News

The Injury and Violence Prevention Center (IVPC) is pleased to announce the recipients of the Fall 2022 Injury and Violence Prevention Student Research Grants. The one-year grant awards, in the amount of $1,500 per project, were selected by a panel of center faculty from a large pool of applications submitted by students from various disciplines and schools.

The IVPC was fortunate enough to fund five projects this cycle. Below are the project titles and short bios on each student. Near the end of their one-year grant award, each student will report on their progress and findings in the center's Research2Practice webinar series. 

You can find past awardees and their projects on the IVPC website.

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Project: Extreme risk protection orders and their practical implementations in multiple states: Who petitions for them and why?

Nisha Batta
Nisha Batta is a 3rd year medical student at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. She graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles with a bachelor's degree in Psychobiology after which she earned an MS in Biotechnology from Johns Hopkins University. Alongside her partner Caitlin Robinson and with the support of the Betz lab, this grant will support their work in examining the utilization and implementation of Extreme Risk Protection Order (ERPO) laws in Colorado and the implication of ERPO laws in promoting public health, safety, and violence prevention.

Caitlin Robinson, MPH, CRA
Caitlin Robinson is a 2nd year medical student at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. She obtained her undergraduate degree in Molecular Environment Biology, Environment and Human Health from University of California, Berkeley and her masters degree in Public Health from George Washington University. She has been working in research for nearly a decade, exploring both molecular pathways of trauma and violent injury sequela in addition to epidemiological research on violence and firearm safety. Alongside her partner Nisha Batta within the Betz lab to explore Extreme Risk Protection Orders in Colorado. 

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Project: Perceptions of Community-Based Interpersonal Violence Organizations Regarding Collaborating with Students at the Colorado School of Public Health

Alyssa Dalen
Alyssa is in their final year as an MPH student at the Colorado School of Public Health on the CU Anschutz campus. Before this, Alyssa graduated from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota, where they studied Neuroscience and Biology. Alyssa is passionate about interpersonal violence prevention and response work and hopes to bring together professionals in various disciplines to address this topic.

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Project: Further Exploration of Characteristics of Homicide and Suicide Victims Experiencing Homelessness at their Time of Death

Rebecca Henkind
Rebecca is a 3rd year medical student at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. She is a researcher of health inequity, a co-founder and president of CU Street Medicine, and a previous employee of Colorado Coalition for the Homeless. She completed her undergraduate degree at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. 

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Project: Seatbelt Nonuse among Sexual and Gender Minority Adults: A Cross-Sectional Analysis

Emylia Terry
Currently, Emylia is a second-year PhD student and Graduate Research Assistant at the University of Nevada Las Vegas School of Public Health. She is interested in how laws, policies, and communication campaigns impact health outcomes and disparities, particularly among sexual and gender minority (SGM) individuals. Thanks to the IVP Student Research Grant, Emylia will focus on a research project to assess seat belt non-use among SGM adults in the U.S. Upon earning her PhD, Emylia hopes to complete her JD in order to serve as a health law specialist and advocate.

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Project: Assessment of Culturally Specific Suicide Risks in the Hispanic/LatinX Community

Ricardo Villarreal, PhD
Dr. Ricardo Villarreal is a 4th year medical student at the CU School of Medicine and part of the CU MSTP program. He began his medical research career studying cancer biology at Cornell University where he received his BS in Biology and Physiology. He then received his PhD from the department of Microbiology and Immunology at the CU School of Medicine in 2021 where he completed his thesis on neonatal infectious diseases. Ricardo has published research findings in various biomedical fields and is currently participating in clinical research investigating firearm related suicide and violence prevention within the military population in the lab of Dr. Emmy Betz. He is currently interested in developing emergency psychiatric analyses for at-risk populations including minority and military populations as part of the CU COMBAT Scholar Program.