CIRCL was established in July 1992. In September, 1995 we became one of 13 centers in the country to receive official designation as an Injury Control Research Center by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

1992

The University of Pittsburgh has an extensive history of research and clinical service related to prehospital emergency medical services, trauma systems, critical care medicine, and neurotrauma. In July, 1992 the University formally established the Center for Injury Research and Control (CIRCL) under the leadership of Jeff Coben, MD, in the Department of Emergency Medicine. The impetus for establishing the Center came from the Health Sciences sector in recognition of the large public health burden caused by injuries in the region and the United States. The goal of the Center was to coordinate injury control research, education, information gathering and dissemination, and public service. Thereafter, a small but spirited cadre of Center faculty and staff successfully established collaborative relationships with local and state health departments and garnered substantial extramural support.

1995

In 1995, CIRCL was awarded a three-year “feasibility” Center grant from the Centers for Disease Control with “Acute Care: Systems, Solutions, and Savings” as its theme. In adopting this theme, the Center was responding to “Injury Control in the 1990's: A National Plan for Action.” The Center conducted several research and service projects including:

• A comprehensive report of the incidence of injuries in Allegheny County.
• A project on therapeutic moderate hypothermia for patients with severe traumatic brain injury.

1997-1998

In May 1997, Donald Marion, MD was appointed as the new Center Director. Dr. Marion’s goal was to assure the conduct of high-quality research accomplished through multi-disciplinary efforts. In the 1998 CDC Center renewal (CR310285), Dr. Marion maintained support for ongoing CIRCL research and brought together new investigators:

• C. Edward Dixon, PhD, Department of Neurosurgery, led a project involving the PET scan evaluation of dopamine / acetylcholine systems during rehabilitation from Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), intended to accelerate recovery of function following TBI.
• Patrick M. Kochanek, MD, Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, led a project looking at the characteristics of quinolinic acid that is produced in the brain after severe head injury in adults and children.
• Thomas Songer, PhD, Department of Epidemiology, looked at the medical costs of child abuse.

2002-2007

In November 2002, Dr. Marion resigned and Hank Weiss, PhD, MPH was appointed by the vice-chancellor of the health sciences as the new director. Dr. Weiss maintained support for ongoing CIRCL research and brought together the following investigators.

• Patrick M. Kochanek, MD, Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, led a project titled "Improving the Diagnosis and Prognosis of Inflicted Head Trauma in Infants".
• Amy Wagner, MD, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, led the following project: "The Impact of Neuroendocrine Hormones & Pathophysiology & Outcomes After TBI".

• Hank Weiss, PhD, MPH, Director of the Center for Injury Research and Control and Associate Professor in the Department of Neurological Surgery directed a project titled "The Impact of Pregnancy-Associated Crashes on Birth Outcomes and Infant Survival".

• Anthony Fabio, PhD, MPH, Assistant Professor in the Department of Neurological Surgery oversaw the following project: "Why Some Generations Are More Violent Than Others: A Contextual Developmental Model for Understanding Crime Trends".

2008

In February 2008, Dr. Weiss stepped down as the director of the center, and  P. David Adelson, MD, took over as center director and Anthony Fabio, PhD, MPH, as associate director. In December of 2008, Dr. Adelson accepted a position at Phoenix Children’s Hospital as chief of pediatric neurosurgery and director of the Children’s Neuroscience Institute. Arthur Levine, MD, university senior vice-chancellor of the health sciences, appointed Anthony Fabio, PhD, MPH, center director and Patrick Kochanek, MD, associate director. For a listing of our current projects, please click here.