COBRE Center Spotlight: The Injury Prevention Center at Rhode Island Hospital

Director: Michael J. Mello MD, MPH

What is something that the city in which your organization/center is located is known for? 
Providence is known for its amazing restaurants.

What is/are the primary injury topics your organization/center addresses?
We have a diverse portfolio of injury topics, both intentional and unintentional injury,  that we address through research on prevention, optimal treatment, and rehabilitation across the lifespan.

Please tell us a bit about the injury work that is being done at your organization/center.
The Injury Prevention Center has a tripart mission of community outreach, education, and injury control research. Our community outreach currently has a strong focus on child passenger safety and we host 40-50 child passenger safety community events each year. Our research is concentrated within our Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) that is funded through the National Institute of General Medical Science at NIH. The mission of the COBRE is to support and train early career faculty to become independently funded injury control researchers.

Are there opportunities in which students or faculty can connect with your organization/center (i.e. training or outreach opportunities)?
We work with students in our community outreach programs as well as through mentorship of their thesis research projects. We engage early career faculty through our COBRE and support their training and development to be injury control researchers. We connect them with senior research faculty to mentor them. We also have been providing child passenger safety training to our community partners several times per year for the last two decades.

Is there anything your organization/center needs that a SAVIR member or center could collaborate with you on?
We are always looking for like-minded organizations wishing to collaborate in helping us achieve our mission.

How is your organization/center involved with SAVIR (i.e. past/future conference site, board/committee members)?
Our center has been a member of SAVIR’s Council of Centers since its inception with Dr. Mello being the original chair of the Council. We also have our center members that have served on the SAVIR Board and SAVIR committees. We are proud to be the host city for the 2026 SAVIR national conference!

Tell us about a fun tradition or activity you do as an organization/center.
Our staff does team building events once or twice per year, with our most recent one being a fun event at an escape room.

Is there anything else you would like to share with SAVIR members about your organization/center? 
We have our IPC website but also a more detailed site describing our COBRE.
– Injury Prevention Center at Rhode Island Hospital/Hasbro Children’s Hospital
– Rhode Island Hospital Injury Control COBRE

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