Profile

I am a health foresight specialist and occupational health researcher. My work sits at the convergence of three domains: the science of work-related health risks, the methodology of strategic foresight, and the design of participatory processes that bring those two together.

Organisations come to me when they need to turn complex, uncertain trends, technological, social, environmental, about the future of work and health into structures they can act on: scenarios, roadmaps, risk frameworks, and training programmes grounded in evidence.

Affiliations

  • Research Associate, KU Leuven, Biosystems Department
  • Group Leader, Humanity-Centered Futures Lab, Italian Society of Ergonomics (SIE)
  • President, SIE Lombardia Liguria (2019 – 2025)
  • Former Health and Safety Officer, International Labour Organization (ILO), Geneva
  • Expert contributor, European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA), Bilbao (2026)

Credentials

  • PhD in Occupational Medicine and Industrial Hygiene, University of Milan
  • Certified European Ergonomist (CEE)
  • MSc in Sciences of Prevention, Public Health, University of Milan

Research Areas

Three connected areas of research

My work spans three areas that inform one another: the science of preventing work-related harm, the technology that lets us measure it, and the foresight to anticipate how both will change.

Occupational Safety & Health

The science of preventing work-related harm.

My foundation. Over fifteen years assessing and preventing biomechanical and psychophysical risks across manufacturing, agriculture, forestry, healthcare, and office environments, from field campaigns to global evidence synthesis.

WHO/ILO Joint Estimates of the Work-related Burden of Disease

Contributor to systematic reviews on occupational exposures (dusts, fibres, ergonomic risk factors), published in Environment International.

EU-OSHA expert article on climate change and construction work

Commissioned by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work to review the evidence on heat exposure and worker safety in the construction sector, and the preventive measures already in use across Europe.

Field risk assessment campaigns

On-site occupational health studies across three countries: agricultural workers in Colorado (vegetable pickers, milking parlour operators) and in Italy (tractor drivers, forestry loggers, healthcare workers, milkers), and truck drivers in Belgium.

Methods: observational risk assessment, validated OSH protocols, systematic review, WHO/ILO evidence standards, D.Lgs. 81/08 compliance.

Wearable Technology & Biometric Monitoring at Work

Measuring the body at work, in real time.

How new sensing technologies are changing our ability to monitor, predict, and prevent work-related health risks, and the methodological and ethical questions they raise.

Occupational drivers & psychophysiological monitoring

Studies on stress, sleep, and fatigue in professional drivers using commercial and research-grade wearables. Published in Sleep Medicine and IEA Proceedings (Springer).

Protocol design & validation

Design and validation of measurement protocols across occupational and clinical settings.

Devices & signals: Zephyr BioHarness, EEG, ECG, cortisol, actigraphy, motion sensors; Fitbit, Garmin, WHOOP.

Strategic Foresight

Anticipating how work and health will change.

246 experts · 5 ILO regions · 4 alternative futures to 2050

Participatory futures methods applied to occupational health, the future of work, and health systems, turning uncertainty into structures organisations can act on.

ILO OSH Foresight Study 2050

Designed and delivered the first global participatory foresight programme on occupational safety and health in the UN system. Mobilised 246 respondents across five ILO regions, producing four alternative futures, 41 validated signals, and 18 priority drivers now informing the ILO's next Global OSH Strategy. The VR methodology used for stakeholder immersion is detailed in "Inhabiting Possible Futures: Virtual Reality for Participatory Scenario Exploration in Institutional OSH Foresight," submitted to Futures.

Humanity-Centered Futures Lab (SIE)

Founder and team lead of a permanent foresight research group within the Italian Society of Ergonomics. The Lab's home-care futures work, including the Optimens case study, is published in Ergonomics (2024), with a follow-up paper submitted to Futures.

Proximity Care Foresight, Central Italy

STEEP scanning, scenario development, and cross-impact analysis of 29 trends. SMART policy roadmap to 2050, submitted to Health Policy.

Methods: hybrid Delphi, STEEP analysis, participatory horizon scanning, scenario matrix, cross-impact analysis, VR-based stakeholder immersion.

Looking for a research partner on occupational health, wearable monitoring, or a foresight programme? I design and lead the full process, from study design to validated, publishable results.

Discuss a research collaboration
Conferences & field work

On international stages and in the field

A research dream

I have a dream: the IDEAL project

What if every product came with a label that told you not just its carbon footprint, but its full impact on human health, animal welfare, and the living systems we all depend on? And what if that label were built not by a certification body, but by the communities it is meant to serve?

IDEAL, short for humanIty centereD onE heAlth Label, is that idea in research form. The project, developed as a KU Leuven IDEALAB grant consortium, applies humanity-centered design and One Health principles to a concrete challenge: creating a dynamic, democratic, blockchain-enabled sustainability label that gives every consumer, company, and researcher the tools to make choices that are good for people, animals, and the planet.

IDEAL is not a finished product. It is a research agenda, a coalition-building exercise, and an open invitation. The IDEALAB phase brought together eleven researchers across biosystems, bioeconomics, media studies, public governance, and environmental science. The next step requires a broader consortium and EU-level funding to move from concept to protocol.

If you work in One Health, circular economy, digital health, human-centered design, behavioral science, or sustainability governance, and you see yourself in this project, I would like to hear from you.

Get in touch

What IDEAL aims to do
  • Co-create with communities

    Design the label with citizens, companies, policymakers, and researchers from the start, not after the fact.

  • Integrate One Health

    Connect human, animal, and environmental health data in a single, transparent, open-access framework.

  • Democratize sustainability

    Reward sustainable choices with credits. Build an economy where doing good is also doing well, for everyone.

  • Use foresight, not just data

    Apply AI and big data to anticipate the long-term systemic effects of production and consumption, not just measure the present.

Selected Publications

30+ peer-reviewed papers

2025

  • Masci F. et al. Navigating the digital landscape: humanity-centered design in mobile health. One Health.
  • Schyvens A.M., Masci F. et al. Objective vs perceived sleep in Belgian occupational drivers. Sleep Medicine.
  • Masci F. et al. Utilizing commercial wearables to assess occupational drivers. IEA Proceedings, Springer.

2024

  • Pistolesi M., Masci F. et al. How will technology change home care in the next 20 years? Ergonomics.

2023

  • Schlünssen V., Masci F. et al. Occupational exposure to dusts and fibres: WHO/ILO systematic review. Environment International.

2021

  • Hulshof C.T.J., Masci F. et al. Ergonomic risk factors and osteoarthritis: WHO/ILO systematic review. Environment International.

Full list available on request, or via Scopus (ID 57192907886) · ORCID · LinkedIn.

Awards & Recognition

Recognition

  • Invited Panelist, ILO YouthForesight Webinar, December 2025
  • Honourable Mention, World Usability Day Design Challenge 2023
  • Paolo Campanella Award 2023, Best contribution, SIMM National Congress
  • IDEALAB Grant Award, KU Leuven, 2023
Work together

Bring rigorous foresight to your organisation's hardest questions

Whether you need a full participatory foresight programme, a peer-reviewed evidence review, or a co-authored publication, I work with international organisations, universities, and public agencies to turn uncertainty into strategy.