Campus Spotlight: University of Michigan Injury Center

Over the past few years the University of Michigan has focused efforts and resources toward building and strengthening its capacity in injury research. These efforts are highlighted by their new injury center, the University of Michigan Injury Center. The Center grew from a merging of the former Center for Injury Prevention among Youth and the Department of Emergency Medicine’s Injury Research Center. Under the direction of Dr. Rebecca Cunningham, the new Center is a collaborative effort between the University of Michigan’s Transport­ation Research Institute, School of Public Health, and Medical School, with support from each as well as from the Office of the Vice President for Research.  The new Center has a close affiliation with the Department of Health Behavior and Health Education at the School of Public Health.

The UM Injury Center fosters interdisciplinary cross-campus collaboration among faculty, staff, students, and practitioners. The Center’s mission is to develop innovative methods, pro­grams and policies to prevent injuries and violence through research, education and out­reach. In pursuit of this mission, the Center has announced a pilot study award program for faculty and fellows throughout the University of Michigan.

Though the Center has many areas of focus, innovative interventions are under way to address trans­portation safety, violence prevention, and adolescent health and safety.

A primary goal of the UM Injury Center is to increase student involvement in the injury field. Consistent with this goal, faculty affiliated with the Center offer injury-related courses at the School of Public Health. They plan to expand the course offerings and also to increase the number of training opportunities at the under­graduate, Masters, doctoral, and post-doctoral levels.

UM Injury Center’s Steering Committee very much values the input, advice, and leadership from established injury researchers, and looks forward to potential collaborations in moving the injury field forward. To continue to follow their progress, they invite colleagues to visit their Web page and to join their mailing list by signing up at The Injury Center Network.

http://www.med.umich.edu/em/injurycenter/