Translational Research Team
Tracy Mehan, MA
Director of Research Translation and Communication
Tracy leads the Translational Research team for the Center for Injury Research and Policy bringing close to 30 years of experience in communications, health education, marketing, and research to her role.
Her professional interests center on the effective communication of injury prevention messages and teaching others how to translate their research for non-scientific audiences. In addition, she often serves as an injury prevention expert for mainstream media appearing in print, online, and on-air on such outlets as The Today Show, USA Today, CNN, the New York Times, and the Washington Post.
Tracy has a BA in Psychology from Princeton University, a Masters in Communication from the Annenberg School of Communication at the University of Pennsylvania, and is currently working on a PhD in Health Behavior, Health Promotion in the College of Public Health at the Ohio State University.
CIRTC is an outreach and training project run by the translational team at the Center for Injury Research and Policy and works to achieve better health outcomes by expanding communications skills and capacity in public health researchers and program professionals. CIRTC offers databases of trainings and resources on topics like health literacy and plain language, visuals and graphic design, presentations, and accessibility as well as connections to the health communications community and related fields. Learn more here.
Prevent Child Injury is a coalition of child injury professionals and advocates who coordinate injury prevention messages at the national level. Every year, Prevent Child Injury identifies relevant injury topics and assembles toolkits of trusted resources and outreach materials. Each toolkit is released to support a week-long campaign to raise awareness and help members provide parents and caregivers with clear, concise messaging and practical safety tips. Learn more here.
Trainees for Child Injury Prevention (T4CIP) is a group of pediatric fellows, residents, and medical students from across the country committed to pediatric child injury prevention that develops outreach materials and strategies for one-day national advocacy campaigns. T4CIP is sponsored by the Center for Injury Research and Policy in Columbus, Ohio, and the American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Pediatric Trainees and Council on Injury, Violence, and Poison Prevention and is supported, in part, by funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Learn more here.
Virtual Media Institute
Let the media experts at the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital show you how to:
- Work with the media and adapt to an ever-changing environment
- Pitch your story so it is newsworthy and attractive to a media outlet
- Connect with the audience you want and create an outreach plan
- Master your message and prepare for a media interview
- Choose which social media channel(s) to use
- Plan social media posts, create messaging, goals, and track engagement
The Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital typically hosts workshops for public health professionals each year. The workshop presenters have been featured in media outlets around the world and have created local and national outreach campaigns. Their expertise includes behind-the-scenes media planning, on-air interviews, working with reporters, and using social media for public health. For the latest on media trainings, please click here.
Internships
The Translational Research Team also offers an internship for undergraduate and graduate students. For more information on the Health Communication and Health Promotion Internship/Practicum, please click here.
Team Members
Katrina Boylan, JD
Senior Research Writer
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Katrina Boylan is a senior research writer in the Center for Injury Research and Policy. She develops messaging and outreach strategies for child injury prevention campaigns as well as education and training on public health and research communications. She loves to work with researchers, staff, students, and others to find the best way to reach their communication goals. Katrina has a BA in English from The Ohio State University and a Juris Doctor from Capital University and worked in state government, healthcare administration, and private law before coming to NCH.
Laura Dattner, MA
Research Writer
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Laura Dattner is a research writer in the Center for Injury Research and Policy. She earned a bachelor’s and master’s from the University of Minnesota and worked at two state health departments before joining the Translational Research Team in 2016. With both a health communications and public health background, she works to translate pediatric injury research into meaningful, accurate messages which motivate the public to make positive behavior changes. Laura coordinates media efforts, trainings, website content, and social media for CIRP. She also coordinates T4CIP and contributes regularly to the 700 Children’s blog.
Katie Donovan
Program Coordinator
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Katie Donovan is a program coordinator in the Center for Injury Research and Policy. She joined the Translational Research Team in 2020 upon graduating from the Ohio State University with a BA in Psychology. Katie has experience in graphic design, video editing, website management, social media strategy, and program management. She visually disseminates child injury prevention messages with user experience, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility in mind. Katie coordinates Prevent Child Injury and is the lead graphic designer for Trainees for Child Injury Prevention (T4CIP).