Medical College of Wisconsin
Medical College of Wisconsin Medical College of Wisconsin
Emergency Medicine
Emergency Medicine

Comprehensive Injury Center Receives CDC Injury Control Research Center Grant

September 24, 2024

The Comprehensive Injury Center (CIC) was recently awarded one of 11 CDC Injury Control Research Center (ICRC) grants. The five-year award, which totals approximately $4.25 million, will focus on eliminating injury disparities both in Milwaukee and across the state. As an organizational structure, the ICRC grant will function with three cores – administrative, education, community outreach – and four larger-scale funded research projects focused on prevention of traumatic brain injury, opioid overdose, firearm violence, and suicide. The Administrative Core will be led by Dr. Terri deRoon-Cassini, Ms. Blair Stauffer-Fetting, and Dr. Mike Levas. The Education Core will be led by Dr. Sehr Khan and Dr. Terri deRoon-Cassini. The Community Outreach Core will be led by Dr. Libby Schroeder, Dr. Mike Levas, and Mr. Reggie Moore.

The four funded research projects are:

  • Addressing Health Equity and Barriers to Access to Care in Emergency Departments for mild Traumatic Brain Injury (AHEAD-mTBI)
    • Co-PIs: Dr. Lindsay Nelson and Dr. Danny Thomas
  • Experiences with Police Violence and Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviors among Young Black Men
    • Co-PIs: Dr. Sara Kohlbeck and Dr. Katherine Quinn 
  • Evaluating the Roles of Alcohol and Firearms on Disparities in Homicides and Suicides in Wisconsin
    • Co-PIs: Dr. Carissa Tomas and Dr. Constance Kostelac
  • The Role of Detoxification in Preventing or Contributing to Opioid Overdose
    • PI: Dr. Julia Dickson-Gomez

Additionally, over the five years of the grant, they will fund MCW faculty with 15 seed funding research projects (three per year totaling $25,000 each) that are focused on injury disparities to generate pilot data for external grant applications.

Terri deRoon-Cassini, PhD, professor of surgery and director of the Comprehensive Injury Center, serves as the PI on this award. One unique aspect of this award is that it not only funds the CIC’s work, but it is truly an investment in injury research on MCW’s campus. Faculty from a number of departments will be involved in this work including Surgery, Neurosurgery, Emergency Medicine, Pediatrics, Institute for Health and Equity, and Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine, in addition to MCW’s Office of Research. The CDC ICRC funding will elevate the CIC’s already existing work by infusing resources into to create a Health Equity-Focused ICRC Center of Excellence in Injury Prevention Research, Training and Education, and Outreach.

The other institutions that received ICRC funding include:

  • Columbia University – Columbia Center for Injury Science and Prevention
  • Emory University – Injury Prevention Research Center at Emory
  • Johns Hopkins University – Center for Injury Research and Policy
  • University of Iowa – UI Injury Prevention Research Center
  • University of Michigan – U-M Injury Prevention Center
  • University of North Carolina – Injury Prevention Research Center
  • University of Pennsylvania – Penn Injury Science Center
  • University of Colorado – Injury and Violence Prevention Center
  • University of Texas Health Science Center (UTHealth), Houston – Violence and Injury Prevention Research Center
  • University of Washington – Harborview Injury Prevention and Research Center

To learn more about this award, contact CIC Director Dr. deRoon-Cassini at tcassini@mcw.edu or visit About the CIC.

Tagged: Comprehensive Injury Center Injury Research