Project Description
Dell Children’s Trauma and Injury Research Center focuses on the epidemiologic, clinical and behavioral study of childhood violence and injury, violence and injury prevention, and trauma clinical care with the ultimate goal of informing and guiding improved clinical practices and prevention efforts. Comprised of epidemiologists, methodologists and data experts, Dell Children’s Trauma and Injury Research Center conducts high quality investigator-initiated research and collaborates with clinicians and university-affiliated researchers.
Areas of interest for Dell Children’s Trauma and Injury Research Center include child abuse prevention, detection and treatment, traumatic brain injury, determinants of accidental and non-accidental injury, adverse childhood experiences, youth suicide, trauma-informed care, evaluation of interventions for injury prevention, as well as developmental and psychological outcomes of pediatric trauma. The group has more than 25 Institutional Review Board-approved study protocols and has published numerous peer-reviewed publications during its Level I tenure.
OUR STAFF
Jessica Ann Naiditch, MD
Dell Children’s Medical Center
Full Bio
Dr. Naiditch is a board certified pediatric surgeon and a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons. She has a focus on pediatric trauma care and is the Trauma Medical Director at Dell Children’s Medical Center in Austin, TX. She is also an Assistant Professor of Surgery & Perioperative Care at the University of Texas – Austin Dell Medical School.
Dr. Karla A. Lawson, PhD, MPH, RD
Dell Children’s Medical Center
Full Bio
Dr. Karla A. Lawson, PhD, MPH, RD is the Research Scientist and Director of the Trauma and Injury Research Center at Dell Children’s Medical Center and a Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Texas-Austin Dell Medical School. She received her doctoral degree from the University of Texas in 2003 and was awarded the Cancer Prevention Fellowship at the National Institutes of Health for 2003-2006. She received a Master in Public Health degree from Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health in 2004, where she concentrated in epidemiology and biostatistics. She is an Assistant Professor of Public Health at the University Of Texas School Of Public Health Austin Regional Campus, Assistant Professor of Surgery at The University of Texas Dell Medical School, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Texas Medical Branch, and a visiting Professor of Nutrition at the University of Texas at Austin Department of Nutrition. She currently is the instructor for two trauma-related research classes for the University of Texas Medical Branch and both practicum and culminating experience electives for the University of Texas School of Public Health. Her current research interests include the prevention and clinical decision making of non-accidental trauma injury, injury surveillance, and best clinical practice.