Departmental Affiliations
Primary
Center & Institute Affiliations
Contact Info
624 N. Broadway, Hampton House 537
Baltimore
Maryland
21205
US
410-614-2797
Research Interests
injury;
teen drivers;
alcohol;
aviation safety;
injury severity;
occupational safety;
childhood injury;
eldery injury
Experiences & Accomplishments
Education
MPH
Johns Hopkins University
1968
BA
Cornell University
1951
Overview
An epidemiologist specializing in injury prevention, Professor Baker was the first director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Injury Research and Policy. Her research includes motor vehicle occupant and pedestrian deaths among children and adults; fatalities related to aviation, motorcycles, and heavy trucks; carbon monoxide poisoning; drowning; childhood asphyxiation; housefires; falls in the elderly; homicide; suicide; fatal occupational injuries; and injury severity scoring. She is well known for developing the widely used Injury Severity Score and for authoring the Injury Fact Book. She is a licensed private pilot. She served on the Armed Forces Epidemiological Board in 1996-2000. She held joint appointments at the School of Medicine, in the Departments of Pediatrics and Emergency Medicine.
Professor Baker is an ardent advocate of policy changes that will prevent injuries. Much of her teaching and research is designed to influence the legislators, administrators, media representatives, and others whose decisions can determine the likelihood of injury for thousands of people.
Professor Baker is an ardent advocate of policy changes that will prevent injuries. Much of her teaching and research is designed to influence the legislators, administrators, media representatives, and others whose decisions can determine the likelihood of injury for thousands of people.
Honors & Awards
Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine (AAAM) President 1974-75; Named "Bad Guy of the Month" by Road Rider Magazine for efforts promoting motorcycle helmet laws.
American Association for the Surgery of Trauma, Honorary Fellow, 1988-.
Charles A. Dana Award for Pioneering Achievements in Health and Higher Education, 1989;
Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Teaching, The Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, 1994-95;
The Johns Hopkins University, Distinguished Alumnus Award, 1996;
Honorary Doctor of Science Degree, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1998.
American Public Health Association Award for Excellence, 1999;
Fellow, Aerospace Medical Association, 2000
President, Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine, The Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, Stebbins Medal for contributions to teaching programs,2006;
Doctor of Humane Letters, Johns Hopkins University, 2016.
American Association for the Surgery of Trauma, Honorary Fellow, 1988-.
Charles A. Dana Award for Pioneering Achievements in Health and Higher Education, 1989;
Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Teaching, The Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, 1994-95;
The Johns Hopkins University, Distinguished Alumnus Award, 1996;
Honorary Doctor of Science Degree, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1998.
American Public Health Association Award for Excellence, 1999;
Fellow, Aerospace Medical Association, 2000
President, Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine, The Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, Stebbins Medal for contributions to teaching programs,2006;
Doctor of Humane Letters, Johns Hopkins University, 2016.
Select Publications
Her publications include eight textbook chapters, more than 250 articles in medical and public health journals, magazine articles for the general public, and three books -- The Injury Fact Book, Saving Children: A Guide to Injury Prevention, and Injury Prevention: An International Perspective. Her work has been featured in JAMA, the New England Journal of Medicine, Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine, and Scientific American.
- Cook A, Weddle J, Baker S, Hosmer D, Glance L, Friedman L, Osler T. A comparison of the Injury Severity Score and the Trauma Mortality Prediction Model. The journal of trauma and acute care surgery 76 (1), 47-53, 2014.
- Baker SP, Hu G, Wilcox H, Baker TD. Increase in suicide by hanging/suffocation in the U.S., 2000–2010. Am J Prev Med 2013 Feb;44(2):146-9.
- Haaland WI, Shanahan DF, Baker SP. Crashes of sightseeing helicopter tours in Hawaii. Aviat Space Environ Med 80:637-642, 2009.
- Brooks CJ, MacDonald CV, Baker SP, Shanahan DF, Haaland W. Helicopter crashes into water: warning time, final position and other factors affecting survival. 2013. ASEM, in press.
- Baker SP. Motor vehicle occupant deaths in young children. Pediatrics 64:860-861, 1979.
Projects
Effectiveness of Graduated Driver's Licensing Programs
Pilot Aging and Aviation Safety
Johns Hopkins Center for Injury Research and Policy
Center for Injury Research and Policy