Dr. Karen Liller, a USF College of Public Health professor of community and family health, has been appointed to serve on the Board of Scientific Counselors for the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

“I have been working in injury prevention for over 25 years,” Liller commented, “and this is a great honor.”

Liller, whose term has already started and runs until August 2022, is serving at the invitation of the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Alex Azar, II.

The board is comprised of 18 voting and 17 nonvoting members and is made up of government officials, behavioral scientists, epidemiologists, statisticians, criminologists and legal and medical professionals as well as others who specialize in injury management. Liller and her colleagues will meet several times a year at the CDC in Atlanta.

According to its charter, the purpose of the board is to “conduct, encourage and cooperate with” research pertaining to the prevention and control of injuries and violence due to things like homicides, motor vehicle crashes, falls, prescription drug overdoses and other incidents.

Members are to advise the HHS secretary, the director of the CDC and the director of the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control on things such as surveillance, epidemiologic and intervention research and evidence-based strategies for injury and violence prevention.

“This is an important role because it enables us [the board] to advocate for different topics and hopefully affect policy change,” Liller said. “Between the advisory capacity of the board and its ability to recommend  approval for programs and research—both within the government and outside it—we can really make an impact on public health.   As I said earlier, this is a real honor and I am  thrilled to be a part of the board for the next several years.”

Story by Donna Campisano, USF College of Public Health