Current Trainees
Postdoctoral Fellows
Deaweh Benson, PhD
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Dr. Benson’s research examines how intergenerational relationships shape youth firearm injury risk within the broader context of social and environmental influences. Her work centers youth development within extended family systems and aims to illuminate pathways to healing in communities disproportionately affected by firearm violence. She earned her PhD in Developmental Psychology from the University of Michigan (U-M). As a predoctoral trainee on the NIH T32 Developmental Training Grant, she investigated how systemic adversity influenced psychological and biological functioning—focusing primarily on Black adolescents and young adults, while including White youth to contextualize disparities. As a postdoctoral fellow at the U-M Institute for Firearm Injury Prevention, Dr. Benson will work under the mentorship of Drs. Katie Edwards, Daniel Lee, and Marc Zimmerman.
Jenny Caruso, PhD
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Drawing on nearly two decades as a New York City public school educator, Dr. Caruso’s research examines student mattering- the sense of feeling valued and adding value- as a protective factor in comprehensive school safety and youth violence prevention. Her current work identifies the everyday teacher practices that foster mattering in K-12 classrooms. She earned her EdD in Health Education from Teachers College, Columbia University, where her dissertation used narrative inquiry to examine teachers’ experiences of school-based trauma. Dr. Caruso has been working in partnership with the Prevention Research Collaborative, the National Center for School Safety, and the Sandy Hook Promise Foundation since 2025, under the mentorship of Drs. Justin Heinze and Sarah Stilwell.
Mike Henson-Garcia, PhD
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Utilizing both quantitative and qualitative methods, Dr. Henson-Garcia’s research examines how identity and culturally grounded interventions can promote firearm safety behaviors among diverse firearm-owning populations. His dissertation research employed a parent-centered lens to understand and influence secure storage behaviors among firearm-owning caregivers in Texas.
He recently completed his PhD in Health Promotion and Behavioral Sciences with a secondary emphasis in Epidemiology at the UTHealth School of Public Health. In August 2025, he will join IFIP under the mentorship of Drs. Cynthia Ewell-Foster, Hsing-Fang Hsieh, and Alison Miller where he will continue his work on family-centered strategies to support firearm safety and reduce injury risk among children and adolescents.
Ann Polcari, MD, MPH, MSGH
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Dr. Ann Polcari is a Surgical Critical Care Fellow at the University of Michigan and will practice as a trauma surgeon on completion of her training. She earned a MS in Global Health from the University of Notre Dame prior to attending medical school at the University of Miami, where she also obtained an MPH. She recently graduated general surgery residency at the University of Chicago, where her clinical experience caring for patients affected by firearm injury motivated a commitment to prevention. Her research applies a public health lens to understanding the epidemiology and structural drivers of firearm violence, with the goal of informing evidence-based interventions and policy. She has a particular interest in leveraging advanced analytic methods for risk stratification, translating data into actionable insights that reduce firearm injury burden and improve outcomes for vulnerable populations.
Briana Scott, PhD
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Dr. Scott’s research is on comprehensive school safety, youth violence, and firearm injury prevention with a focus on equity and social justice in K-12 education. She earned her PhD in Education and Psychology and her Master of Science in Psychology from the University of Michigan. Dr. Scott has been working in partnership with the Prevention Research Collaborative, National Center for School Safety, and Sandy Hook Promise Foundation since 2019. Starting July 2024, Dr. Scott will be working under the direction of Drs. Justin Heinze and Hsing-Fang Hsieh as faculty mentors.
Esther Lee, PhD
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Dr. Lee’s research focuses on examining multilevel antecedents and consequences of interpersonal violence, particularly firearm violence, among adolescent and young adult populations to inform violence prevention efforts. She earned her PhD from the University of Michigan School of Public Health and will continue this research as an NIH T32 postdoctoral fellow under the mentorship of Drs. Rebeccah Sokol, Sarah Stoddard, and Patrick Carter.
Allison Lind, PhD
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Dr. Lind’s research focuses on youth violence and injury prevention, particularly how social, structural, and geographic factors shape youth firearm mortality. She approaches her work through a population health and social epidemiology lens. Dr. Lind earned her PhD from the University of Minnesota, where her dissertation examined changing patterns of youth firearm mortality in the rural South. She is also a pediatric nurse practitioner by training with clinical experience in trauma, orthopedics, and adolescent health. As a postdoctoral fellow at the U-M Institute for Firearm Injury Prevention, Dr. Lind will work under the mentorship of Drs. Hsing-Fang Hsieh, Daniel Lee, and Doug Wiebe.
Summer Research Fellowship Training Program
2027 cohort coming soon!
Interns
Ruben Aldaco
Intern
Ruben Aldaco is a rising senior pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Public Health Sciences at the University of Michigan School of Public Health. His academic and professional interests focus on epidemiology, injury prevention, and the promotion of equitable healthcare access. As an intern at the Institute for Firearm Injury Prevention, Ruben works with the National Center for School Safety (NCSS). In this role, he supports both the technical assistance and evaluation teams by conducting nationwide landscape analyses of state school safety policies and assisting with the analysis of comprehensive needs assessment surveys. Ruben is particularly interested in utilizing evidence-based research to address firearm-related disparities and improve safety outcomes in school environments.
Cloe Barrau
Intern
Ms. Barrau is a junior in the U-M School of Public Health, pursuing a BS in Public Health Sciences. She is interested in pursuing a career in social epidemiology and is passionate about working to bridge health disparities, and decreasing firearm injuries throughout the country. As an intern for the Institute of Firearm Injury Prevention, she is excited to assist Dr. Alison Miller and Dr. Hsing-Fang Hsieh on the SAFE ARMS study.
Joshua Crook
Intern
Joshua Crook is an intern at the Institute for Firearm Injury Prevention, working for the National Center for School Safety. He is a senior pursuing a B.A. in Public Policy and a minor in International Studies. Joshua is passionate about studying how firearm violence impacts local communities and policy solutions that promote school safety. He is excited to contribute to evidence-based initiatives under the STOP School Violence Act program and the Michigan School Safety Initiative.
Lauren Denton
Intern
Lauren Denton is a rising junior pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Public Health Sciences at the University of Michigan School of Public Health. She is interested in public health issues such as firearm injury prevention and is particularly focused on understanding the root causes of the increasing firearm-related deaths in the U.S. Her interests include exploring evidence-based prevention strategies to help mitigate risk and improve community safety. As an intern at the Institute for Firearm Injury Prevention, she is assisting the Data and Methods Core of the CFVP Coordinating Center.
Kaitlyn Gastineau
Intern
Kaitlyn Gastineau is a rising Junior pursuing a B.A. in Political Science and Psychology. She is interested in how public policy incentivises and influences behavior. As an intern, she will work under Dr. Elyse Thulin’s projects aimed at exploring how Technology-facilitated reporting systems can reduce inter- and intrapersonal harm in youth populations.
Kailah Hawkins
Intern
Kailah Hawkins is a first-year master’s student in epidemiology at the University of Michigan School of Public Health and received a BA in Public Health from the University of Michigan. She is primarily interested in using social epidemiology to analyze health trends and outcomes in minority populations. As an IFIP intern, she is focused on learning about community gun violence interventions and its mechanisms.
Jordan LaBarge
Intern
Jordan LaBarge is a rising junior pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Economics with a minor in Education for Empowerment. She is passionate about learning how to create public policy solutions that can benefit communities and better understand the root causes of injuries related to firearms. As an intern, she is looking forward to working on the Michigan Firearm Law Implementation Program to generate research and awareness on the topic of firearm injury prevention.
Emily Moore
Intern
Emily Moore is a rising senior pursuing a B.A. in Political Science with a minor in Crime and Justice. She is interested in pursuing law, with a focus on how legal frameworks can be applied to prevent firearm-related injuries. She is particularly passionate about intimate partner violence and its intersection with policy and legal intervention. As an intern at the Institute for Firearm Injury Prevention, she is assisting Dr. April Zeoli in studying the role of firearms in intimate partner violence, as well as the civil and criminal justice systems responses to intimate partner violence.
Zaida Pearson
Research Assistant
Sam Riordan
Intern
Ms. Riordan is a summer intern with the Institute for Firearm Injury Prevention. Sam earned a B.S. in Public Health Sciences within the School of Public Health at the University of Michigan. She is passionate in studying policy interventions on firearm violence and analyzing the root problems contributing to an increase in firearm injuries in the United States. Her interest in firearm violence sparked after attending Michigan State University for two years, where she was heavily impacted by the February 2023 shooting. In her role as an intern, she works under Brent Miller for the National Center for School Safety to identify best practices and evidence-based resources for the school safety community. Sam was also involved with IFIP through an independent study and CURIS- Public Health Advocacy.
Eileen Spiegel
Research Assistant
Ms. Eileen Spiegel is a senior undergraduate student in Public Policy at the University of Michigan’s Ford School, and she is minoring in the university’s environmental program. At the Ford School, she is able to research how different policies can affect varying state-level gun violence. She is a research assistant with the Institute for Firearm Injury Prevention and works under Dr. Zeoli to address the intersections of firearm policies and domestic violence.
Natalie Wilcox
Intern
Natalie Wilcox is a rising senior pursuing a B.A. in Public Policy and a minor in Gender and Health. She is an intern at the Institute for Firearm Injury Prevention, working under Mr. Holtz on the Michigan Firearm Law Implementation Program where she helps build ERPO implementation resources and studies the use of ERPOs in Michigan. She is passionate about the role public policy can play in reducing systemic inequities in gun violence.