Training

Building Capacity

Until now, there have been limited resources and opportunities to advance the field of firearm injury prevention research. The Community Firearm Violence Prevention Network sets out to build capacity in the field and create opportunities to train the next generation of community-engaged firearm violence prevention researchers.

The Coordinating Center is helping to further this mission by establishing and facilitating training opportunities across the Community Firearm Violence Prevention Network. This includes, mentorship for emerging researchers and community practitioners, student internships and graduate student research opportiunities.

To continually improve the field of firearm injury prevention, the Coordinating Center will create a pipeline  that increases the diversity of disciplines and backgrounds of  new scholars to increase opportunitites to  pursue firearm violence prevention research careers.

These training opportunities include

Professional development with mentors from across the Coordinating Center.

Student internships

Graduate student research projects

Support of Diversity Supplements from across the Community Firearm Violence Prevention Network

University of Michigan Coordinating Center Trainees

Laura Seewald, MD. 2022-2023

Post Doctoral Research Fellow

Dr. Seewald is an adult emergency medicine physician at the Michigan Medicine and  completed a two-year Postdoctoral Fellowship in June 2023 with the Firearm Safety Among Children and Teens (FACTS) Consortium and the Institute for Firearm Injury Prevention. Dr. Seewald provided expertise in firearm and other violence measures for the Data and Methods Core and continues with the Coordinating Center as an Institute for Firearm Injury Prevention faculty member at the University of Michigan. 

Honey Modi. 2023

Graduate Research Assistant

Honey Modi is a graduate from the School of Public Health in Health Management and Policy. As a research assistant at the Coordinating Center, she worked on understanding the societal impact of firearm violence. Her interests lie in identifying unmet patient needs and improving patient lives by navigating the barriers of accessibility and affordability.

Shiying Mai. 2023

Graduate Research Assistant

Shiying Mai is currently pursing a PhD degree of Health Services Research in Pharmacy at University of Wisconsin Madison. She graduated from University of Michigan, Ann Arbor in 2023 and worked as a research assistant for the Coordinating Center during her health services administration master program. Shiying  was involved in the systematic review research project focusing on the economic evaluation of societal costs of firearm violence.

Elizabeth Stout. 2023

Intern

As a summer intern with the Institute for Firearm Injury Prevention at the University of Michigan, Ms. Stout worked on multiple projects and supported the communications efforts of the Coordinating Center. She is a rising second-year student in the Masters of Public Health Health Behavior and Health Education Program at the University of Michigan School of Public Health. She is interested in youth health promotion and support, including through violence prevention, and participates in programs with Michigan Children’s Special Health Care Services, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and other organizations.

Sloane Bennett. 2024-

Research Assistant

Intern, May 2024 – August 2024

Ms. Bennett is a research assistant for the Coordinating Center, working with the Communication and Dissemination Core. She is studying Communications and Media, which she hopes to combine with her current research after college. Ms. Bennett is excited to be working in this realm, as she has always been inspired by her mother who works in the criminal justice field. She loves finding new restaurants in Ann Arbor and is a member of Sigma Delta Tau sorority.

Audrey Ruhana. 2024-

Research Assistant

Intern, May 2024 – August 2024

Ms. Ruhana is a research assistant at the University of Michigan’s Institute for Firearm Injury Prevention’s Community Firearm Violence Prevention Network. She is a first-year MPH student studying Epidemiology. She earned a Bachelors of Science from the University of Michigan majoring in Life Science Informatics and minoring in History. Ms. Ruhana is interested in studying ways to lessen the burden of gun-violence and improve the overall health in underserved communities. 

Sophia Weng. 2024-

Research Assistant

Intern, May 2024 – August 2024

Ms. Weng is a research assistant at the University of Michigan’s Institute for Firearm Injury Prevention’s Community Firearm Violence Prevention Network. She is a rising senior pursuing a BA in Psychology. She aspires to get a Master’s in Counseling and has an interest in how firearm policies affects public well-being. Ms. Weng believes research assistance at IFIP will provide a new perspective on her growth as an aspiring therapist and result in better care for her future patients.

Tazkira Ahad. 2024-

Graduate Research Assistant

Intern, May 2024 – August 2024

Ms. Ahad is a research assistant for the Coordinating Center, working with the Community Engagement Core. She is an incoming 1st-year student in the Health Behavior Health Education Masters program through the School of Public Health at the University of Michigan. She graduated in May 2024 with a BA in Community and Global Public Health from the University of Michigan. She minored in Community Action and Social Change. Her interests lie in improving healthcare access and reducing death and injury, particularly in underrepresented communities.

Megan McKee. 2024-

Research Assistant

Intern, May 2024 – August 2024

Megan McKee is a senior undergraduate student pursuing a B.A. in Philosophy and Political Science. She is interested in the role of public policy and community-based solutions in firearm injury prevention. As an research assistant at the Coordinating Center, she is assisting the Policy Core with the development of implementation resources for Emergency Risk Protection Orders and other legislation.

Community Firearm Violence Prevention Network Trainees

Abdullah Pratt, MD. 2023-

Assistant Professor (University of Chicago)

Dr. Abdullah Pratt is an Assistant Professor and Emergency Medicine Physician at the University of Chicago Medical Center. Dr. Pratt is an emergency physician clinician-scholar specializing in the areas of firearm violence, hospital-based violence interventions, behavioral science, and implementation science. He has a deep understanding of the importance of community-engaged research and brings a valuable perspective that enriches the research being conducted by the team at the University of Chicago and with the Community Firearm Violence Prevention Network.  Dr. Pratt receives mentorship from Dr. Zakrison at the University of Chicago and Dr. Carter and Dr. Zimmerman at the University of Michigan Coordinating Center.

Nathan Muntz, MD. 2022-2023

Medical Student (University of Chicago)

Prior to graduating from the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, Nathan Muntz has helped establish and evaluate Recovery Legal Care, a medical-legal partnership at the University of Chicago Trauma Center. Dr. Muntz joined the Community Firearm Violence Prevention Network as a member of the Data and Methods Workgroup and attended the 2023 annual meeting in Washington, DC.