Spring 2008, Volume 11, Issue 1

Director's Message

by Hank Weiss, PhD, MPH

After 15 years of involvement with the University of Pittsburgh's Center for Injury Research and Control it is with mixed emotions that I announce my stepping down as the Center Director. After careful consideration I have decided not to take the lead in developing the competitive renewal this year. Instead, I plan on focusing my efforts with the Center over the remainder of the current grant cycle to complete my maternal injury research projects, help the new team with the renewal, see off my PhD students and explore some other directions.

Taking over immediately as the new CIRCL Director is a colleague in the Department of Neurosurgery and renowned pediatric neurosurgeon, Dr. David Adelson. He will be ably assisted by Dr. David Okonkwo, acting in the new role of CIRCL acute care director and by Dr. Anthony (Tony) Fabio, performing in a new role as associate director. By way of introduction, Dr. Adelson is professor of neurosurgery and director of Pediatric Neurotrauma at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, director of Surgical Epilepsy at the University of Pittsburgh Epilepsy Center, and co-director of the Brachial Plexus and Peripheral Nerve Injury Center at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. He is also vice-chairman for research at the Department of Neurological Surgery as well as director for The Walter Copeland Neurosurgical Research Laboratory. Please give Dr. Adelson, Dr. Okonkwo and Dr. Fabio your full understanding, support and assistance as they take on their new responsibilities. I am confident they will be excellent partners and continue the success and development of the University of Pittsburgh Center for Injury Research and Control.

I deeply thank you one and all for your support and the honor to work as center director over the years. However, it's time for me to move on. These changes give me the opportunity to assess how I can best contribute to improving and contributing to injury prevention and public health in ways and areas that will be a little different then I could in my former capacity. I look forward to this transition as an opportunity and challenge.

The University of Pittsburgh is recognized nationally and internationally for excellence in all aspects of research. The theme of CIRCL’s spring newsletter is current injury and violence related research at the University of Pittsburgh. This newsletter highlights four articles featured by P. David Adelson, MD , CIRCL’s new director; Patrick Kochanek MD, director of the Safar Center; Scott Lephart, PhD, director of the Neuromuscular Research Laboratory; and Alvaro Sánchez, MD, Fogarty TRAINEER recipient.

Yours truly,

Hank Weiss PhD, MPH
Associate Professor