Funding Agency:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Grant No. R49 CCR323155-01)

Total Project Period:

9/1/03 - 8/31/08

Total Project Award:

$4,498,178

Principal Investigator:

Harold B. Weiss, MS, MPH, PhD

Other Investigators:

(see below)

Project Summary:

The focus of The Center for Injury Research and Control's (CIRCL) grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is women and children with an emphasis on prevention, acute care and rehabilitation of neurological injury. Four large projects, one small project and one pilot study were funded. These projects include collaborations not only across the University of Pittsburgh campus, but nationally and internationally as well.

The four large projects are:

• Improving the Diagnosis and Prognosis of Inflicted Head Trauma in Infants
  Principal Investigator: Patrick Kochanek, MD (Department of Critical Care Medicine)
  Co-investigators: Thomas Songer, PhD (Department of Epidemiology); Rachel Berger, MD, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh.
  
  
• The Impact of Neuroendocrine Hormones and Pathophysiology & Outcomes After TBI
  Principal Investigator: Amy Wagner, MD (Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation)
  Co-investigators: Ross Zafonte, DO (Department of Psychiatry); Sue Beers, PhD (Department of Psychiatry); Hulya Bair, MD (Department of Critical Care Medicine); Anthony Fabio, PhD; Sarah Berga, MD (Emory University)
  
  
• Managing Return-to-Play Decisions Following Mild Traumatic Brain Injury
  Principal Investigator: Mark Stevenson, MD, University of Sydney, Australia
  Co-Investigators: Michael Collins, PhD (Department of Orthpaedics); Mark Lovell, PhD (Department of Orthpaedics); Caroline Finch, PhD, University of Sydney, Australia; Andy Lee, MD, University of Sydney, Australia
  
  
• The Impact of Pregnancy-Associated Crashes on Birth Outcomes and Infant Survival
  Principal Investigator: Harold B. Weiss, PhD

The small project is:

• Infant Head Injury Risk in Falls Using Experimental and Computational Models
  Principal Investigator: Gina Bertocci, PhD, PE (Department of Rehabilitation Science and Technology)
  Co-Investigators: Mary Clyde Pierce, MD (Pediatrics); Ernest Deemer, MS, PE (Department of Rehabilitation Science and Technology)

In addition to these projects, Ernest Deemer, MS, PE, will be the principal investigator on a pilot study titled "Improving Biofidelity of the Hybrid III Three-Year-Old for Long-bone Fracture Prediction." The goal is to better understand the types of pediatric injuries associated with common household falls. These same falls are often falsely reported scenarios in child abuse. By using a biomechanical approach to investigate falls, we may provide the first step in aiding in the diagnosis of child abuse.