Our Team
The Injury and Violence Prevention Center is a collaborative research center between the Colorado School of Public Health and the University of Colorado (CU) School of Medicine.
The center is located at the CU Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora, Colorado, which is the largest academic health sciences campus in the Rocky Mountain region. The campus is home to six health professional schools and nationally ranked partner hospitals, research centers, and academic programs. This community of neighbors provides an ideal environment for collaboration and cultural innovation.
Our innovative, interconnected, and highly collaborative approach is at the forefront of advancing research, education, professional training, and community outreach. This makes the Injury and Violence Prevention Center a significant contributor to improving community health outcomes in the Rocky Mountain region.
Administrative Leadership Team
Dawn Comstock PhD
Adjunct Professor
- Department of Epidemiology
- Injury & Violence Prevention Center
Dr. Comstock’s research focus is the epidemiology of injury among the physically active, specifically the study of sports, recreation, and leisure activity-related injuries among children and adolescents as well as the life-long health benefits associated with an active childhood. Dr. Comstock believes that to combat the epidemic of obesity in our country children must be encouraged to get up off the couch and participate in physically active sports, recreation, and leisure activities. However, a certain endemic level of injury can be expected in any physical activity. The challenge is to monitor injury trends through surveillance; to investigate the etiology of preventable injuries; to develop, implement, and evaluate protective interventions; and to responsibly report epidemiologic findings of injury research while promoting a physically active lifestyle for children and adolescents.
In 2014, Dr. Comstock was one of five experts invited by the White House to speak at the Healthy Kids and Safe Sports Concussion Summit to address the growing risk of concussions in adolescent sports. In 2017, she accepted an invitation to serve on the Board of Scientific Counselors for the CDC's National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC). The board advises the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, the Director of the CDC, and the Director of NCIPC about surveillance, basic epidemiologic research, intervention research, and implementation, dissemination, and evaluation of promising and evidence-based strategies for the prevention of injury and violence.
Education, Licensure & Certifications
- PhD, Public Health Epidemiology, University of California San Diego/San Diego State University
- MS, Epidemiology, University of Iowa
- BS, Microbiology, Colorado State University
Dr. Comstock’s research focus is the epidemiology of injury among the physically active, specifically the study of sports, recreation, and leisure activity-related injuries among children and adolescents as well as the life-long health benefits associated with an active childhood. Dr. Comstock believes that to combat the epidemic of obesity in our country children must be encouraged to get up off the couch and participate in physically active sports, recreation, and leisure activities. However, a certain endemic level of injury can be expected in any physical activity. The challenge is to monitor injury trends through surveillance; to investigate the etiology of preventable injuries; to develop, implement, and evaluate protective interventions; and to responsibly report epidemiologic findings of injury research while promoting a physically active lifestyle for children and adolescents.
In 2014, Dr. Comstock was one of five experts invited by the White House to speak at the Healthy Kids and Safe Sports Concussion Summit to address the growing risk of concussions in adolescent sports. In 2017, she accepted an invitation to serve on the Board of Scientific Counselors for the CDC's National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC). The board advises the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, the Director of the CDC, and the Director of NCIPC about surveillance, basic epidemiologic research, intervention research, and implementation, dissemination, and evaluation of promising and evidence-based strategies for the prevention of injury and violence.
Education, Licensure & Certifications
- PhD, Public Health Epidemiology, University of California San Diego/San Diego State University
- MS, Epidemiology, University of Iowa
- BS, Microbiology, Colorado State University
Core Faculty
Our core faculty and affiliates come from across the University of Colorado system, including the CU Anschutz and CU Denver campuses. Our faculty dedicates a portion of their time to addressing injury or violence prevention topics.
Their interdisciplinary expertise represents multiple disciplines related to injury research, policy, and practice.
Dawn Comstock PhD
Adjunct Professor
- Department of Epidemiology
- Injury & Violence Prevention Center
Dr. Comstock’s research focus is the epidemiology of injury among the physically active, specifically the study of sports, recreation, and leisure activity-related injuries among children and adolescents as well as the life-long health benefits associated with an active childhood. Dr. Comstock believes that to combat the epidemic of obesity in our country children must be encouraged to get up off the couch and participate in physically active sports, recreation, and leisure activities. However, a certain endemic level of injury can be expected in any physical activity. The challenge is to monitor injury trends through surveillance; to investigate the etiology of preventable injuries; to develop, implement, and evaluate protective interventions; and to responsibly report epidemiologic findings of injury research while promoting a physically active lifestyle for children and adolescents.
In 2014, Dr. Comstock was one of five experts invited by the White House to speak at the Healthy Kids and Safe Sports Concussion Summit to address the growing risk of concussions in adolescent sports. In 2017, she accepted an invitation to serve on the Board of Scientific Counselors for the CDC's National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC). The board advises the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, the Director of the CDC, and the Director of NCIPC about surveillance, basic epidemiologic research, intervention research, and implementation, dissemination, and evaluation of promising and evidence-based strategies for the prevention of injury and violence.
Education, Licensure & Certifications
- PhD, Public Health Epidemiology, University of California San Diego/San Diego State University
- MS, Epidemiology, University of Iowa
- BS, Microbiology, Colorado State University