Marshall selected as IPRC director

Dr. Steve Marshall

Stephen W. Marshall, PhD, has been named director of the UNC Injury Prevention Research Center, effective Aug. 1.

Marshall is professor of epidemiology in the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health and has an adjunct appointment in UNC’s Department of Exercise and Sport Science. He has served as interim director of the Injury Prevention Research Center (IPRC) since Aug. 1, 2011.

“Stephen Marshall has a wealth of experience in research relating to injury and violence,” said Barbara Entwisle, PhD, vice chancellor for research and Kenan Distinguished Professor of sociology. “As interim director, he has shown a great ability to lead research teams and efficiently manage center resources.”

“The IPRC means more to me than I can put into words,” Marshall said. “The center nourished me intellectually as a graduate student. I remained at UNC after graduation because the IPRC invested in my junior faculty career. I am honored to have served as interim director and am eager to invest my time and energy in the future growth and expansion of the IPRC and its activities.”

Marshall earned his doctoral degree from UNC’s Department of Epidemiology in 1998. He has been a faculty member and senior biostatistician at IPRC since 1999. Marshall’s research focuses almost exclusively on injury and violence. He has published more than 150 peer-reviewed papers addressing topics such as occupational injuries, motor vehicle injuries, military injuries, workplace violence, and the descriptive epidemiology of homicide and suicide.

Founded in 1987 by former UNC faculty members Drs. Carol Runyan and Patricia Waller, IPRC is one of 11 Centers of Excellence funded by the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, which is part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Waller directed the center from 1987 to 1989, and Runyan brought the center to national prominence during her directorship from 1989 to 2011.

IPRC contributes to the field of injury prevention and control through a combination of interdisciplinary scholarly approaches to research, intervention and evaluation. The center also trains upcoming generations of researchers and practitioners. Now in its 25th year of operation, IPRC continues to encourage change at the state, national and international level.

“UNC’s Gillings School of Global Public Health and the IPRC have a wonderful synergy,” Marshall said, “and public health faculty members have contributed a great deal to the success of the center. Going forward, the IPRC will work even more closely with the School’s faculty, administration and students on the many projects that support the mission of injury prevention.”