Before I became a gun violence researcher, I mostly wanted to play rock ’n’ roll. I wrote a short piece for the @njgvrc.bsky.social blog about how I ended up studying violence prevention. You can read it here: gunviolenceresearchcenter.rutgers.edu/node/4190

I see disturbing parallels between the killings of Alex Pretti and Philando Castile nearly a decade ago, both in Minnesota. When considered together, these deaths should force us to confront a difficult truth: the Second Amendment is not applied equally to all Americans.

New today in Race and Justice: Families of Black homicide victims file the most victim compensation claims but are approved less often. Disparities largely due to “contributory misconduct,” a discretionary and often biased rule. 📰 Read the full study here: journals.sagepub.com/eprint/ZNHMK...

🎙️ Hear from @daniel-semenza.bsky.social, director of research at the #NJGVRC, NEW Vlog/Blog on: The ripple effects of gun violence exposure — and how it impacts mental, physical, and behavioral health. 👂📖 ➡️ ow.ly/9GO750X0jZq What does “violence exposure” really mean? Take a moment to listen.

When it comes to dealing with illegal guns in the US, the Pareto Principle reminds us that the vast majority are supplied by a small number of bad dealers. So what can we do? Find out in my new @vitalcitynyc.bsky.social piece, out today in a brand new issue. www.vitalcitynyc.org/articles/the...

Honored to be named a top-10 finalist for the USERN Prize in Social Sciences for my work on gun violence prevention 🌍 If you have 2 minutes, I’d be grateful for your support: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F... 📄(Select Social Sciences → my name → give a “5” → submit)

New paper out today led by @testaalex.bsky.social. We use all 5 waves of Add Health to show that early violent victimization is linked to long-term gaps in dental care. Violence early in life shapes our health trajectories for decades. 🦷 onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

🚨New Research 📝 from #NJGVRC 📚 “Local Homicides Increase Suicide in U.S. Counties” Lead author: @daniel-semenza.bsky.social Co-PIs: @mikeanestis.bsky.social & Dr. Kimberly Burke Local homicide spikes linked to rising suicides—underscoring the toll of community violence. 📚 Read 🔗 ow.ly/xVmT50Wxo6O

🚨 Our GVRC FY26 RFP is now live! Up to $1M in funding across 3 tracks for gun violence prevention research. Faculty, postdocs, and students at U.S. universities are eligible. Due Sept 1. 📄 gunviolenceresearchcenter.rutgers.edu/FY26RFP 🔗 Apply: rutgers.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...

New paper out today in Social Science & Medicine: Higher homicide rates → higher suicide rates the next year, especially with firearms. 50 years of U.S. county data + quasi experimental design. Biggest impacts in rural & White communities. 🔗 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Really enjoyed being a guest on the No Jargon podcast w/ @scholars.org to talk about the recent declines in gun violence - and what we need to do to make sure that progress continues. Click below or check it out wherever you listen to podcasts.

Less ATF funding = fewer inspectors for firearm dealers = more risk for guns to get into the wrong hands. It's not rocket science. Trump's DOJ cuts to the ATF have nothing to do with keeping Americans safer or being tough on crime - it's pure politics. www.npr.org/2025/07/02/n...

It's official: New Jersey lawmakers REJECTED a $1 million cut to the New Jersey Gun Violence Research Center and the budget approved by the state includes full funding for our center this year. Some welcome good news after so much bad. 🎉 🎉 🎉 www.thetrace.org/2025/07/new-...

Doing a final recruitment push to work with teenagers in New Jersey and learn about their exposure to gun violence on and off social media. Total compensation is up to $200 - please share with your networks!

Spoke with @njspotlightnews.org about the massive funding cuts to violence intervention programs here in NJ and across the country. Gun violence is down, but the recent historic gains won't hold if we dismantle all of the systems that made them possible. www.njspotlightnews.org/2025/06/trum...

It is HOT🔥And with the heat comes greater risk for violence, especially shootings in cities. I'll be talking about heat and gun violence TODAY at 6:40pm EST on The Weather Channel, including why violence rises with the temperature and most importantly, what we can do about it.

It's really important to share good news right now. According to the Real-Time Crime Index and @jeffasher.bsky.social, murders are down nearly 22% across the country. That's a big deal and we should continue fighting to keep progress going.

Crime in America spiked with the COVID-19 pandemic, then plummeted. Here are four reasons why. open.substack.com/pub/johnkrom...

If you're planning to submit an abstract to join us in Tempe this year, consider attending the webinar on 5/21 or office hours this spring to help develop your abstract!

Conference call for submissions: www.firearmresearchsociety.org/2025-call-fo... Pls share broadly! @meganranney.bsky.social @bulletptsproj.bsky.social @mikeanestis.bsky.social @uconnarms.bsky.social @drewmckevitt.bsky.social @lisageller.bsky.social @nickbwilson.bsky.social @bychipbrownlee.com

The systems that have made America safer are under attack. My new op-ed in @commondreams.org explains why we can’t stay quiet as the Trump admin rapidly dismantles much of our violence prevention + public safety infrastructure. We can't go backward. www.commondreams.org/opinion/trum...

Erasure is in the DNA of this administration. This memorial was meant to serve as a permanent reminder to the ATF about who they are meant to protect every day. Now it's gone from an agency that has completely lost its way. www.npr.org/2025/05/04/n...

Thinking about devastating cuts to NSF: US gov-funded science has been the engine upon which most of the tech wealth was generated. But the oligarchs (currently hoarding much of that $) think it’s their own brilliance & not the accident of standing close to the scientific engine that made them rich.

Tiny silver lining to all the terrible cuts to funding and research for violence prevention and public safety: all of what is happening is an acute shock we can use to measure effects before and after. We can test the impact and understand in detail what we've lost. Evidence as we rebuild.

Community violence prevention has been decimated in just the last week by the Trump administration, particularly in places like Philly and throughout my home state of New Jersey in places like Camden, Trenton, Newark, and Patterson. A complete reversal of progress. www.thetrace.org/2025/05/viol...

My colleagues and I are following news of OJP grant cancellations. As is true more broadly, if you have a research project with a strong causal design that you need funding to complete, please send us a proposal! We will do our best to expedite time-sensitive requests.

Thanks so much to @thetrace.org and @fairrionam.bsky.social for lifting up our work on gun violence exposure and dental care. The more research we do, the more we find that gun violence exposure impacts almost every aspect of our health and well-being. www.thetrace.org/2025/04/gun-...

Most U.S. adults have experienced gun violence—either in person or through the media. But Black and Hispanic communities face the heaviest burden. A new national study from @njgvrc.bsky.social shows just how widespread and gun violence exposure really is: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Honestly, everything feels terrible right now. But one of the greatest things about America is its public library system. I've always found peace at the library. If you want to feel proud of something here, even for just 90 minutes, then this documentary is for you. www.pbs.org/independentl...

When federal grants get terminated, it doesn't just halt research. It removes money DIRECTLY from the pockets of scientists and staff. Grants cover people's time to do the work and time = money. The Trump/DOGE assault is not just an attack on science. It is theft, plain and simple. It is illegal.

What is happening at the NSF right now is a scientific crisis. Hundreds of grants, including my own, are being terminated for no other reason than Ted Cruz and Elon Musk say so. Without legal intervention, soon there will be nothing left of this agency. www.nature.com/articles/d41...

My very sleepy pug looks EXACTLY how I feel today.

Completely stunned. In a matter of minutes, I've found out that two major federal grants from different agencies have been cancelled. Just...gone. The grants focused on supporting local community violence prevention efforts and enhancing data on non-fatal shootings. Cruelty is the point.

Are you a health equity researcher who has lost federal funding for a project? RWJF’s Evidence for Action is offering Rapid Response grants to support community-centered, social science research disrupted by cuts. ☀️ More details: www.rwjf.org/en/grants/ac...

From @reuters.com: The Trump administration has canceled hundreds of law enforcement grants that funded everything from services for mental health care for police officers to support programs for victims of crime and sexual assault www.reuters.com/world/us/us-...

The DOJ has cancelled millions of dollars in grants for gun violence prevention, victim advocacy, and addiction support. This will hurt local governments and grass-roots organizations doing life-saving work. The assault on public safety continues. www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

Since this came out last week, our work at the @njgvrc.bsky.social continues to be under threat from the NJ governor's proposed cuts, even as Trump's DOJ makes bolder moves to halt violence prevention funding throughout the country. www.thetrace.org/2025/04/new-...

Trump has wiped out injury and violence prevention at the CDC. Surveillance systems and programs to protect kids from things like firearm injuries and drowning...just gone. Tariffs and the price of eggs don't mean a damn thing if we can't even keep our kids safe. www.npr.org/sections/sho...

"The harms of firearm violence exposure ripple far beyond immediate physical injuries." 📚 Read more here: kwnsfk27.r.eu-west-1.awstrack.me/L0/https:%2F...

Someone is treated for a gun wound in the ER every 30 minutes in the US. Despite headlines of declining homicide rates, the violence remains unrelenting. It is unconscionable that HHS is systematically undermining gun violence prevention efforts. Without a fight, this will only get worse.

Deanna is doing important work to understand how firearm violence impacts whole communities. Please get in touch if you work with survivors or would like to be a participant! @deannagiraldi.bsky.social

57-year-old Robert Morales & 45-year-old Tiru Chabba were shot and killed in the mass shooting at Florida State University on Thursday. Police reported that the firearm belonging to the gunman’s mother was found at the scene. We must continue to fight for safe firearm storage.

On this day of action, faculty from around the country have one message for our boards and presidents: it's time to join together and fight back! scatter.wordpress.com/2025/04/17/5...

At a time when all science is under attack by the Trump admin, the NJ governor is threatening to cut our gun violence research center at Rutgers by 33%. Shameful. These cuts would kneecap our ability to do research while supporting others doing the work around the country.

Exposure to gun violence is linked to depression, risk of suicide, and mental health services use, especially when the violence happens over and over again. Thank you to @thetrace.org and @fairrionam.bsky.social for covering our latest national research. www.thetrace.org/2025/04/gun-...

@testaalex.bsky.social @drdylanbjackson.bsky.social @daniel-semenza.bsky.social

When authoritarianism comes knocking, be Harvard, not Columbia. “No govt — regardless of which party is in power — should dictate what private univs can teach, whom they can admit & hire, & which areas of study & inquiry they can pursue.” Alan Garber, Harvard’s pres www.nytimes.com/2025/04/14/u...

Well here we are in 2025 acting like it's 1995 - House Republicans seeking to ban research on gun violence while denying it as a public health crisis. Shameful and embarrassing. We must outright reject this bad-faith attack and stand up for safety in America. www.foxnews.com/politics/sco...

New paper out in AJPM today highlighting the community consequences of gun violence exposure for dental health across the US. Violence touches every aspect of health and well-being. A pressing public health crisis no matter what the current administration says.

📝 #NJGVRC New Paper Alert! Research assistant perspectives on strategies to reduce the likelihood of experiencing vicarious trauma." #NJGVRC lead author: Jennifer Paruk, PhD 📷 ow.ly/EjfE50VwJYK Check out the quick breakdown below!