Ongoing Seed Funding Projects

Principal Investigators

• Jessica Leigh Hamilton, PhD (Rutgers–New Brunswick School of Arts and Sciences; Psychology);
• Daniel Charles Semenza, PhD (Rutgers–Camden Faculty of Arts and Sciences; Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminal Justice; Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences School of Public Health; Urban-Global Health)

Co-Investigators

• Paul Boxer, PhD (Rutgers–Newark School of Arts and Sciences-Newark; Psychology)
• Jeffrey Lane, PhD (Rutgers–New Brunswick School of Communication and Information; Communication)
• Linda Oshin, PhD (Rutgers–New Brunswick Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology; Clinical Psychology)

Youth are exposed to an alarming amount of gun violence in their homes, schools, communities, and media. The prevalence and ubiquity of smartphones and social media also have increased potential exposure to gun violence among youth in the United States. This study aims to evaluate the nature and impact of gun violence on youth mental health. The study team includes investigators across Rutgers campuses (New Brunswick, Camden, Newark), career stages, and departments of psychology, criminal justice, and communication. First, focus groups with adolescents (N = 20) will be conducted to better understand the nature of gun-related violence on social media. Second, the study team will investigate the frequency of gun violence exposure on social media, and whether it is associated with mental health problems concurrently and three months later using a survey design with 500 adolescents nationwide. Third, we will then evaluate these relationships with a subset of adolescents (N = 50) on a daily basis using intensive monitoring approaches of ecological momentary assessment and smartphone sensing. Findings have the potential to inform policy, education, and research conducted on the far-reaching effects of gun violence on youth across the United States.

Principal Investigators

• Evan Kleiman, PhD (Rutgers–New Brunswick School of Arts and Sciences; Psychology)
• Shireen Rizvi, PhD (Rutgers–New Brunswick Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology; Clinical Psychology);
• Paul Duberstein, PhD (Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences; Health Behavior, Society and Policy)

Co-Investigator

• Andrew Falzon, MD (Chief State Medical Examiner for the State of New Jersey; Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences; Pathology & Laboratory Medicine)

Someone dies by suicide via firearm every other day in New Jersey. The aim of this grant is to better characterize suicides in New Jersey through a collaboration between the Rutgers Suicide Prevention and Research Center (SPARC) and the New Jersey Office of the Chief State Medical Examiner (OCSME). We will conduct two projects. The first project involves coding existing data from death records. We will use established methods to code life stressors (e.g., death of a partner, recent police involvement, domestic violence) prior to suicide. We will compare stressors prior to firearm suicide with stressors prior to suicide by other means (hanging, overdose, etc.). Second, we will train members of our team to conduct psychological autopsies on those who die by suicide in NJ. Team members will conduct structured interviews with family members and friends of individuals who died by suicide. The aim of this project is to increase awareness of the importance of psychological autopsies as part of the work-up of suspected suicides, and to promote its use in the Medical Examiner community in New Jersey. In turn, this will help us gain unparalleled insight into the factors that may contribute to deaths by suicide within our state.

*Please note that this project has been partially funded by the New Jersey Gun Violence Research Center.

Principal Investigators

• Valerie Tutwiler, PhD (Rutgers–New Brunswick School of Engineering; Biomedical Engineering)
• Joseph Hanna, MD, PhD, FACS (Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences Robert Wood Johnson Medical School; Surgery Critical Care)

Trauma is the leading cause of death of young healthy people worldwide, with over 40,000 of these deaths occurring due to gunshot injuries. Coagulopathy, or impaired blood coagulation, is common after trauma and is associated with a 4-fold increased risk of death. Coagulopathy contributes to early death from acute bleeding and also increases risk of later death from delayed complications. However, it is not known how injury type influences early coagulopathy phenotype and how that interplays with prolonged inflammation and mortality after gunshot injuries. We will examine blood clotting and mechanics from patients admitted to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital with traumatic injuries including gunshot victims. Using these patient sample profiles as a guide, we will develop an in vitro model of coagulation following gunshot injury. This will be utilized to test the efficacy of treatments and guide clinical care.

Principal Investigators

• Rachel Choron, MD, FACS (Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences; Robert Wood Johnson Medical School Surgery)
• Chiara Sabina, PhD, MA (Rutgers–New Brunswick School of Social Work; Social Work)

Co-Investigators

• Elaine Hewins, CSW, DVS (Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital)
• Nazsa S. Baker, PhD, MA (Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences; NJ Gun Violence Research Center; School of Public Health)
• Jennifer Geller (Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences; Medical Student)
• Diana Starace, BS (Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences; Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital)
• Amanda Teichman, MD, FACS (Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences; Robert Wood Johnson Medical School Surgery)
• Zachary Englert, DO, FACS (Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences; Robert Wood Johnson Medical School Surgery)

The greatest burden of firearm violence falls upon young men, specifically in the Black and Hispanic communities. These gun violence survivors are an underserved population and it has only recently been recognized that additional medical/surgical, socioeconomic, and mental health supports are desperately needed and desired beyond inpatient care following discharge from the hospital. Therefore, the aim of this project is to establish the Rutgers Gun Violence Care Center (RGVCC) which involves extensive collaboration among surgeons, interventionalists, primary care practitioners, behavior health specialists, and Hospital Violence Intervention Program social workers to provide better clinical outpatient care and improve socioeconomic and mental health resources to survivors. A RWJ medical student will be dedicating a year to fill the role of clinical navigator and researcher; she will coordinate the multidisciplinary collaboration and research efforts. The RGVCC impact and proof of concept will be studied by assessing patient follow up and long-term outcomes among patients utilizing the RGVCC compared to those who did not prior to RGVCC initiation. Additionally, the psychology of violence and complex trauma symptoms experienced by survivors will be evaluated to gain better insight into the psychological, cognitive, and behavioral functioning of the survivors to ultimately provide better trauma informed care.