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 20 years of experience teaching medical students and residents, and is co-director of the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University's community health clerkship. He is an associate professor in the department of emergency medicine and community health at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University.

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.

James 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 for several IPC research projects. 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, CCRP
Bromberg is senior clinical research assistant at the Injury Prevention Center. Currently she is project manager for IPC. She 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.

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.

Andrea Cheli
Andrea Cheli graduated from Rhode Island College with a BA in Psychology. She has plans to return to school for her doctorate, with an emphasis in family dynamics and structures. She is currently a research assistant with the RYDD program.

Courtney Tanguay
Courtney Tanguay serves as the Program Coordinator for the Injury Prevention Center at Rhode Island Hospital. She coordinates the Injury Free Coalition for Kids of Providence, Safe Kids, and Kohl’s Cares Car Seat Check programs. Courtney earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics from the University of Miami, with an emphasis on education and psychology. During her undergraduate studies, she had the opportunity to work as a student assistant at the Injury Free Coalition for Kids site in Miami. Upon graduation, her passion for injury prevention and community-based work earned her a position at the Injury Free Coalition site in her hometown of Providence, RI. Through her community outreach and education efforts, Courtney hopes to prevent unintentional childhood injuries and ultimately save lives.

Sonia Amaral
Sonia serves as the program assistant at the Injury Prevention Center at Rhode Island Hospital. She works with the program coordinator on the center’s community outreach programs. She is fluent in Spanish and will be the source of contact for the Spanish-speaking community.