Leadership and Expert Bios

Dr. Allison Arwady, MD, MPH, Director, NCIPC

Allison Arwady, MD, MPH

Director, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control

Allison Arwady, MD, MPH, is the director of the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control where she leads CDC’s innovative research and science-based programs to prevent injuries and violence and to reduce their consequences.

Sarah Bacon

Sarah Bacon, PhD

Associate Director, Office of Strategy and Innovation

Sarah Bacon, PhD, is the associate director of the Office of Strategy and Innovation at CDC’s Injury Center. In this role, she provides center-wide leadership and coordination of the center’s strategic priorities, including ACEs, overdose, and suicide.


Grant Baldwin

Grant Baldwin, PhD, MPH

Director, Division of Overdose Prevention

Grant Baldwin, PhD, MPH, is the director of the Division of Overdose Prevention at CDC’s Injury Center. He leads the division in monitoring trends in the drug overdose epidemic and other emerging drug threats, identifying and scaling up prevention activities to address the evolving drug crisis, and supporting local drug-free community coalitions.


Mick Ballesteros

Mick Ballesteros, PhD

Deputy Associate Director for Science, Division of Injury Prevention

Mick Ballesteros, PhD, is the deputy associate director for science in the Division of Injury Prevention at CDC’s Injury Center. Dr. Ballesteros provides leadership, planning, and guidance to division management and staff on scientific quality, policy, training, and research priorities on various division topic areas.


Kathleen Basile

Kathleen C. Basile, PhD

Associate Director for Science, Division of Violence Prevention

Kathleen C. Basile, PhD, serves as associate director for science in the Division of Violence Prevention at CDC’s Injury Center. She is responsible for providing leadership, planning, and guidance to division management and staff on scientific policy, training, and research priorities on violence prevention topics.

Debbie Dowell

Debbie Dowell, MD, MPH

Chief Clinical Research Officer, Division of Overdose Prevention

Debbie Dowell, MD, MPH, is chief clinical research officer for the Division of Overdose Prevention (DOP) at CDC’s Injury Center. Previously, as Chief Medical Officer for CDC’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Dr. Dowell led the development of the CDC strategy to prevent opioid overdoses.

Kristin Holland

Kristin M. Holland, PhD, MPH

Chief, Surveillance Branch, Division of Violence Prevention

Dr. Kristin Holland is the chief of the Division of Violence Prevention’s (DVP) Surveillance Branch at CDC’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. In this role, she oversees the implementation of multiple surveillance systems, including the Firearm Injury Surveillance Through Emergency Rooms (FASTER) syndromic surveillance system, the National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS), and the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS).

Royal Law

Royal Law, PhD, MPH

Team Lead, Data Science Team, Division of Injury Prevention

Royal Law, PhD, MPH, is the lead for the Data Science Team in the Data Analytics Branch (DAB) of the Division of Injury Prevention at CDC’s Injury Center. In this role, he manages a multidisciplinary team of health scientists, computer scientists, and statisticians to apply novel analytics and data science approaches to existing programs and topics across the center. Dr. Law plays a central role in the center’s data modernization efforts and strategizing how to translate innovative approaches and technologies into improved public health practice.


Robin Lee, PhD, MPH

Robin Lee, PhD, MPH

Branch Chief, Applied Sciences Branch, Division of Injury Prevention

Robin Lee, PhD, MPH, leads the Applied Sciences Branch (ASB) at CDC’s Injury Center. ASB conducts surveillance, behavioral, and epidemiologic research to address unintentional and self-directed injuries, with a focus on the evaluation of trends and the assessment of environmental, social, behavioral, and other risk and protective factors, as well as the development and evaluation of intervention activities.

Karin Mack

Karin Mack, PhD

Associate Director for Science, Division of Injury Prevention

Karin A. Mack, PhD, is the associate director for science (ADS) in the Division of Injury Prevention at CDC’s Injury Center. As the ADS, she is responsible for working with the division’s science professionals and provides overarching vision and scientific leadership.


Angela Marr

Angela Marr, MPH

Branch Chief, Program Implementation and Evaluation Branch, Division of Injury Prevention

Angela Marr, MPH, is the branch chief of the Program Implementation and Evaluation Branch in the Division of Injury Prevention at the Injury Center. In this role, Ms. Marr provides leadership to bridge science and practice in an effort to move the field of violence and injury prevention forward.


Greta Massetti

Greta Massetti, PhD, MA

Principal Deputy Director, Office of the Director

Greta Massetti, PhD, MA, is the principal deputy director of CDC’s Injury Center. In this role, Dr. Massetti serves as the primary scientific adviser to the NCIPC Director and other senior staff on scientific issues and leads the development and application of science and data for policy and program implementation. Dr. Massetti oversees the center’s surveillance, epidemiology, data science, and public health programmatic efforts to expand and refine CDC’s capacity to prevent all forms of injury and violence. Dr. Massetti provides leadership for center priorities, including drug overdose, suicide prevention, and adverse childhood experiences and represents CDC in high-level engagements with partners, others in the executive branch, and congress.


Melissa C Mercado

Melissa C. Mercado, PhD, MSc, MA

Lead Behavioral Scientist, Division of Violence Prevention

Melissa C. Mercado, PhD, MSc, MA, is a lead behavioral scientist in the Division of Violence Prevention at CDC’s Injury Center. As an expert in youth and community violence and bullying prevention, she is part of the federal inter-agency StopBullying.gov editorial board and oversees the CDC Youth Violence Prevention Centers network.

Phyllis Niolon

Phyllis Holditch Niolon, PhD

Senior Advisor for Adverse Childhood Experiences, Division of Violence Prevention

Phyllis Holditch Niolon, PhD, is the senior advisor for adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) in the Office of the Director in the Division of Violence Prevention at CDC’s Injury Center.

Judy Qualters

Judith R. Qualters, PhD, MPH

Director, Division of Injury Prevention 

Dr. Judith (Judy) R. Qualters is the director of the Division of Injury Prevention at the Injury Center. Dr. Qualters has extensive experience leading public health surveillance, research, and state prevention programs.

 

Thomas Simon

Thomas R. Simon, PhD

Senior Director for Scientific Programs, Division of Violence Prevention 

Thomas R. Simon, PhD, is the senior director for scientific programs in the Division of Violence Prevention at CDC’s Injury Center. In this role he provides leadership, planning, and guidance to division management and staff on scientific policy, research methodology, and priorities for research activities. His work focuses primarily on violence involving young people and the linkages across different forms of violence.

Alana Vivolo-Kantor

Alana Vivolo-Kantor, PhD, MPH

Associate Director for Science (ADS), Division of Overdose Prevention

Alana Vivolo-Kantor, PhD, MPH, is the associate director for science (ADS) in the Division of Overdose Prevention (DOP) at CDC’s Injury Center. As the ADS, she provides leadership, planning, and guidance to division management and staff on scientific policy, research methodology, and priorities for DOP overdose prevention research activities. She also oversees CDC’s Cannabis Strategy and Coordination Unit.

Amy Wolkin

Amy Wolkin, DrPh, MSPH

Branch Chief of the Data Analytics Branch, Division of Injury Prevention

Amy Wolkin, DrPH, MSPH, is the chief of the Data Analytics Branch in the Division of Injury Prevention at CDC’s Injury Center. Dr. Wolkin leads a multi-disciplinary group of scientists who provide leadership on health statistics, data science, health economic research, and programming and web application development for the Injury Center.