You are now in the main content area
Thomas Tenkate

Thomas Tenkate

Director and Associate Professor
EducationBAppSc, MAppSc, DrPH, GradCertMgt, GradCertEd, MEd, FEHA, FRSPH, CRM, CRSP, CSP
OfficeDCC-306, Daphne Cockwell Health Sciences Complex
Phone416-979-5000, ext. 556158
Areas of ExpertiseWorker and public exposure to ultraviolet radiation (including the sun); Risk assessment and risk management of worker exposures to chemicals; Professional practice issues (e.g. professional ethics).

Dr. Tenkate is available to supervise Occupational and Public Health (MSc) students in 2024-2025.

Dr. Thomas Tenkate is the director of the School of Occupational and Public Health. He previously served as the director of the school from 2011 to 2020. Dr. Tenkate also served as interim director of the School of Early Childhood Studies from 2022-23.

Prior to his time at Toronto Metropolitan University, he worked at the Queensland University of Technology School of Public Health in Australia. Dr. Tenkate has been in academia since 2003. He has also worked in industry, which included 10 years with the Queensland Department of Health.

Originally qualified as an environmental health officer, Dr. Tenkate also has qualifications in occupational health and safety (specifically occupational hygiene), management, education and risk management, including a Doctor of Public Health from the University of Alabama in Birmingham.

He has been active in a range of professional associations, including Environmental Health Australia (the Australian equivalent of the Canadian Institute of Public Health Inspectors), where he was on state and national executive for many years, and from 2009 to 2011 served as national president. Dr. Tenkate has also consulted with legal firms, government agencies, old-age facilities and schools in the areas of food safety, environmental health, occupational exposure assessment and risk management.

His main area of research is risk assessment and risk management of environmental and occupational exposures, including human exposure and health risks from ultraviolet (UV) radiation.

  • OHS 319: Health Effects of Radiation (2012 to 2018)
  • POH 100: Professional Practice (current)
  • OHS 301: Biological Agents (current)

Research interests:

Research projects:

Project: Enhancing support for supervisors to improve the health and safety of at-home workers
 
  • Year: 2021-2022
  • Role: Principal Investigator
  • Funded by: Innovation at Work grant, WorksafeBC

Project: eCHAP-Risk: chemical risk assessment software tool for SMEs

  • Year: 2020-2021
  • Role: Principal Investigator
  • Funded by: Innovation at Work Grant, WorksafeBC

Project: Tailored sun safety messages for outdoor workers

  • Year: 2019 – 2020
  • Role: Co-investigator
  • Funded by: Innovation at Work Grant, Worksafe BC

Project: Diesel Engine Exhaust Exposure in the Ontario Construction Industry

  • Year: 2018-2020
  • Role: Co-investigator
  • Funded by: Ontario Ministry of Labour, Occupational Health, Safety and Prevention Innovation Program

Project: Online Learning Modules to Support Workplace Mental Health for First Responders and Management

  • Year: 2018-2020
  • Role: Co-investigator
  • Funded by: Ontario Ministry of Labour, Occupational Health, Safety and Prevention Innovation Program

Project: Workplace Safety and Prevention Partnerships and Ladder to Degree

  • Year: 2018-2019
  • Role: Co-investigator
  • Funded by: Ontario Council on Articulation and Transfer

Project: Sun exposure in outdoor workers: measurements and monitoring

  • Year: 2018-2020
  • Role: Co-investigator
  • Funded by: Occupational Health and Safety Futures – Research Funding Program, Alberta Government

Project: Setting Priorities: testing a workplace tool to identify and prioritize current occupational exposures

  • Year: 2018-2019
  • Role: Principal Investigator
  • Funded by: Ontario Ministry of Labour, Evidence for Practice Grant

Project: Systematic review – occupational exposure to ultraviolet radiation and cataracts

  • Year: 2017-2019
  • Role: Lead Reviewer
  • Funded by: World Health Organization and International Labour Office

Project: Systematic review - occupational exposure to ultraviolet radiation and skin cancer

  • Year: 2017-2019
  • Role: Reviewer
  • Funded by: World Health Organization and International Labour Office

Project: Evaluation of Prevention Strategies for Reducing the Future Risk of Cancer in the Ontario Construction Industry

  • Year: 2016-2019
  • Role: Co-investigator

Project: Scaling up small-scale food processing for therapeutic and complementary foods for children in Vietnam

  • Year: 2015-2018
  • Role: Co-investigator
  • Funded by: Canadian International Food Security Research Fund; International Development Research Centre & Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada

Project: Sun at Work: A sun safety program initiative for outdoor workers (external link) 

  • Year: 2014-2016
  • Role: Principal investigator
  • Funded by: Canadian Partnership Against Cancer: Coalitions Linking Action and Science for Prevention 2 (CLASP2) competition

Project: Toronto Met/NCAT Course Redesign Project

  • Year: 2014
  • Role: Principal investigator
  • Funded by: Toronto Metropolitan University

Project: Comprehensive applied research project to demonstrate the effectiveness of sun protection measures which influence high risk outdoor workers in Queensland to adopt sun safe behaviour practices

  • Year: 2010-2013
  • Role: Co-investigator
  • Funded by: Population Health Queensland/Health Promotion Queensland 

Project: Enhancing student engagement through focused mobile learning approaches

  • Year: 2009-2011
  • Role: Principal investigator
  • Funded by: QUT Faculty Learning and Teaching Grant 
  • Usha George Faculty Recognition Award, 2020
  • Dean’s Scholarly, Research and Creative Activity Award, 2019
  • Certificate of Appreciation, Toronto Public Health (for service to the Research Ethics Board), 2019
  • Special Project - National Winner (for Sun Safety at Work Canada), Canadian Society of Safety Engineering, 2018
  • Public Education Award (Not-for Profit) (for Ontario Sun Safety Working Group), Canadian Dermatology Association, 2018
  • Vice Chancellor’s Performance Award, Queensland University of Technology, 2007 and 2010
  • Environmental Health Professional of the Year, Environmental Health Australia (Queensland Branch), 2007