05/31/2024

Member Spotlight: Terri deRoon-Cassini

Terri deRoon-Cassini, Ph.D., M.S., Professor of Surgery (Trauma & Acute Care Surgery), Psychiatry & Behavioral Medicine, Institute for Health and Equity, Medical College of Wisconsin, Executive Director – Comprehensive Injury Center, Director – Trauma Psychology Program, Co-Director, Milwaukee Trauma Outcomes Project

• Tell us about your areas of interest within injury and violence prevention. Why did you decide to pursue a career in this field?: Well, my undergraduate degree is in Zoology & Physiology, and I think I was set on going to graduate school in Anatomy and physiology. But my senior year in college I was an AmeriCorp Scholar, and I was placed at a Domestic Violence shelter; this changed my life. Many of the women at the shelter were physically injured, as well as injured psychologically, and the impact of domestic violence on their children was profound. I wanted to first and foremost go to graduate school in psychology to understand how to provide psychological intervention for those exposed to trauma. From there, my research lab in grad school was focused on intergenerational transmission of domestic violence and how spinal cord injured veterans develop a sense of meaning following injury, and how this influences psychopathology. For the past 16years I developed and led a psychology service designed to provide mental health care to injured patients at a Level 1 trauma center. Our research centers around how to detect who is at risk for long-term PTSD and Depression, using neurobiological and psychosocial models. Because our firearm injured patients are at greatest risk for poor health outcomes, I am also interested in understanding their unique experiences, including how socio-environmental context influence recovery after injury. My entire career from fellowship to now has been centered on the trauma patients we serve, and I would say that patient experiences significantly influence my research questions.

• How long have you been a member of SAVIR? What has been your favorite part about being involved with SAVIR?: I have been a member of SAVIR for 5 years, so I am relatively new to SAVIR. I really enjoy the multidisciplinary nature of who attends SAVIR and how welcoming the SAVIR community is. It’s a great time to be a member of SAVIR.

• What has been the most rewarding aspect of your career so far?: I think education – our research lab and the Comprehensive Injury Center are heavily involved in educating medical students, graduate students, and fellows in injury science broadly speaking. I love hearing from former trainees and the amazing work that they are doing. If we are going to expand injury science, it’s all about the next generation.

• What do you like to do in your free time?: I love to run, that is my time to re-energize myself and have some adventures. These days almost every weekend I am on the sidelines of a soccer pitch, watching my kids Sophia and Cooper play. I love being on the sidelines watching them grow as athletes, teammates, and individuals…when it isn’t raining.