Welcome to the University of Michigan Injury Research Center (UMIRC)

The University of Michigan Injury Research Center (UMIRC) was established in July, 1997. Since then, the center has seen an expansion of its research activities. The center is based in the Department of Emergency Medicine and is comprised of core and associate faculty from the Departments of Emergency Medicine, Surgery, Orthopedic Surgery, and Pediatrics and communicable diseases. The Center’s multidisciplinary approach to injury will generate knowledge that can be used to reduce the injury burden.

Injury is the leading cause of potential years of life lost and unintentional injury in particular is the fifth leading cause of death in the United States, at a cost to society in hundreds of billions of dollars. The goal of the UMIRC is to decrease injury morbidity and mortality by generating and disseminating knowledge, conducting and promoting education, and informing policy makers. This will be accomplished through research, education, mentoring programs, and by working with and informing local, state, and federal agencies.

UMIRC is engaged in epidemiologic and clinical research. Current research addresses both unintentional and intentional injury prevention including: motor vehicle injury and prevention, interpersonal violence, the role of hormones in injury and repair of tissue, and alcohol and other substance abuse related injury. Many of UMIRC projects focus specifically on pediatric injury. The University of Michigan is part of the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network (PECARN). UMIRC aims to educate medical students and residents and research fellows on practice and theory of injury prevention and research.