Skip to main content
Member Login
Blog       
Member Login
Blog       
Home
Menu
  • About CChIPS
    • Meet Our Team
    • Operations
      • Leadership
    • Student Research Training
    • Research Priority Areas
    • Joining CChIPS
    • What’s New
      • In the News
      • Research In Action Blog
    • Events
    • Contact Us
  • Research Portfolio
    2025-2026
    2024-2025
    2023-2024
    2022-2023
    2021-2022
    2020-2021
    2019-2020
    2018-2019
    2017-2018
    2016-2017
    2015-2016
    2014-2015
    2013-2014
    2012-2013
    2011-2012
    2010-2011
    2009-2010
    2008-2009
    2007-2008
    2006-2007
    FEATURED rear-facing child
    Epidemiologic Investigation of Child Restraint Installation Position and Serious Injury among Children in Motor Vehicle Crashes

    Principal Investigator: Rachel Myers, PhD

  • Members
  • Reports
    • Annual Reports
    • 10 Year Report and Timeline
  • Publications
    • 2024
    • 2023
    • 2022
    • 2021
    • 2020
    • 2019
    • 2018
    • 2016
    • 2015
    • 2014
    • 2013
    • 2012
    • 2011
    • 2010
    • 2009
    FEATURED near crash
    Near crash characteristics among risky drivers using the SHRP2 naturalistic driving study
    Journal of Safety Research (2020)
    Thomas Seacrist, Douglas EC, Hannan C, Rogers R, Belwadi A, Helen Loeb
Menu
  • About CChIPS
    • Meet Our Team
    • Operations
      • Leadership
    • Student Research Training
    • Research Priority Areas
    • Joining CChIPS
    • What’s New
      • In the News
      • Research In Action Blog
    • Events
    • Contact Us
  • Research Portfolio
    2025-2026
    2024-2025
    2023-2024
    2022-2023
    2021-2022
    2020-2021
    2019-2020
    2018-2019
    2017-2018
    2016-2017
    2015-2016
    2014-2015
    2013-2014
    2012-2013
    2011-2012
    2010-2011
    2009-2010
    2008-2009
    2007-2008
    2006-2007
    FEATURED rear-facing child
    Epidemiologic Investigation of Child Restraint Installation Position and Serious Injury among Children in Motor Vehicle Crashes

    Principal Investigator: Rachel Myers, PhD

  • Members
  • Reports
    • Annual Reports
    • 10 Year Report and Timeline
  • Publications
    • 2024
    • 2023
    • 2022
    • 2021
    • 2020
    • 2019
    • 2018
    • 2016
    • 2015
    • 2014
    • 2013
    • 2012
    • 2011
    • 2010
    • 2009
    FEATURED near crash
    Near crash characteristics among risky drivers using the SHRP2 naturalistic driving study
    Journal of Safety Research (2020)
    Thomas Seacrist, Douglas EC, Hannan C, Rogers R, Belwadi A, Helen Loeb

Breadcrumb

  1. Home
  2. Research Portfolio

RESEARCH PORTFOLIO

Epidemiologic Investigation of Child Restraint Installation Position and Serious Injury among Children in Motor Vehicle Crashes

Principal Investigator: Rachel Myers, PhD

The goal of this study is to create a unique source of epidemiologic crash data that enables novel description of use and installation patterns of child restraints among crash-involved children and— following linkage with hospital discharge and death certificate data—novel description of child occupant injury outcomes based on restraint use and installation (rear- vs. forward-facing).
rear-facing child

2025-2026

Child Injury Trends in Recent Motor Vehicle Crashes in the USA: A Comparative Analysis of Rural vs. Urban Cases

Principal Investigator: Valentina Graci, PhD


Research suggests a higher fatality risk for children in rural areas compared to urban settings, yet current studies lack an updated, comparative analysis of pediatric injury trends. This study aims to address this gap by analyzing motor vehicle crash injury patterns in a predominantly rural region, with a focus on the children’s hospital catchment area, and comparing them with national trends.
Current Child Seat Portability Challenges: The Effect of Different Child Seat Geometries and a Pretensioner Belt on Child Occupant Crash Dynamics

Principal Investigator: Valentina Graci, PhD


This project leverages the Consumer Reports survey of caregivers to gather insights on currently used portable child restraint systems (CRS). The most commonly used models will be identified and tested to examine child motion during frontal impacts and compared to traditional CRS such as a high-back booster.

2024-2025

Characterizing BPB-seated Children Kinematics in Lateral-oblique Impacts With and Without the Lower Anchor

Principal Investigator: Valentina Graci, PhD


Lower anchors in belt-positioning-boosters (BPBs) have been previously evaluated only in frontal impacts. As many caregivers use BPBs without the lower anchors connected, potentially during travel with a child, it’s important to understand how the lower anchor connection may influence the child’s kinematics and kinetics across different impact angles.

2022-2023

Understanding Small Occupant Kinematic Response in Reclined Seats in Lateral Oblique Impacts by Testing the Large Omnidirectional Child (LODC) Anthropomorphic Test Device (ATD)

Principal Investigator: Valentina Graci, PhD


Utilizing the Large Omnidirectional Child (LODC) anthropomorphic test device (ATD), this study evaluates the injury and submarining risk of reclined children in lateral oblique vehicle crashes, with and without a booster seat.

2021-2022

Motion of Reclined Booster-Seated Children During Sled-Simulated Lateral Oblique Pre-Crash Scenarios

Principal Investigator: Valentina Graci, PhD


This project aims to quantify kinematics, muscle activity, and seat belt loads of booster-seated child volunteers on a reclined vehicle seat across multiple seatback angles during a lateral oblique sled-simulated pre-crash maneuver. A second aim is to examine the difference between types of booster seats on children’s motion during a lateral oblique sled-simulated pre-crash maneuver.

2020-2021

Understanding Reclined Small Occupants’ Kinematics in Frontal Crashes by Testing the LODC

Principal Investigator: Valentina Graci, PhD


This project aims to characterize kinematics and kinetics of the LODC when the seatback of a production vehicle seat is reclined during sled-simulated frontal vehicle crashes. A secondary aim of this project is to understand the influence of the booster seat on kinematics and kinetics of the LODC during sled-simulated frontal vehicle crashes.
Head Contacts in Rear-seated Pediatric Occupants When the Front Seat is Reclined in AEB Scenarios

Principal Investigator: Valentina Graci, PhD


This project aims to identify the likelihood and characteristics of head contact of a child seated behind a reclined front occupant in an autonomous driving seating configuration. Different combinations of front seat recline and track positions for the front occupant will be considered. The research team will investigate how the presence, type, and dimensions of a booster seat influence head contact by a rear-seated child occupant during an automatic…

2019-2020

Characteristics of Crashes Represented by the FMVSS 213 Crash Pulse

Principal Investigator: Valentina Graci, PhD


The goal of the proposed study is to understand the functional relationship between the kinematics and kinetics of the ATD, the acceleration of the vehicle/sled, and the resulting injury criteria and CRS structural performance.
Quantitative Characterization of AEB Pulses Across the Modern Fleet: Insights on the Relationship Between AEB Pulse Characteristics and Occupant Safety

Principal Investigator: Valentina Graci, PhD


The goal of the proposed study is to compare and characterize automatic emergency braking (AEB) pulses of different vehicles currently on the road in order to understand the type of loading environment to which vehicle occupants are being exposed and if there will be the need to have more specific common standards for AEB features.

2018-2019

Can the Startle Reflex be Manipulated to Reduce Take-over Time in Pre-crash Scenarios for Autonomous Driving?

Principal Investigator: Valentina Graci, PhD


This project examines if take-over reaction time to reach and turn the steering wheel during a simulated vehicle swerving is decreased by an acoustic startling pre-stimulus, i.e., a loud sound preceding the swerving event. Using a lateral oscillating sled device, two populations (adults vs. teens) will be studied and the role of driver awareness will be quantified by examining scenarios when the driver is ready to react and when the driver is involved…
Filter by Topic

Filter by Principal Investigator

  • Julie Mansfield, PhD (22)
  • John H. Bolte IV, PhD (16)
  • Kristy Arbogast, PhD (12)
  • Thomas Seacrist, MBE (11)
  • Valentina Graci, PhD (10)
  • Matthew R. Maltese, PhD (10)
  • Jalaj Maheshwari, MS (10)
  • Yun Seok Kang, PhD (9)
  • Aditya Belwadi, PhD (9)
  • Declan Patton, PhD (8)
  • All Principal Investigators
  • Elizabeth Walshe, PhD
  • Thomas Seacrist, MBE
  • Julie Mansfield, PhD
  • Jalaj Maheshwari, MS
  • Yun Seok Kang, PhD
  • Valentina Graci, PhD
  • John H. Bolte IV, PhD
  • Rachel Myers, PhD
  • Randee Hunter, PhD
  • Suzanne Hill, BA
  • Aditya Belwadi, PhD
  • Patrice Tremoulet, PhD
  • Aimee Palumbo, PhD, MPH
  • Matthew R. Maltese, PhD
  • Declan Patton, PhD
  • Rajiv Menon, PhD
  • Kristy Arbogast, PhD
  • Amanda Agnew, PhD
  • Yi-Ching Lee, PhD
  • Allison Curry, PhD
  • Mark R. Zonfrillo, MD, MSCE
  • Joel Stitzel, PhD
  • Caitlin Locey, BS
  • Catherine McDonald, PhD
  • Sriram Balasuramanian, PhD
  • Michael L. Nance, MD
  • David Schwebel, PhD
  • Jessica Jermakian, DSc
  • Dennis Durbin, MD, MSCE
  • Laura Boucher, PhD
  • Helen Loeb, PhD
  • Jessica H. Mirman, PhD
  • Andrea Doud, MD
  • Ashley Weaver, PhD
  • Emma Sartin, PhD, MPH
  • Madeline Griffith, MS
  • Flaura Winston, MD, PhD
  • Gretchen Baker, PhD
  • Maitland Witmer, MSE

Filter by Year

  • 2025-2026
  • 2024-2025
  • 2023-2024
  • 2022-2023
  • 2021-2022
  • 2020-2021
  • 2019-2020
  • 2018-2019
  • 2017-2018
  • 2016-2017
  • 2015-2016
  • 2014-2015
  • 2013-2014
  • 2012-2013
  • 2011-2012
  • 2010-2011

Contact Information

cchips@email.chop.edu
cchips.research.chop.edu

Roberts Center for Pediatric Research 2716 South Street, 13th Floor Philadelphia, PA 19146

   Footerlogo

2716 South Street, 13th Floor Philadelphia, PA 19146

© 2024 Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. All Rights Reserved

  • Privacy Policy |
  • Terms of Use
  • HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices
  • Ethics & Compliance
Footer Section
  • About CChIPS
  • Research Portfolio
  • Members
  • Reports
  • Publications
  • Blog
  • What's New
  • Contact Us
  • Sitemap
  • Privacy Policy |
  • Terms of Use
  • HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices
  • Ethics & Compliance

© 2020 Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. All Rights Reserved