Dr. DiGuiseppi’s research interests include the epidemiology of injuries and autism spectrum disorder. She is a principal investigator in the CDC-funded multi-site Study to Explore Early Development and collaborates on NIH-funded studies of older adult driving decision-making and mortality in autism. Current research is examining cannabis use in pregnancy and child behavioral outcomes, and cannabis use in older drivers. She is also Professor of Pediatrics and serves as Director of Evidence-Based Medicine in the School of Medicine. In her prior role as Associate Dean for Faculty, Dr. DiGuiseppi led efforts to improve recruitment of diverse faculty and worked to evaluate and promote salary equity in the school; collaborated with the Faculty Senate to update Faculty Bylaws; developed the school’s professionalism statement and established and led the professionalism committee; developed promotion standards for research associates and instructors; and implemented faculty educational sessions. Before joining the University of Colorado in 2000, she was a senior research fellow at the Institute of Child Health, University College London, senior health policy analyst at the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and project director for the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, US DHHS Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. She is on the editorial boards of Injury Prevention and Injury Epidemiology and the Board of Governors of American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
Areas of Expertise
- Epidemiology of motor vehicle crashes and injuries
- Older driver safety and mobility
- Injuries and violence in autism spectrum disorder
- Cannabis use in pregnancy
- Family navigation to promote screening for autism
Education, Licensure & Certifications
- PhD, Paediatric Epidemiology, University College London, 2002
- MD, University of Virginia, 1983
- MPH, University of Washington, 1988
Awards
- Excellence in Research Award, ColoradoSPH, 2012; Delta Omega Honorary Society in Public Health, ColoradoSPH, 2012
- Elizabeth & Sidney Licht Award for Excellence in Scientific Writing, Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 2010
- President's Diversity Award, University of Colorado, 2009
- Chancellor’s Diversity Recognition Award for Faculty Leadership, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, 2009
- Excellence in Teaching Award, Department of Preventive Medicine & Biometrics, University of Colorado School of Medicine, 2003
- Special Recognition Award (Group), U.S. Public Health Service, 1995
- Special Recognition Award (Individual), U.S. Public Health Service, 1994
- Golden Apple Teaching Award, Department of Pediatric Medicine, Children’s National Medical Center, Washington, DC, 1990
Affiliations
- Director of Evidence-Based Medicine, CU School of Medicine
- Treasurer, Board of Governors, American Journal of Preventive Medicine (AJPM) and AJPM Focus
- Member, Editorial Board, Injury Epidemiology
- Member, Editorial Board, Injury Prevention
- Member, Steering Committee, FORWARD (Fragile X Online Registry with Accessible Research Database) Consortium
- Member, Cochrane US Rocky Mountains Affiliate Center, Cochrane US Network
- Fellow, American Academy of Pediatrics
- Fellow, American College of Preventive Medicine
Courses
- EPID 6637: Injury and Violence Epidemiology and Prevention
- EPID 6646: Introduction to Systematic Reviews
Research
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Colorado Study to Explore Early Development Follow-Up Studies. July 2021-June 2026. Role: Principal Investigator (PI).
- National Institute of Child Health & Human Development, Mortality in Autism. September 2023 - August 2027. Role: Co-Investigator (Co-I).
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Characterizing the Natural History of Fragile X Syndrome to Inform the Development of Intervention & Outcome Measures. September 2021 - August 2026. Role: Co-I.
- National Institute on Aging, Decision Making Among Older Adults: the AUTO study. April 2019 - March 2024. Role: Co-I.
- AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, Longitudinal Research on Aging Drivers (LongROAD). March 2019 - December 2022. Role: MPI.
Publications and Presentations
- DiGuiseppi C, Johnson RL, Betz ME, Hill LL, Eby DW, Jones VC, Mielenz TJ, Molnar LJ, Strogatz D, Li G. Migraine headaches are associated with motor vehicle crashes and driving habits among older drivers: prospective cohort study. J Am Geriatr Soc 2023. DOI: 10.1111/jgs.18719. Online ahead of print
- Edwards PJ, Roberts I, Clarke MJ, DiGuiseppi C, Woolf B, Perkins C. Methods to increase response to postal and electronic questionnaires. Cochrane Database Syst Rev TBD, Issue TBD. Art. No.: MR000008. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.MR000008.pub5. Online ahead of print
- Fenton L, Han SD, DiGuiseppi CG, Fowler NR, Hill L, Johnson RL, Knoepke CE, Matlock DD, Moran R, Karlawish J, Betz ME. Mild cognitive impairment is associated with poorer everyday decision making. J Alzheimers Dis 2023;94(4):1607-1615. Doi: 10.3233/JAD-230222
- Hightshoe K, Gutiérrez-Raghunath S, Tomcho M, Robinson Rosenberg C, Rosenberg S, Dooling-Litfin J, Cordova J, Colborn K, DiGuiseppi C. Barriers to referral and evaluation and family navigation implementation among disadvantaged families of young children screening positive for autism spectrum disorder. Fam Syst Health 2023;41(3):342-357
- Liu Y, Chihuri C, Mielenz T, Andrews H, Betz M, DiGuiseppi C, Eby D, Hill L, Jones V, Molnar L, Strogatz D, Li G. Excess crash risk associated with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder in older adult drivers. JAMA Netw Open 2023;6(10):e2336960. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.36960.