Medical College faculty member to train medical students in injury prevention research

The Medical College of Wisconsin received a five-year, $350,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute on Aging for a research training program focused on injury prevention in aging populations.

Linda N. Meurer, M.D., M.P.H., Director of the Academic Fellowship in Primary Care Research and professor of family and community medicine, is the principal investigator for the grant.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 71 million Americans will be over the age of 65 by the year 2030. Older adults are at an elevated risk for mobility-related injuries and fatalities. More than 80 percent of deaths caused by falls occur in people 65 and older. Dr. Meurer’s program intends to increase the body of research in this field by training medical students who may choose to become injury prevention scholars. Students will spend 12 summer weeks between their first and second years with faculty members conducting research projects. Trainees in the program will also have the opportunity to continue their research through ongoing mentorship and a research honors track.

The training program will be based in the Medical College of Wisconsin’s National Injury Research Center, which is funded by the CDC.

Preventing injuries is a significant objective of Healthy People 2020. This project will support that goal by facilitating an interest in medical students that may produce clinician-scientists with the skills and understanding necessary to advance the field and prevent harm in a steadily aging population.