02/11/2022

Featured Council of Centers Member

Injury Prevention Research Center at Emory (IPRCE)
Director: Jonathan Rupp, PhD
Organizations Twitter handle: @IPRCEmory
Year Organization/Center was founded:  1993
City/state where the Organization/Center is located:  Atlanta, Georgia

What is something that the city where your organization/center is located is known for? Atlanta was the birthplace of the Civil Rights Movement, and is also known as the “City of Trees” because it has the most trees per square mile of any city in the U.S.

What is/are the primary injury topics your organization/center addresses?  IPRCE focuses on the five highest ranking causes of injury and injury deaths in Georgia.  The topics are opioid deaths, motor vehicle crash, violence (homicide/suicide), falls and traumatic brain injury.

Tell us about a fun office tradition your organization/center has.  IPRCE has joint quarterly meetings with the Georgia Department of Public Health’s Injury Prevention Program where we share a joint breakfast and then have the opportunity to go to lunch with our colleagues at Atlanta’s Auburn Market.  Hopefully we will be able to return to this tradition once we return to in-person events.

How has your organization stayed connected during the pandemic? (or any fun or interesting thing your center has done over the past year? Or if you are back in person or starting to go back in person what has that been like?). IPRCE staff and many of our partners are still working remotely.  Immediately after the pandemic began we realized that in-person events were not an option and immediately adjusted our education and outreach events to virtual which has made a positive impact on our attendance.  Our events also incorporated the impact of Covid on injury and injury prevention professionals.

Anything else you would like to share with SAVIR members about your organization/center?  One of the unique features of IPRCE is our task forces.  During a restructuring in 2015-2016 we formed a task force for each of our injury topics.  Our task force membership includes faculty from various Georgia institutions, state health employees, and community organizations which gives us a well-rounded approach to contribute to the effort to reduce injury and injury death in Georgia and the Southeast.