A Driving Force in Research

1. A Driving Force in Research Today SCIB scientists are rapidly filling gaps that remain in understanding how the human body reacts to the rapid, destructive impact of a high-speed crash. All research initiatives share a goalof significantly reducing vehicle crash-related injuries and deaths. Current research focuses on preventing injuries to the head, neck, and extremities among children and adults. Plans are under way for pioneering research on crash dummy development, computer modeling of injuries, and policies affecting the automobile industry.

2. The SCIB’s Goal . . . is to prevent catastrophic injuries and reduce the severity of injuries sustained by operators and occupants involved in motor vehicle crashes, which it is achieving through the collaborative design and conduct of cutting edge biomechanics research questions and problems that are considered high priorities by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). One of the guiding principles of the SCIB is to include highly regarded scientists from prestigious injury biomechanics research programs as much as possible in its ongoing research activities.

3. Resources and Environment: Intramural LinkagesPage 1 of 2 The SCIB was established within and exists as a prominent component of the UAB Injury Control Research Center’s infrastructure. The ICRC’s 110 member-faculty representing a broad spectrum of scientific disciplines is clearly an asset to SCIB. An example of the ICRC’s important intramural linkages is its relationship with the NIH-sponsored Multipurpose Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Disease Center where Dr. Fine is a member of both the faculty and the Executive Committee. The Director of the MAMDC, Dr. Robert Kimberly, an internationally known expert in rheumatology and musculoskeletal disorders, is a member of the ICRC’s Center Management Committee. To the best of our knowledge, this relationship is unlike any other in the national network of CDC-supported ICRCs and NIH-supported MAMDCs.

4. Resources and Environment: Intramural LinkagesPage 2 of 2 The relationship between the ICRC and the MAMDC has significantly extended the research capacities of the ICRC while providing the MAMDC with a unique musculoskeletal injury research environment complemented by the essential disciplines of epidemiology and biomechanics. For example, in 1995 Dr. Renate Gay, a faculty member of MAMDC and of ICRC, received an R01 award from the NCIPC for a study entitled "Cartilage Marker Detection in Traumatic Knee Injury." Dr. Fine was a co-investigator on that research team. Other intramural linkages include excellent working relationships with the CDC-sponsored Center for Health Promotion, the Center for Metabolic Bone Disease (CMBD) and the Biomedical Implant Center (BIC). The CMBD and the BIC exist to address current research questions related to bone. Dr. Fine serves on the core faculty of both Centers. The ICRC also has linkages with The Southeast Child Safety Institute (SECSI) located on the UAB-campus at The Children’s Hospital of Alabama.

5. Vision for the Future National interest in becoming part of the Southern Consortium for Injury Biomechanics at the University of Alabama’s Injury Control Research Center is broad-based and enthusiastic. The Consortium’s highly innovative and demonstratably cost-effective approach to preventing vehicle-related injuries and deaths-fusing scientists from historically competing settings into collaborating teams focusing their collective efforts on the most important problems, instead of the current model that pits them against one another is the only approach that makes sense today given the extremely limited resources available for this much-needed research. In practical terms, the financial return on investment in injury prevention will exceed hundreds of millions of dollars, thereby providing an extremely high cost –benefit ratio. The return on investment in ‘human’ terms is incalculable. Simply put, it is our opinion that the Consortium is very likely the most important motor vehicle injury prevention and control research concept ever proposed and implemented by a group of scientists, engineers, and physicians committed to working cooperatively as opposed to competitively.

6. Russ Fine, PhD, MSPHDirector & Principal Investigator, The Southern Consortium for Injury Biomechanics Dr. Fine joined the UAB Department of Rehabilitation Medicine in early 1975. During his tenure there he served as director of research and scientific affairs, focusing on spinal cord injury rehabilitation and the collection and statistical analysis of nationwide spinal cord injury data. In 1988, Dr. Fine was appointed professor of medicine in the UAB Department of Medicine’s Division of Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology. He also holds an appointment in the UAB School of Public Health’s Department of Health Care Organization and Policy. Dr. Fine has numerous professional affiliations, including the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine, the World Federation of Neurology, and the New York Academy of Sciences. Furthermore, he was chairman of the Governor’s Task Force on Drunk Driving for the state of Alabama and was cofounder of Mothers Against Drunk Driving in Alabama, of which he served as president in Jefferson County from 1984 to 1986. Dr. Fine has authored or co-authored more than 100 contributions to scientific literature and numerous funded and peer-reviewed scientific research grants that have brought more than $43 million to UAB since his arrival in 1975. • Dr. Fine, an injury epidemiologist by training, is the founding director and principal investigator of the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Injury Control Research Center (UAB ICRC) and the Southern Consortium for Injury Biomechanics (SCIB). He is a graduate of Southern Illinois University, the University of Missouri Medical Center, and the University of Oklahoma Medical Center. He has experience in many areas of injury, from investigating aviation crash sites for the Federal Aviation Administration to establishing and directing a statewide pediatric lead poisoning program in Illinois.

7. Jay Goldman, DSc, MS, PEAssistant Director,The Southern Consortium for Injury Biomechanics His research and teaching interests over the years have focused on administrative organization and system design for productivity and quality enhancement in the manufacturing and service industries, the design of man-machine work systems, measuring human performance, and exploring human factors in engineering. Dr. Goldman currently serves as an ICRC assistant director and the director of the Prevention and Biomechanics Core. He has authored or coauthored 75 technical publications, presented some 100 technical presentations, and contributed to numerous textbooks during his career. Due to his comprehensive knowledge of the field of engineering and biomechanics, he has been a consultant to 35 local and national organizations as well as to the United States government. Dr. Goldman is a member of the American Society for Engineering Education and a life member of the Institute of Industrial Engineers, the National Society of Professional Engineers and several other organizations. He has held membership on 36 federal, state, and university national advisory panels and study sections. • Dr. Goldman is a graduate of Duke University, Michigan State University, and Washington University in St. Louis. He is dean emeritus of the UAB School of Engineering, where he has been a professor since 1984. Prior to affiliating with UAB, Dr. Goldman was a professor and chairman of the Department of Industrial Engineering at the University of Missouri at Columbia, in addition to being a professor of bioengineering at UMC.

8. Barry Myers, MD, PhDAssistant Director,The Southern Consortium for Injury Biomechanics Dr. Myers’ research examines the biomechanics of head impact neck injury with the goal of injury prevention. He is considered by many as the preeminent researcher in this field worldwide, having over 100 manuscripts and publications on the subject. Among Dr. Myers’ many honors are the Stapp Award of Recognition and the Isbrandt Award for automotive safety from the Society of Automotive Engineers. He is a six-time winner of the Stapp Award for research in impact biomechanics, more than any other individual, and also a winner of the Bertil Aldman award for impact biomechanics research. Dr. Myers has worked with all major organizations concerned with safety in the United States, including the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Consumer Product Safety Commission and the National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment. He is also a recently elected fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering. Because of his breadth of experience in injury prevention, Dr. Myers was appointed to the position of Senior Scientific Advisor to the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control for two years. He has also consulted with most major automobile manufacturers and automotive racing organizations worldwide. Dr. Myers is also a highly regarded educator. He is a Distinguished Professor at Duke University, having received the Bass Chair in recognition of his accomplishments in research and teaching. He is the faculty advisor to four student best graduate student paper competition winners at national meetings. He was responsible for the revision of the Pratt School of Engineering undergraduate curriculum implemented in 2004. He has served as Director of Undergraduate Studies and is currently Director of Graduate Studies for the Department of Biomedical Engineering. • Barry S. Myers, M.D., Ph.D. is the Anderson-Rupp Professor and Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Duke University. Dr. Myers has secondary appointment in Orthopaedic Surgery and Biological Anthropology and Anatomy. Born in Canada, Dr. Myers received his undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Toronto prior to attending Duke University, where he received an M.D. and a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering in 1991.