Lifetime of curiosity leads to passion for industrial hygiene, exposure assessment
Dana Hollins, MPH ’05, CIH
Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology
More times than not, the path to success isn’t linear—something that Dana Hollins, MPH ’05, CIH, can attest to.
Growing up in Rochester Hills, Michigan, it was always her goal to attend the University of Michigan and to have an opportunity to be taught by world-class faculty in its top-tier undergraduate and graduate programs.
“It really was a dream come true for me,” said Hollins, who originally thought she wanted to be a medical doctor after receiving a Bachelor of Arts in Organizational Management from the the University of Michigan in 2002. “I deferred a year of medical school and the School of Public Health felt like the right choice at the time for me.
“Looking back, it was the best choice I could have made.”
As an undergraduate, she curated her Organizational Management program to feel like a quasi-undergraduate business degree. The courses for her degree included conflict resolution, leadership, organizational structures, economics and various psychology and humanities courses.
“I was always interested in both science and business, and this degree gave me the flexibility to take both types of classes,” she said.
Hollins has always been passionate about science and to this day remains curious. As a child, she constantly questioned why things were the way they were.
I’ve met and worked with so many amazing professionals who have really influenced and helped shape my career and helped me find work that I’ve really enjoyed. Through my work and through the OEE program, I found my true passion and fell in love with industrial hygiene and exposure assessment.”
“I relied upon reasoning and facts to make decisions and to make sense of the world,” she said. “In school, I fervently sought facts and evidence to back up the beliefs and things that I was learning.
“I really enjoy applied research and science, making a difference in people’s lives and advancing scientific knowledge. That is why I have spent much of my career publishing my research, helping others to publish their research and teaching others about the science I studied.”
That innate sense of curiosity led her to earn a Master of Public Health in Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology (OEE) from the Department of Epidemiology at the University of Michigan School of Public Health.
In the Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology program, Hollins learned aspects of both occupational epidemiology, exposure assessment, risk assessment and industrial hygiene. Throughout her career, she has been able to straddle these fields, which complement each other and overlap quite a bit.
“I’ve met and worked with so many amazing professionals who have really influenced and helped shape my career and helped me find work that I’ve really enjoyed,” Hollins said. “Through my work and through the OEE program, I found my true passion and fell in love with industrial hygiene and exposure assessment.”
She attributes the three influential advisors she had at Michigan Public Health who helped set her up for a successful career: Al Franzblau, professor emeritus of Environmental Health Sciences; Tom Robins, professor emeritus of Environmental Health Sciences; and David Garabrant, professor emeritus of Environmental Health Sciences and Epidemiology.
“Each professor challenged me differently and provided guidance, feedback and advice during my time at Michigan Public Health,” said Hollins, a certified industrial hygienist. “They served as mentors and advisors after I graduated as well.”
Today, she is a senior principal health scientist, leading the Health Sciences Division, for the business she and her husband started, Hollins Consulting, in San Francisco. Prior to that, she spent nearly two decades as a director and scientist at ChemRisk, a Health Sciences Division of Stantec.
Like many professionals, she experienced periods of self-doubt but emerged stronger by learning from each obstacle.
“There were times in my career that I doubted myself and the path I was on,” Hollins said. “But one thing is true: There is no one linear path to success, and the path to success can be convoluted and, at times, unsettling and uncomfortable.
“Steve Jobs famously said ‘You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking back.’ And looking back: The challenges, mistakes, obstacles and missteps I made only helped me to grow to be a better scientist, a better person and a better leader.”
Obstacles and challenges—ups and downs, failures and missteps—are all to be expected; it’s part of life.
“I believe that the real challenge is how you as a person, as a scientist, as a student, or as a professional develop your character to rise to the challenge, to learn from your mistakes, to move on and improve yourself and the world around you,” she said. “At an early age, my parents instilled in me ethics, integrity, grit, empathy and holding myself and my work to a high standard of quality. These aspects still guide me, even today.”
For Hollins, continuous learning is not just a professional requirement but a personal pursuit as well. She strives to improve her skills both in science and leadership because being a perpetual student is something she values deeply.
She currently serves as an editor on the editorial board for the journal Toxicology and Industrial Health and helps shepherd papers through the peer-review process.
In addition, she is active in a professional organization for industrial hygienists, the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA).
I believe that the real challenge is how you as a person, as a scientist, as a student, or as a professional develop your character to rise to the challenge, to learn from your mistakes, to move on and improve yourself and the world around you.”
“I have served in a number of volunteer roles in AIHA, including teaching professional development courses, and have volunteered in a number of leadership positions within the organization,” Hollins said. “One recent volunteer opportunity with AIHA was the Back to Work Safely task force. During the pandemic, we wrote guidance documents to help businesses reopen safely. Our team won the AIHA President’s Award and the AIHA Social Responsibility award for this work.”
To young professionals and students at Michigan Public Health, she offers wise words: “Be patient; building a meaningful career takes time,” Hollins said. “Invest in yourself and take new opportunities, even if they don't seem perfect. Rarely saying no to opportunities at the start of my career was one of the best decisions I made.”
“Find a mentor, or multiple mentors, and be a mentor to others. Mentorship grows out of relationships with people in your career and life who you admire. Mentorship doesn’t just happen overnight or with an email; it grows out of a relationship. Get to know them and you both will benefit from it.”
Hollins’ journey to success has rarely been a straight line, and “that’s perfectly OK.” Embracing the setbacks as stepping stones and trusting the winding path lead her to exactly where she is today, and is still guiding her into the next phase of her career.
“Progress is made with persistence,” she said, “not perfection.”