David I. Swedler, PhD, MPH, is an epidemiologist, statistician, and methodologist for public health, violence, and injury research.
Experience
- Research Scientist, PIRE (2020–present)
- Associate Research Scientist, PIRE (2017–2020)
- Research Assistant Professor, UIC SPH (2014–2017)
- Epidemiology Intern, US Army (2007–2009)
Education
- Postdoc, Occupational Epidemiology, Harvard University (2014)
- PhD, Health Policy & Management, Johns Hopkins University (2013)
- MPH, Epidemiology, University of Michigan (2006)
- BS, Microbiology, University of Illinois (2004)
Skills Summary
Research Methods Design and Data Analysis
- Predictive modeling of state incidence of firearm injury incidence & costs for Everytown for Gun Safety. Team’s cost project was cited by President Biden, who said, “…gun violence costs America $280 billion annually.”
- Published updated measures of annual medical costs of smoking using state-of-the-science economic modeling.
- Designed a mixed methods study with legitimation typology to assess truck driver decision making & points for intervention for distracted driving. Paper won two student awards at a national public health meeting.
- Constructed linear regression & time-series analysis of homicides of US law enforcement to identify the impact of firearms ownership on officer homicide rates. Article has 879 Altmetric score & data was cited in speech by President Obama.
Data Science and Data Management
- Generated federal opioid settlement estimated awards for over 3,100 counties, 25,000 cities, & 11,000 townships.
- Used SQL server & R to process and analyze opioid transactions contained in 200 GB federal dataset.
Science Communication
- Live and recorded interviews with broadcast media including WBUR, RTE (Ireland), and WBBM.
- Commentary on provided to print & online media regarding my own studies & other public health topics, including New York Times, Chicago Sun-Times, Huffington Post, USA Today, & NBC News.
- 20 invited academic talks & 6 professional training sessions.
Surveillance Consulting
- Designed first ever longitudinal injury surveillance system for ultimate Frisbee players. Supported design & implementation of second such system. Reviewed latter system implementation for the league using CDC template.
- Served as epidemiology consultant for Return to Play committee during COVID epidemic for Ultimate Chicago, governing body for ultimate Frisbee in northeast Illinois.
Data Visualization
In the course of my data production and report writing, I generate data visualizations to more succinctly convey the findings and results. Below are five example figures generated in the course of my data management, analysis, and communication.
Selected Publications
Santa Clara County Public Health, in collaboration with Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, & Prevention Institute. (2022). Cost of Gun Violence in Santa Clara County. https://publichealth.sccgov.org/sites/g/files/exjcpb916/files/documents/SCPubHealth_2022_Gun_Violence_Report.pdf
Johnson, M. B., Mechtler, L., Ali, B., Swedler, D., & Kelley-Baker, T. (2021). Cannabis and crash risk among older drivers. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 152, 105987. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2021.105987
Miller, T. R., Levy, D. T., & Swedler, D. I. (2018). Lives saved by laws and regulations that resulted from the Bloomberg Road Safety Program. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 113, 131-136. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2018.01.014
Swedler, D. I., Verma, S. K., Huang, Y.-H., Lombardi, D. A., Chang, W.-R., Brennan, M., & Courtney, T. K. (2015). A structural equation modelling approach examining the pathways between safety climate, behaviour performance and workplace slipping. Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 72(7), 476-481. PMCID: PMC4484367. https://doi.org/10.1136/oemed-2014-102496
Swedler, D. I., Bowman, S. M., & Baker, S. P. (2012). Gender and age differences among teen drivers in fatal crashes. Annals of Advances in Automotive Medicine, 56, 97-106. PMCID: PMC3503410.
