Associate Professor Kelly Johnstone
Director of Higher Degree Research
Associate Professor
School of the Environment
+61 7 334 67816
Chamberlain Building (35), Room 422
Researcher biography
Associate Professor Kelly Johnstone is a certified occupational hygienist (COH) and occupational health and safety (OHS) generalist with a focus on the protection of worker health. She is the Director of the Master of Occupational Hygiene in the School of the Environment, Faculty of Science, UQ. Kelly has experience in various industries, including education, the energy and resource sectors, construction, transport, and agriculture. She plays an active role in the Australian Institute of Health and Safety (AIHS) and the Australian Institute of Occupational Hygienists (AIOH). Kelly is currently Chair of the Rural Industry Sector Standing Committee for Workplace Health and Safety Queensland.
Kelly's research interests focus on occupational health hazards including evaluating worker exposures to pesticides, respirable crystalline silica dust, and other hazardous chemicals. She has previously worked on applied and academic projects in indoor air quality, exposure to waste anaesthetic gases, thermal risk assessment, dust characterisation, and a range of OHS management-related projects.
Book
Johnstone K., Capra, M. and Newman, B. (2007). Organophosphate pesticide exposure in agricultural workers: Human exposure and risk assessment. Barton, A.C.T., Australia: RIRDC.
Book Chapters
Burton, Kerrie and Johnstone, Kelly (2024). Control Strategies for Workplace Health Hazards. Principles of Occupational Health and Hygiene. (pp. 90-105) London: CRC Press. doi: 10.1201/9781032645841-5
Johnstone, Kelly, Adam, Keith, Capra, Mike and Crawford, Joanne (2021). The Human as Biological System. The Core Body of Knowledge for Generalist OHS Professionals. (pp. 1-34) Tullamarine, VIC, Australia: Australian Institute of Health and Safety.
Johnstone, Kelly and Adam, Keith (2012). The Human: As a Biological System. The core body of knowledge for generalist OHS professionals. (pp. 1-28) edited by Mike Capra. Tullamarine, VIC: Safety Institute of Australia (SIA).
Journal Articles
Reitmayer, Amelie, Koth, Sebastian Clark, Kobas, Bilge, Johnstone, Kelly R., Cook, Margaret M., Madigan, Cassandra and Auer, Thomas (2025). Effects of dynamic thermal conditioning on cognitive load and performance in an office environment. Applied Ergonomics, 122 104395, 104395. doi: 10.1016/j.apergo.2024.104395
Easton, Donna M., McGarry, Peter and Johnstone, Kelly (2024). Evaluation of chlorine dioxide exposure in an Australian gnotobiotic mouse research facility. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene, 21 (10), 1-10. doi: 10.1080/15459624.2024.2394102
Leung, Richard, Cook, Margaret M., Capra, Mike F. and Johnstone, Kelly R. (2024). Do non-healthcare workers report physical, physiological, psychological or communication impacts associated with wearing hearing and respiratory protection?. International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics, 101 103595, 103595. doi: 10.1016/j.ergon.2024.103595
Madigan, Cassandra, Johnstone, Kelly, Way, Kirsten A. and Capra, Mike (2024). When Is Legitimating Legitimate? An Exploration of Health and Safety Professionals’ Use of the ‘Legitimating’ Tactic When Attempting to Influence Work Health and Safety. Journal of Work Health and Safety Regulation, 1-19. doi: 10.57523/jaohlev.oa.23-001
LaBranche, Nikky, Wightman, Elaine, Teale, Kellie, Johnstone, Kelly and Cliff, David (2023). Method for the analysis of respirable airborne particulates on filter using the mineral liberation analyser. Minerals, 13 (12) 1526. doi: 10.3390/min13121526
Reitmayer, Amelie, Johnstone, Kelly R., Madigan, Cassandra, Cook, Margaret M. and Arsenijevic, Sava (2023). How do dynamic and time-dependent indoor temperature patterns impact on the health of office based workers? – a scoping review. Building and Environment, 244 110745, 110745. doi: 10.1016/j.buildenv.2023.110745
LaBranche, Nikky, Teale, Kellie, Wightman, Elaine, Johnstone, Kelly and Cliff, David (2022). Characterization analysis of airborne particulates from Australian underground coal mines using the mineral liberation analyser. Minerals, 12 (7) 796, 796. doi: 10.3390/min12070796
Leung, Richard, Cook, Margaret M., Capra, Mike F. and Johnstone, Kelly R. (2022). The contribution of respiratory and hearing protection use to psychological distress in the workplace: a scoping review. International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health, 95 (8), 1647-1659. doi: 10.1007/s00420-022-01863-7
Madigan, Cassandra, Way, Kirsten A., Johnstone, Kelly and Capra, Mike (2022). Differences between managers’ and safety professionals’ perceptions of upwards influence attempts within safety practice. Journal of Safety Research, 81, 203-215. doi: 10.1016/j.jsr.2022.02.012
Lestari, Fatma, Cook, Margaret, Johnstone, Kelly, Wardhany, Miranda Surya, Modjo, Robiana, Widanarko, Baiduri and Octaviani, Devie Fitri (2022). COVID-19 in the workplace in Indonesia. Sustainability, 14 (5) 2745, 2745. doi: 10.3390/su14052745
Madigan, Cassandra, Johnstone, Kelly, Way, Kïrsten A. and Capra, Mike (2021). How do safety professionals’ influence managers within organizations? – a critical incident approach. Safety Science, 144 105478, 105478. doi: 10.1016/j.ssci.2021.105478
Alzhrani, Abdullah M., Johnstone, Kelly R., Winkler, Elisabeth A.H, Healy, Genevieve N. and Cook, Margaret M. (2021). Using touchscreen mobile devices—when, where and how: a one-week field study. Ergonomics, 65 (4), 1-19. doi: 10.1080/00140139.2021.1973577
Pisaniello, Dino, Johnstone, Kelly and Orfanos, Andrew (2021). 40 Years of AIOH: A Summary of the AIOH2020 40th Anniversary Virtual Symposium. Annals of Work Exposures and Health, 65 (8), 875-878. doi: 10.1093/annweh/wxab032
LaBranche, Nikky, Keles, Cigdem, Sarver, Emily, Johnstone, Kelly and Cliff, David (2021). Characterization of particulates from Australian underground coal mines. Minerals, 11 (5) 447, 1-10. doi: 10.3390/min11050447
Nguyen, Ngoc Bich, Capra, Mike, Johnstone, Kelly, Vu, Hoang Lan, Tran, Vu, Nguyen, Minh Tham, Nguyen, Kim Ngan and Cook, Margaret (2020). Change in Compliance of Staff at 4 Vietnam Universities after the Enactment of Smoke-free Environment Decree. Environmental Health Insights, 14, 1178630220972957. doi: 10.1177/1178630220972957
Madigan, Cassandra, Way, Kïrsten, Capra, Mike and Johnstone, Kelly (2020). Influencing organizational decision-makers – what influence tactics are OHS professionals using?. Safety Science, 121, 496-506. doi: 10.1016/j.ssci.2019.09.028
Madigan, Cassandra, Johnstone, Kelly, Cook, Margaret and Brandon, Jason (2019). Do student internships build capability? – What OHS graduates really think. Safety Science, 111, 102-110. doi: 10.1016/j.ssci.2018.10.003
Johnstone, Kelly R., Lau, Cora and Whitelaw, Jane L. (2017). Evaluation of waste isoflurane gas exposure during rodent surgery in an Australian university. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene, 14 (12), 955-964. doi: 10.1080/15459624.2017.1365152
Nguyen, Ngoc Bich, Cook, Margaret, Johnstone, Kelly, Capra, Mike and Lan, Vu Thi Hoang (2016). Students’ knowledge and attitudes towards smoke-free universities: Changes since enactment of Vietnamese tobacco control legislation. Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention, 17, 65-70. doi: 10.7314/APJCP.2016.17.S1.65
Conference Papers
LaBranche, Nikky, Cliff, David, Johnstone, Kelly and Bofinger, Carmel (2021). Respirable coal dust and silica exposure standards in coal mining: science or black magic?. 2021 Resoure Operators Conference, Wollongong, NSW Australia, 18-20 February 2021. Wollongong, NSW Australia: University of Wollongong.
Alzhrani, Abdullah, Cook, Margaret, Johnstone, Kelly and Cooper, Jolene (2019). Handheld mobile devices—How do we use them at work? A university case study. 20th Congress of the International Ergonomics Association, IEA 2018, Florence, Italy, 26-30 August 2018. Heidelberg, Germany: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-96083-8_16
Yu, Olivia, Johnstone, Kelly and Cook, Margaret (2018). Usability evaluation of an online workplace health and safety return on investment calculator. Congress of the International Ergonomics Association, Florence, Italy, 26-30 August 2018. Cham, Switzerland: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-96089-0_46