne illness. This popular app was developed and funded through SCAHIP.

The afternoon session of SouthON included a workshop where participants discussed possible occupational health pilot projects related to air and water quality as well as weather, particularly heat stress. Top project considerations in each group included development of school curricula for students K-12, as well as the use of apps, such as Weather Alert, to support occupational safety and health.

The SERRS Symposium held during the next two days highlighted research supported by ERC pilot project funding. Presentations on pilot projects supported by SCAHIP/CARERC are listed below.  SCAHIP/CARERC faculty and students were also well represented during the poster session. 

CARERC/SCAHIP Pilot Projects presented at SERRS

• "Farmer Mental Health" - Paul E. Norrod, DrPH, RN FNAP, University of Cincinnati
• "Distribution Mapping of Microplastics and Co-Occurring Pathogens in Wastewater Infrastructure" - Matthew Russell, PhD, University of Kentucky
• "Predicting Ground Vibrations from Blasting Using Geophysics Methods and Models" - Daykin Schnell, MS, PhD Candidate, University of Kentucky

CARERC/SCAHIP Poster Presentations

• "Timber-Safe Network (TSN) Reduction of Central Appalachian Logging Hazards through the Implementation and Diffusion of a Community-Based Logging Operations Safety and Health Resource Network" - Mark Fullen, West Virginia University 
• "Estimating Cattle Volume Remotely Using Drone Photogrammetry" - Karla S. Ladino, University of Kentucky 
• "Finding the Headwaters of Success: Stream Restoration Priorities Across U.S.  Ecoregions" and "Wading in the Stream: Industry Insights from Stream Restoration Professionals" - Noah P. Lane, University of Kentucky
• "Changes in Mortality Associated with Exposure to Noxious Gases in the Southern Region of the United States from 1999 to 2023" and "Assessment of Lightning Mortality in the United States from 1979 - 2023" - Jason W. Marion, Eastern Kentucky University 
• "A Storm is Brewing: Historical Temperature, Streamflow, and Flood Dynamics in Eastern Kentucky" - Evan Meyers, University of Kentucky 
• "Developing a Community-Based Roundtable to Support Suicide Prevention Work in Kentucky" - Kylee Pipgrass, University of Kentucky 
• "Streambank Aggradation and Degradation in a Karst Landscape" - Quinn Rison, University of Kentucky 
• "Metatranscriptomic Characterization of the Kentucky Lone Star Tick Virome and Microbiome to Inform Agricultural Worker Health Surveillance" - Callista W. Vandegriff, University of Kentucky