The UT Southwestern Library is co-sponsoring a presentation by Rashmi Shetgiri, M.D., Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, entitled Rethinking Gun Violence: Perspectives from Pediatrics and Public Health on Wednesday, March 20, 2013. This spring Health Policy Forum will be held from 12 noon to 1 p.m. in the McDermott Plaza Lecture Hall, Room D1.602, and will be hosted by Raul Caetano, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H., Dean, UT School of Public Health/Dallas Campus. Light lunch will be provided so please come early!

The tragic murders of schoolchildren in Newtown, Connecticut, last December have riveted the attention of the nation on the issue of gun violence, particularly in the context of mental illness. Can insights from the fields of pediatrics and public health inform our national conversation about guns? Dr. Shetgiri, whose research focuses on youth violence and violence prevention, will address the full range of issues surrounding gun violence in America.  As Congressional hearings convene and lawmakers debate, join us for an opportunity to rethink this urgent issue of preventing gun violence.

Dr. Shetgiri received her undergraduate degree in biology from Drew University and her medical degree from the New Jersey Medical School, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, in Newark, through a combined seven-year medical program. She completed her pediatrics residency in the Community Health and Advocacy Training Pprogram in Pediatrics at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and her fellowship in the UCLA Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program. She cares for pediatric patients and teaches pediatric residents at Children’s Medical Center and Los Barrios Unidos Community Health Center in Dallas. Her research focuses on adolescent violence prevention, bullying prevention, racial/ethnic health disparities, and partnered research with Latino communities. She has presented her research at several local and national meetings and has been interviewed by national and international media outlets for her research on bullying and violence prevention.

The forum is free and open to all. Pre-registration is not necessary. For more information, contact john.fullinwider@utsouthwestern.edu, 214-648-3801.

Co-sponsors:  UT School of Public Health/Dallas Campus, UT Southwestern Dept. of Pediatrics/Division of General Pediatrics, Latino Medical Students Association, Medical Humanities Interest Group, Dallas county HHS Public Health Advisory Committee, UT Southwestern School of Health Professions, UT Southwestern Dept. of Family Medicine/Division of Community Medicine, and UT Southwestern Clinical and Translational Alliance for Research (UT-STAR).