GVRC Blog

Hi, I’m Allie! I recently earned my PhD in clinical psychology from Rutgers University, where I conducted research at the New Jersey Gun Violence Research Center (GVRC). In September, I’ll be returning to the GVRC as an assistant professor. I’ve spent a lot of time here, and I’ve chosen to start my career here—so as you can probably tell, I love it. I believe deeply in the work we do, the people doing it, and the impact we make.

In this post, I hope to give you a sense of who I am—as a researcher and as part of the GVRC team. Throughout my training, I often asked myself: Who am I as a researcher? I began my work focused on suicide prevention, but over time, started to include gun violence – and I would often wonder which “camp” I was in: suicide prevention or gun violence prevention? What I’ve come to realize is that I can’t separate the two. Firearms are involved in about 50% of suicide deaths in the United States, and suicide accounts for nearly two-thirds of all gun deaths. You can’t talk about one without the other.

That’s who I am as a researcher. I study the intersection of firearms and suicide, with a focus on understanding who uses a firearm in their suicide death, what their lives look like leading up to that point, and how they interact with the health care system. The idea is that if we can better understand who these individuals are and how they engage with mental health care, we can identify opportunities to intervene before a suicidal crisis emerges. I also research how to promote secure firearm storage as a form of suicide prevention—through using credible messengers to communicate about safe storage practices and ways to support mental health care providers in providing effective lethal means counseling.

One part of my work that I especially value is science communication. At the GVRC, we make it a priority to share what we learn beyond academic journals. We talk to communities, do media interviews, join podcasts, create social media posts, and write blogs (like this one!) — making sure our research reaches the communities who need it most. It is the most powerful aspect of what we do.

I do this research with the hope that it creates change, helps those who are struggling, and ultimately results in fewer families being left with empty seats at their kitchen tables. I’m proud of what the GVRC has accomplished—and what lies ahead. I’m excited for you to learn more about the work we do and the people behind it through this blog. Check back soon!