Arthur Kellermann, M.D., M.P.H., the founding director of the Emory Center for Injury Control and founding chair of Emergency Medicine at Emory has accepted a position with the RAND Corporation in Washington, DC as RAND's Paul O'Neill/Alcoa Chair of Policy Analysis. He will spearhead the RAND Public Health Systems and Preparedness initiative, which has played a leading role in helping state and federal agencies improve the nation's preparedness for public health emergencies and bolster other aspects of the nation's public health system.

Dr. Kellermann has published over 200 scientific papers on topics ranging from injury prevention to emergency cardiac care and public health.  He holds several national awards for his research, including the "excellence in science award" from the Injury Control and Emergency Health Services Section of the APHA, and the Hal Jayne Academic Excellence Award from the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine. In 2001, he won Emory University's "Scholar/Teacher Award" given annually to a single faculty member at the University's commencement ceremony.  In 1999, Dr. Kellermann was elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies. He has served on several National Academies Committees, including the National Research Council's Committee on the Understanding and Control of Violent Behavior. From September 2006 to December 2007, he took a leave of absence from Emory to work on the professional staff of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform in Washington DC. He returned to Emory in January 2008 to become the School of Medicine's first Associate Dean for Health Policy.

Some of his achievements as Center director include:

• Supported and subsequently evaluated Georgia's "Teenage and Adult Driver Responsibility Act"- one of the strongest graduated driver's license programs in the nation.

• Conducted an evaluation of risk factors for death among children in state custody.  The Georgia Division of Public Health utilized the evaluation findings to make recommendations to the Department of Family and Children Services (DFACS) to improve processes in DFACS over the last five years.

• Over a 10 year period, with funding provided by the U.S. Dept of Justice, served as the local "research partner" for Project Safe Neighborhoods - Atlanta, a consortium of community groups, law enforcement agencies and state and federal prosecutors to combat violent crime in the City of Atlanta. The adoption of innovative proactive tactics contributed to sharp declines in gunshot injuries, and a 50% reduction in the City's rate of homicides over this time period.

Dr. Kellermann will retain an adjunct appointment with Emory University and will remain as our Director Emeritus.  I personally cannot thank Art enough for the impact he has had on me professionally and personally for the past 15 years.  His work has improved the life of our patients and citizens and his mentorship of hundreds of students and faculty members has transformed careers.  His daily presence will be greatly missed, although I know he will still remain active with our Center.

Dr. Debra Houry

• Focus on implementation and dissemination research with participants given the opportunity to apply key concepts of issues and practice into their own research.
  

We are thrilled with the success of the seed grant program and the number and high quality of applications. Please give us feedback on your experience with this process and any suggestions you may have for future years. Also, while we likely won't have the next round of applications due until the fall (November), we want to encourage our researchers and community partners to think about ideas and let us know if we can be of assistance with facilitating collaborations for future funding. For the next seed grant cycle we will strongly encourage applications that focus on community collaborations.

The American Public Health Association will hold its annual meeting in November. Abstract submissions for the Injury Control and Emergency Health Services Section are due on February 4th Abstract Submission. Please let us know if we can facilitate submissions or coordinate any joint panels. We are also considering putting together a panel to showcase the excellent  research that is being conducted by our grantees. In the future we may look for other opportunities to disseminate our research and collaboration. Again, if you have ideas or suggestions, please let us know.

• Nonviolent Music Contest
  

High school and middle school students may apply online at Nonviolent Music Contest .The application deadline is March 12, 2010 with auditions proposed initially for March 19, 2010.

• Youth Violence Prevention Workshop
  

GAVPP/MAVPP (Georgia Violence Prevention Partnership/Metropolitan Atlanta Violence Prevention Partnership) members conducted a youth violence prevention workshop at the Freedom Hall Auditorium in conjunction with the King Center, the Morehouse School of Medicine, the Boys and Girls Club, Visions Unlimited, and other organizations. The Youth Violence Prevention Workshop took place on Jan.12th, 2010, from 6 - 8pm and incorporated youth change agent and leadership development activities designed to urge youth-serving decision makers to incorporate proven violence prevention methods into their youth services. The training included spoken word, poetry, drama exercises, and a panel discussion involving youth, former gang members, and a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention violence prevention research specialist.

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