Injury Prevention Center

Michael Mello, MD, MPH
The Injury Prevention Center's director is Michael Mello, MD, MPH. He is a principal investigator on projects funded by the CDC National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety and Rhode Island Department of Transportation. Mello is also a practicing physician with the University Emergency Medicine Foundation and former president of Rhode Island chapter of the American College of Emergency Physicians. Mello has 15 years of experience teaching medical students and residents, and is co-director of Brown Medical School's community health clerkship. He is an assistant professor in the department of emergency medicine at Brown Medical School.

Ted Nirenberg, PhD
Ted Nirenberg, PhD, is prinicipal investigator for the RYDD Project and co-principal investigator of IFCK of Providence, associate professor of psychiatry and human behavior at Brown Medical School, and faculty member of the Brown University Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies. He served for ten years as editor of the Journal of Substance Abuse, and has published more than 70 articles and four books on the assessment, treatment and prevention of substance abuse. Nirenberg's research has been funded by the Veterans Administration, Rhode Island Division of Substance Abuse, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, and DuPont Merck Pharmaceutical Company, among others.

Lynne Palmisciano, MD
Lynne Palmisciano, MD, is co-principal investigator of Injury Free Coalition for Kids of Providence as well as a specialist in pediatric emergency medicine and an attending physician in Hasbro Children Hospital's emergency department. Palmisciano is also a clinical instructor in pediatrics at Brown Medical School. She teaches and mentors fellows and residents in pediatric and emergency medicine. Her research projects include a program to place toy recall posters in pediatricians' offices, scooter injuries and EMS protocols.

Jame Linakis, MD, PhD, IPC Researcher
James Linakis, MD is currently associate professor of emergency medicine and pediatrics at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown Unviersity and associate director of pediatric emergency medicine at Hasbro Children's Hospital. He attended University of Oregon Health Sciences Center where he received a PhD in medical biopsychology and Yale University School of Medicine where he received his medical degree. Linakis completed a residency in pediatrics at Yale-New Haven Hospital and a combined fellowship in pediatric emergency medicine and toxicology at Children's Hospital in Boston. He has conducted research in the areas of toxicology and injury prevention and in healthcare delivery.

Janette Baird, PhD
Janette Baird, PhD is the project manager of Project REDUCE. Baird has a PhD in experimental psychology and is interested in behavior change research. She is an assistant porfessor of emergency medicine (research) at Brown Medical School.

Julie Bromberg, MPH
Bromberg is senior clinical research assistant at the Injury Prevention Center.  Currently she participates in grant writing and community project management at the Center.  Julie holds a masters degree in public health and a bachelors in anthropology. 

 Megan Ranney, MD
Ranney is an attending emergency physician at Rhode Island Hospital and The Miriam Hospital as well as the inaugural Injury Prevention Research Fellow.  Her primary areas of interest include motorcycle safety and prevention of injuries from youth violence.  She has also spent significant amounts of time working in Kenya on sexual assault and domestic violence prevention efforts.

Aemi Tiemo Ojeikere
Ojeikere is a clinical interventionist for Project ACT, an emergency department intervention conducted in partnership with Brown University. Ojeikere holds a bachelor of science degree in biological science from the University of Rhode Island.

Andrea Richardson
Richardson is the RI Safe Kids coordinator and Kohl’s Cares Car Seat Check Program coordinator at the Injury Prevention Center.  Richardson is a certified child passenger safety instructor and serves as one of the state’s leader in child passenger safety.

Melody Los
Melody Los is an interventionist for the Reducing Youthful Dangerous Driving and Reducing Offenses in Adolescent Drivers programs. Los holds an masters in psychology (marriage and family therapy) and a bachelors degree in social science from California State University, Chico. Her interests include meditation and stress reduction.

 Emily Hinchey
Hinchey received her bachelors degree in political science with minors in Spanish and biology from Wake Forest University. She is a senior clinical research assistant at the Injury Prevention Center and serves as the coordinator for the Reducing Youthful Dangerous Driving and Reducing Offenses in Adolescent Drivers programs.

Pedro Avila-Medina
Avila-Medina is a program assistant at the Injury Prevention Center.  Avila assists with the Kohl’s Cares Car Seat Check Program and is a certified child passenger safety technician.