VCU launches interdisciplinary Center for Gun Violence Research

By Olivia Trani

The Virginia Commonwealth University School of Public Health has established the Center for Gun Violence Research to advance the science of gun violence prevention and translate research into strategies that reduce firearm-related harm and strengthen communities.

The center will serve as a research hub for VCU experts across disciplines who are focused on:

• Understanding the biological, psychological, developmental, social and structural pathways to firearm-related harm.
• Developing and rigorously testing strategies to prevent firearm violence, suicide and related harm.
• Advancing methods, data, technology and innovation in gun violence research.
• Determining how effective approaches can be implemented, scaled and sustained in communities and systems.

Gun violence remains a major public health challenge in the United States. In 2024, 44,447 people died from firearm injuries, and nearly two-thirds of those deaths were suicides. Firearms were also the leading cause of death among young people ages 1 to 17 for the fifth consecutive year.

Acclaimed VCU expert to lead the Center for Gun Violence Research

Nicholas Thomson, Ph.D., professor and associate dean for research at the School of Public Health, will serve as the inaugural director of the Center for Gun Violence Research.

A forensic research psychologist, Thomson leads federally funded research focused on understanding the biopsychosocial factors that contribute to violence and translating those findings into innovative prevention and intervention strategies. He has led or contributed to research supported by more than $20 million in competitively awarded funding from the National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other federal agencies, and he is editor of the Handbook of Gun Violence.

"We established the Center for Gun Violence Research to bring together the depth of expertise that already exists across VCU and create a scientific home for that work," Thomson said. "This allows us to understand the different pathways to firearm-related harm more completely and develop prevention strategies that are more precise, intentional, innovative and effective."

Gun violence takes many forms, including:

• Suicide
• Community and interpersonal violence
• Intimate partner violence
• Unintentional firearm injuries and deaths
• Mass shootings
• School shootings

These outcomes arise through different pathways and require different prevention approaches.

"We need to better understand not only who is at risk of firearm-related harm, but how risk develops, when there are opportunities to intervene and which prevention strategies actually change outcomes," Thomson said. "Research allows us to move beyond assumptions and identify what contributes to risk, what protects people and what works to prevent harm."

Center consolidates wide-ranging expertise related to causes and prevention of gun violence

That breadth of expertise already exists across VCU. The center's research team represents eight VCU schools and colleges, with expertise spanning:

• Public health
• Criminology and criminal justice
• Psychology
• Psychiatry
• Neuroscience
• Genetics
• Biostatistics
• Social work
• Education
• Engineering
• Nursing
• Emerging technologies

Collectively, center faculty have secured more than $50 million in competitively awarded research funding and authored more than 2,000 peer-reviewed publications spanning violence, behavioral health, addiction, developmental psychopathology, criminal justice, neuroscience, prevention science and related fields.

The benefit of multidisciplinary work to study the different paths leading to gun violence

Together, this expertise provides the scientific foundation for the center's multidisciplinary approach to understanding and preventing gun violence.

Monica Swahn, Ph.D., dean of the School of Public Health, said the center reflects the school's commitment to interdisciplinary science that addresses complex public health challenges and translates research into impact.

"The strength of this center is not simply the number of disciplines represented, but what becomes possible when we intentionally bring that expertise together around one of the most consequential public health challenges facing our communities," Swahn said. "VCU is uniquely positioned to connect rigorous interdisciplinary science with the communities, health systems and public agencies where prevention has to work. This center gives us the opportunity to build on existing strengths across the university and accelerate the translation of research into approaches that can prevent harm and save lives."

"There are multiple pathways to gun violence, so the science has to be multidisciplinary as well," Thomson said. "At VCU, we can study these problems across multiple levels, from individual and biological mechanisms to families, schools, neighborhoods, structural conditions and policy environments. Just as importantly, we can take discoveries and move them toward intervention development, rigorous evaluation, implementation and, ultimately, real-world prevention to save lives."

Here are three other priorities for the center

The Center for Gun Violence Research will also advance other priorities:

• The center will train students, postdoctoral fellows and early-career investigators through multidisciplinary research, mentorship, collaborative projects and methods training. The center aims to develop the next generation of scientists equipped to advance gun violence prevention.
• The center will serve as a scientific resource for community partners, government agencies and collaborating researchers seeking evidence-based expertise on gun violence and prevention. This includes collaborating on studies, developing and evaluating interventions, and generating information relevant for public health decision-making.
• The center will prioritize helping community organizations and state and local agencies determine which prevention approaches are supported by evidence and whether programs are improving outcomes. It will provide expertise in evidence synthesis, program selection, implementation and evaluation, helping partners make informed decisions about how to invest limited prevention resources.

"One of the center's most important roles will be helping communities and public agencies identify evidence-based approaches, adapt them appropriately to local needs and build meaningful evaluation into implementation from the beginning," Thomson said. "When public and community resources are invested in violence prevention, we should be able to show what those investments are accomplishing, learn from what works and what does not, and direct resources toward strategies with the greatest potential to save lives. Ultimately, we want to move the best available science from academic journals and into the hands of the people making prevention decisions every day."