Institute researcher wins Elaine Wodzin Young Achiever Award
Senior Research Fellow Michael Fitzharris has been awarded the Elaine Wodzin Young Achiever Award by the Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine (AAAM) for contributions to the field of traffic injury prevention. This award is given annually to the young researcher who has made specific and significant contributions to the field of traffic injury control.
Michael was recently appointed as a Senior Research Fellow with the Institute’s Critical Care and Trauma Division. Prior to coming to the Institute, he worked at the Monash University Accident Research Centre and held Honorary positions at the National Trauma Research Institute and the Department of Trauma Surgery at The Alfred, in Melbourne. Michael’s PhD, titled The Road to Recovery: Coping with the Impact of Traffic Crashes examined the physical and psychological health consequences of road trauma. His primary research interests are in post-injury health, trauma system effectiveness and road traffic injury.
Elaine Wodzin served as the executive director of the American Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine from 1981 to 2000 and has been responsible for the development of the abbreviated injury scale (AIS), used to stratify and clarify injury severity in research. She stands as council member on the International Research Council on the Biomechanics of Injury (IRCOBI).
The award was presented at the Annual Recognition Dinner in Melbourne, as part of the AAAM annual conference.