Center Awarded New Funding from CDC

The Johns Hopkins Center for Injury Research and Policy (Center) has been awarded funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to continue as an Injury Control Research Center. The Center was one of the first four Centers to earn this distinction in 1987 and we are humbled to maintain this honorable title.  

The Center will be embarking on four new research projects over the next five years. These research projects are strategically designed to address critical injury and violence prevention questions and provide valuable insights that will directly inform and shape effective interventions. In the first half of the cycle, Drs. Brendan Saloner and Danielle German will lead a study on xylazine contamination in the illicit opioid supply that will inform communication strategies about xylazine; Drs. Paul Nestadt and Emily E. Haroz will conduct a psychological autopsy study of suicide among Black Maryland youth to inform prevention recommendations. In the second half of the cycle, Drs. Leticia Manning Ryan and Oluwakemi Badaki-Makuna will examine opioid prescribing for child and adolescent patients and how storage and disposal strategies are shared in the clinical environment that will inform guidance, and Dr. Renee M. Johnson and Ms. Elise Omaki will advance natural language processing as a tool for strengthening drug overdose surveillance systems. These projects are paving the way for evidence-based solutions and practical applications that will make a tangible impact on injury prevention and control. 

In addition to the research projects, we will continue to engage in partnership and training through our Outreach, and Training and Education Cores. We will provide technical assistance to agencies and organizations seeking to implement evidence-based injury prevention solutions, and consult with the media, policymakers, advocates, health care providers, and the public. Importantly, the Center support will allow us to engage in cross-sector collaborations to foster bi-directional communication between researchers and practitioners to inform research questions and translate research findings into practice. The Center will also grow its robust training program for students and injury prevention professionals on the front lines of preventing injuries. The Center’s weekly seminar series will bring in experts discussing the latest research in priority areas and is free and open to the public. The Center will host three summer institutes in 2025: an introductory course on the principles and practice of injury and violence prevention; an advanced injury institute on overdose prevention; and an advanced injury institute on suicide prevention.