Ginger Yang Team
Jingzhen Ginger Yang, PhD, MPH
Principal Investigator
Dr. Jingzhen (Ginger) Yang is a Principal Investigator at the Center for Injury Research and Policy, at the Abigail Wexner Research Institute, Nationwide Children’s Hospital. She is also a Professor of Pediatrics at The Ohio State University College of Medicine, with a courtesy appointment in the Department of Epidemiology at OSU's College of Public Health.
A nationally and internationally recognized leader in injury prevention, Dr. Yang has extensive expertise in designing, implementing, and evaluating behavioral interventions that translate research into real-world impact. Her work focuses on preventing injuries among children and adolescents, with current projects aimed at promoting recovery after sports-related concussions and implementing parent-based strategies to enhance teen driving safety. Her research has not only advanced scientific understanding but has also directly improved the lives of children and families by reducing the injury risks and outcomes.
Since 2005, Dr. Yang’s research has been continuously funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). She has served as Principal Investigator or Co-Investigator on more than 65 grants and currently leads five NIH R01 projects, including three randomized controlled trials evaluating parent-focused safe driving programs and a multi-site longitudinal study on teen driving performance following mild traumatic brain injury. Additionally, she leads an NIH-funded virtual reality concussion education study, serves as multi-PI on a National Science Foundation (NSF) project, and contributes as Co-I on two additional NIH R01s.Dr. Yang has authored or co-authored more than 230 peer-reviewed publications and seven book chapters. Her research employs a diverse array of rigorous methodologies - including qualitative and quantitative studies, observational designs, and randomized controlled trials - and integrates innovative technologies such as wearable sensors, in-vehicle monitoring systems, driving simulators, and machine learning and AI models. Her work has shaped public health policy, informed clinical practice, and strengthened prevention strategies worldwide.
Dr. Yang’s professional distinctions include serving on an expert consensus study committee for the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, Transportation Research Board (TRB); serving as a board member, executive committee member, and treasurer of the Society for Advancement of Violence and Injury Research (SAVIR); chairing the Big Ten/CIC–Ivy League TBI Research Collaboration Data Collection Working Group; and serving on the Major League Baseball Injury Research Committee. Her outstanding contributions to science and public health have been recognized with the American Public Health Association’s Excellence in Science Award in Injury and Violence Prevention.
ProjectDRIVE: Intervention to Improve Driving Practices Among High-Risk Teen Drivers
This R01 study, funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development at the National Institutes of Health tests, through partnership with the local Juvenile Traffic Courts, the effects of an in-vehicle driving feedback technology, with and without parent communication training, on risky driving events, unsafe driving behaviors, and subsequent traffic violations among teens drivers with a traffic violation.
ProjectDRIVE+: Adoption and Implementation of an Evidence-based Safe Driving Program for High-Risk Teen Drivers
This R01 study, funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development at the National Institutes of Health tests, in a hybrid randomized controlled trial, the implementation, effectiveness, and cost-effectiveness of the evidence-based intervention Steering Teens Safe+ tailored to the needs of high-risk rural and urban teen drivers with a traffic violation.
R2DRV: Longitudinal Assessment of Driving After Mild TBI in Teens
This multi-site R01 study, funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development at the National Institutes of Health longitudinally evaluates driving among teen drivers with an mTBI from acute post-injury to symptom resolution using high fidelity driving simulators and self-reports. It assesses the influence of increased cognitive load and underlying neurocognitive deficits on driving performance compared to matched healthy controls.
Team Members
Enas Alshaikh, PhD
Biostatistician
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Dr. Enas Alshaikh is a biostatistician in the Center for Injury Research and Policy and the Center for Perinatal Research at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, working with Dr. Ginger Yang and Dr. Sudarshan Jadcherla, respectively. She received her PhD in biostatistics from the University of Cincinnati. Dr. Alshaikh specializes in varying coefficient in semiparametric models for longitudinal data, survival analysis, and predictive modeling. She also has extensive experience in analyzing and managing large databases using both SAS and R. In her free time, she enjoys walking in the park with her kids and eating seafood.
Archana Kaur, MPH
Senior Research Associate
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Archana is a senior research associate in Dr. Ginger Yang’s lab in the Center for Injury Research and Policy. She manages an R01 (ProjectDRIVE) which focuses on improving teen driving behaviors. She received her Master of Public Health from East Carolina University in 2017. Her previous research focused on access to healthy foods in the rural population. Her current research focuses on teen driving behaviors and concussion recovery in children.
Danica Nelson
Research Assistant
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Danica is a research assistant for the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, working with Dr. Ginger Yang. She’s currently studying at The Ohio State University in a combined BSPH/MPH program, specializing in epidemiology for her MPH. She will graduate with her BSPH in Spring 2025 and her MPH in Spring 2026. Danica first became interested in injury research when Dr. Yang guest lectured in one of her classes. Originally from Columbus, Ohio, Danica enjoys spending time with friends and family, eating at restaurants, and going to football games.
Priyanka Sridharan, MPH
Research Associate
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Priyanka is a research associate in Dr. Ginger Yang’s lab in the Center for Injury Research and Policy. She received her MPH from George Washington University in 2023 and moved to Columbus right after. She is originally from India and enjoys cooking Indian cuisine, being physically active, reading books, and spending time with her family and friends.
Krista Wheeler, MS
Research Project Manager
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Krista is a research project manager in the Center for Injury Research and Policy on Dr. Ginger Yang’s team. She has an MS in preventive medicine from The Ohio State University. She has co-authored over 70 publications covering injury, trauma and burn care. She is originally from Oklahoma and enjoys reading, gardening, and spending time with her friends and family.
Alumni Staff
Christopher Rundus, PhD
Hannah Schneider, MPH
Fangda Zhang, PhD