VISION for UMB Center for Violence Prevention
Join us at 2:30 p.m. Oct. 21 for a town hall to meet a candidate being considered as executive director for the UMB Center for Violence Prevention. This event is open only to UMB faculty, staff, and students.
Who: Joseph V. Sakran, MD, MPA, MPH
Director of Emergency General Surgery
Associate Professor of Surgery and Associate Chief of the Division of Acute Care Surgery
Johns Hopkins Hospital
Date: Oct. 21, 2022
Time: 2:30-3:15 p.m.
Location: University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law
Second floor, Room 202
Register to attend virtually (password: CVP2022)
About the Candidate
Joseph V. Sakran, MD, MPA, MPH, is a trauma surgeon, coalition builder, policy advisor, public health expert, and nationally recognized advocate for gun violence prevention. He is director of emergency general surgery, associate professor of surgery, and associate chief of the Division of Acute Care Surgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore.
A survivor of gun violence himself, Dr. Sakran’s interest in medicine and trauma surgery began after a stray bullet nearly killed him during his senior year of high school. He has subsequently dedicated his life to treating the most vulnerable, reducing health disparities among marginalized populations, and advancing public policy that alleviates structural violence in low-income communities.
Dr. Sakran is widely known for building diverse coalitions and advocacy efforts within public health and policy communities. After a 2018 comment by the National Rifle Association that doctors should “stay in our lane” with regard to gun violence prevention, Dr. Sakran launched This is Our Lane, a community of medical professionals dedicated to reducing firearm injuries and deaths.
Dr. Sakran has been recognized for his public health research, specifically on firearm injury prevention. He has been honored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and AcademyHealth, and he is a 2020 recipient of Johns Hopkins’ Catalyst Award for pioneering research on physicians’ role in educating patients on safe gun storage. In 2019, Dr. Sakran was named a Presidential Leadership Scholar in which he furthered his research on safe gun storage.
Dr. Sakran is an active leader in the medical and gun violence prevention communities. He serves on the governing council of the Young Fellows Association of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) and is vice-chair of ACS’s International Subcommittee for Operation Giving Back. He served on the board of the Brady Campaign from 2018-2019 and frequently collaborates with other gun violence prevention organizations.
Dr. Sakran received his medical degree from The Medical School for International Health in Israel. He completed his general surgery training at Inova Fairfax Hospital and a fellowship in traumatology, surgical critical care, and emergency general surgery at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. He also holds a Master in Public Health from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and a Master of Public Administration from Harvard Kennedy School of Government. Dr. Sakran earned his undergraduate degree from George Mason University.
About the Center for Violence Prevention
Amid a national conversation about gun violence, the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) and the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center (Shock Trauma) at the University of Maryland Medical Center are collaborating to create the UMB Center for Violence Prevention, which will draw upon the resources and expertise from both anchor institutions to help reduce and respond to violence in Baltimore City and beyond.
The initiative seeks to address violence prevention and intervention efforts through a combined effort of Shock Trauma and the University of Maryland schools of medicine and social work, and the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law.
Funded by a $2 million gift from Betsy Sherman and the Sherman Family Foundation, the center will bridge numerous research and clinical programs already in place at UMB that address gun violence. With an interdisciplinary approach, the center will collaborate and partner across communities, academic institutions, nonprofit organizations, governmental bodies, corporations, and philanthropic organizations to advocate for informed policies and interventions toward violence prevention and creating social justice for all. This is achieved through collaborations and community-based partnerships to conduct research, develop creative and impactful education, and advocate for policies that strengthen our communities to prevent violence and trauma.