The Department of Pediatrics at the University of Washington School of Medicine and the HIPRC in Seattle, Washington, USA are offering post-doctoral training in Pediatric Injury Research, with positions available beginning summer 2023. This training program is funded through a US National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NIH) T-32 grant.
Injury is the leading cause of death and acquired disability among children and adolescents in the United States, is the most expensive medical problem in the U.S., and disproportionately affects marginalized populations. Reduction of the burden of injuries requires research and intervention by well-trained investigators, of whom there is currently a shortage. The Pediatric Injury Research Training Program is designed to address this need.
The concept of “injury control research” encompasses not only the primary prevention of injuries, but also the acute and chronic care of the injured child and his or her subsequent rehabilitation; this applies to both intentional (assault or self-harm) and unintentional injuries. These areas have traditionally been divided among public health, surgery, and rehabilitation, respectively. We view this as an interdisciplinary problem in which prevention is not always successful, leading to an injury requiring optimal trauma care to minimize risk of death and disability, followed by rehabilitation to maximize the child’s potential and return to the community.
The fellowship program includes coursework, seminars and an intensively mentored research experience.
Relevant research areas include elucidating the risk factors and causes of injuries, injury prevention strategies, acute and chronic care of
patients with injury, outcomes from trauma, and interventions to return the individuals with injury and their families to
their full potential. The program has an increased focus on the training of indigenous fellows and research on injuries to
indigenous youth.
The specific aims of this training program are to:
There are several components to the training:
The Training Program is two years long, with the option of a third year for exceptionally productive trainees. A Master of Public Health (MPH) or Master of Science (MSc) degree is available as part of the Training Program. Post-doctoral level scholars are welcome from all health professions, and specialties within those professions including pediatrics, surgery, urology, emergency medicine, anesthesia/critical care, psychiatry, psychology, epidemiology, health services, public health, social work, and nursing. The program involves faculty from the UW Schools of Medicine, Public Health, Social Work, Nursing, and the Department of Psychology in the UW School of Arts and Sciences.
Program co-directors include Fred Rivara, MD, MPH,
Cari McCarty, PhD, and Ali Rowhani-Rahbar, MD, PhD.
Interested individuals should contact the program coordinator, Bonnie Rains, at pirtp@uw.edu .
“HIPRC is the perfect place to get training in interdisciplinary injury prevention research and practice. The faculty mentors care about your success and will support and help you in achieving your career goals. The training program broadened my understanding of the field of injury epidemiology and trauma care, while also providing practical skills in grant writing and academic careers. The University of Washington also provides ample opportunities to take formal coursework to support your research goals.”
“One of the things I appreciated about the T32 program at HIPRC was the thoughtful structure, including the seminars and training sessions. The work-in-progress sessions were helpful when we were working on projects and writing papers – fellows present projects/ideas and receive feedback from a diverse and interdisciplinary group of researchers (social workers, trauma surgeons, epidemiologists, pediatricians, industrial engineers, etc.). Throughout my time as a fellow at HIPRC, I was encouraged to pursue new topics, ideas, methods, and data sources, and my mentors would provide feedback and guidance on my ideas, approaches, and writing.”
“The T32 was a great experience. It gave me the opportunity to work with researchers across the greater UW environment while developing a deeper understanding of the broader world of injury and trauma research and getting excellent career advice from Drs. Fred Rivara and Monica Vavilala. It protected my research time while I put together the career development award that ultimately set me up for a professor gig. I would (and have!) recommend it to anyone who thinks they might be interested.”
“Dr. Rivara’s mentorship during my T32 was critical for building a career as an independently funded academic surgeon. He focused on helping each fellow develop research questions they are passionate about, coached us to improve our writing and analytic skills, and connected us with a mentorship network to successfully launch our research careers. My main project during my T32 research time was on the long-term impact of patients discharged to skill nursing facilities — I recently received an R01 that is a cluster-randomized trial in nursing facilities that was developed directly from my time as a T32 research fellow at HIPRC. I’m incredibly grateful for Dr. Rivara and the team that mentored me and continue to support me at HIPRC.”