Executive Leadership and Expert Bios

Ruth Shults, PhD, MPH

Senior Epidemiologist, Division of Unintentional Injury Prevention

 Areas of Expertise

• Motor Vehicle Crash Prevention

Ruth Shults is a senior epidemiologist on the Transportation Safety Team. During her 17-year tenure on the Transportation Safety Team, she has led CDC’s research in the areas of teen drivers, alcohol-impaired driving, and occupant protection. In this role, she coordinated systematic reviews of interventions to reduce traffic-related injuries for the Guide to Community Preventive Services. She is a charter member the Transportation Research Board Subcommittee on Young Drivers, and she currently co-chairs the Transportation Research Board’s Occupant Protection Committee. Ruth’s research interests include examining trends in driving exposure among teens, understanding parents’ perceptions of their teens’ driving needs in rural communities, and examining seat belt use and alcohol-impaired driving trends among teens and adults.