UTHealth Houston and Baylor College of Medicine collaborate on first CDC Injury Control Research Center in Southwest, established to study injury and violence prevention

The only Injury Control Research Center in Texas has been established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at UTHealth Houston in partnership with Baylor College of Medicine. 

“I’m beyond thrilled to bring an Injury Control Research Center to Texas,” said Jeff Temple, PhD, director of the new center and associate dean for clinical research at UTHealth Houston School of Behavioral Health Sciences. “This collaboration between the community, policymakers, UTHealth Houston, and Baylor College of Medicine will undoubtedly save lives.” 

An Injury Control Research Center, or ICRC, hones in on the study of injury and violence prevention, which is then used to create solutions that can be implemented in the real world. The first year grant amount is $850,000 with an anticipated total of $4.25 million over five years.

“The center will be transformative,” said Christopher Spencer Greeley, MD, professor of pediatrics at Baylor and chief in the section of public health pediatrics at Texas Children’s Hospital. “It leverages long-term collaborations between two leading research and service organizations to substantively address profound challenges impacting children and families.”

The new Injury Control Research Center, which is named the Violence and Injury Prevention Research (VIPR) Center, is the first of its kind in the Southwest United States. Its location is ideal to test the potential statewide and national impacts of the center’s work.

“We’ll work collaboratively with the community to evaluate novel interventions and improve existing programs,” said Temple, who is also professor and Betty and Rose Pfefferbaum Chair in Child Mass Trauma and Resilience at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston. “We’ll also train community members and other professionals on best practices related to violence and injury prevention. Finally, we’ll work directly with policymakers to make sure our work is beneficial and enduring to the public.”

The center’s focus will be on preventing adverse childhood and community experiences, violence across the lifespan, suicide, and firearm violence. 

“Over time, we will bolster our efforts to prevent and reduce the burden of unintentional injuries like car crashes and drownings,” Temple said.  

“We are excited to join the strong network of ICRCs around the nation,” said Mary Aitken, MD, MPH, professor and Dan L Duncan Distinguished University Chair of the Department of Pediatrics at McGovern Medical School. “The work of these centers is critical to help prevent injury-related suffering and death, and our new center will bring a much-needed focus on the issue for Texas.” 

Melissa Peskin, PhD, professor and vice chair of health promotion and behavioral sciences at UTHealth Houston School of Public Health, as well as the school’s assistant dean of Students, is a co-director of the center. Outside of UTHealth Houston, Greeley, who is also vice-chair of community health at Baylor, will also co-direct the Violence and Injury Prevention Research Center.  

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