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Ellen
J.
MacKenzie
,
PhD

Bloomberg Distinguished Professor
Dean, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Professor

Ellen J. MacKenzie, PhD ’79, ScM ’75, is a renowned researcher on improving trauma care systems and policy, and the current dean of the Bloomberg School.

Contact Info

615 N. Wolfe Street, Room W1041
Baltimore
Maryland
21205
US        
410-614-9152

Research Interests

Injury Control; Outcomes Research; Disability and Rehabilitation; Health Services Research; Orthopedic Outcomes Research; Extremity War Injuries
Experiences & Accomplishments
Education
PhD
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
1979
ScM
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
1975
BA
Rutgers University
1972
Overview
Dr. MacKenzie's research focuses on the impact of health services and policies on the short-and long-term consequences of traumatic injury. She has contributed to the development and evaluation of tools for measuring both the severity and outcome of injury which have been used to evaluate the organization, financing and performance of trauma systems and rehabilitation services. Her research has advanced the knowledge of the economic and social impact of injuries and our understanding of how personal and environmental factors influence recovery and return to work.

Selected research accomplishments include:
• A comprehensive effort in the late 1980s to estimate the direct and indirect costs of injury. The Cost of Injury book defined the economic burden of injury and served for many years as the principal resource on the subject for researchers, practitioners and policymakers.
• Widely quoted in support of efforts at regionalization at both the state and national levels, the National Study on the Costs and Outcomes of Trauma Care (NSCOT) showed that one’s risk of dying from a major trauma was reduced by 25% if treated in a trauma center vs. non-trauma center.
• The NIH-funded Lower Extremity Assessment Project (LEAP) showed few differences in outcome for individuals with major limb trauma undergoing limb salvage or amputation. Instead, it underscored the importance of high self-efficacy, good social support, and low baseline measures of depression, pain and anxiety in predicting good outcome.
• In collaborations with colleagues at the Amputee Coalition of America, a self–management program for amputees, Promoting Amputee Life Skills (PALS), was developed and evaluated. Working off the success of PALS, an online self-management program, NextSteps, was designed for trauma survivors (www.nextstepsonline.org).
• With funding from the Department of Defense the Major Extremity Trauma Research Consortium (METRC) (www.metrc.org) was established. The overall goal of METRC is to produce the evidence needed to establish treatment guidelines for the optimal care of the wounded warrior and improve the clinical and quality of life outcomes of both service members and civilians who sustain major extremity trauma. The Consortium is currently involved in 20 multicenter trials addressing a range of different topics, including the prevention and treatment of acute and chronic infections, the efficacy of multimodal, pharmacologic perioperative management of pain, and the evaluation of a new custom energy-storing ankle foot orthosis for survivors of major foot and ankle trauma.
Honors & Awards
Phi Beta Kappa
Golden Apple for Teaching, Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health
Delta Omega Public Health Honorary
General Motors Trauma Research Award, Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma
A.J. Mirkin Service Award, Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine
Charter Fellow, Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine
Honorary Fellow, American Association for the Surgery of Trauma
Distinguished Career Award, American Public Health Association (Injury Control and Emergency Health Services Section)
Distinguished Achievement Award, American Trauma Society
Award of Merit, Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine
Ann Doner Vaughan Kappa Delta Award, American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons
Nursing Leadership Award, Society of Trauma Nurses
President, American Trauma Society
Diversity Recognition Award, The Johns Hopkins University
Lifetime Achievement Award in Trauma Resuscitation Science from the American Heart Association
Named by CDC as one of 20 leaders and visionaries who have had a transformative effect on the field of violence and injury prevention in the past 20 years.
Elected to the National Academy of Medicine (NAM), one of the highest honors in the fields of health and medicine.
Select Publications
Selected Publications
  • Bosse MJ, MacKenzie EJ, Kellam JF, et al.  Reconstruction or Amputation of Lower Limb Threatening Injuries: An Analysis of Two-Year Outcomes in Level I Trauma Centers.   New England Journal of Medicine, 2002; 347(24): 1924-1931.
  • MacKenzie EJ, Hoyt DB, Sacra JC, Jurkovich GJ, Carlini AR, Teitelbaum SD, Teter H. A National Inventory of Hospital Trauma Centers. JAMA. 2003; 289: 1515-1522.
  • MacKenzie EJ, Rivara FP, Jurkovich GJ, Nathens AN et al. A National Evaluation of the Effect of Trauma Center Care on Mortality. New England Journal of Medicine, 2006; Jan 26; 354(4):366-78.
  • MacKenzie E, Weir S, Rivara F, Jurkovich G, Nathens A, Wang W, Scharfstein D, Salkever D, The Value of Trauma Center Care.  J Trauma, 2010; 69(1): 1-10.
  • Wegener ST, MacKenzie EJ, Ephraim P, Ehde D, Williams R.  Self-Management Improves Outcomes in Persons with Limb Loss.  Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2009; Mar; 90(3):373-80.
Projects
Fogarty International Collaborative Trauma and Injury Research Training (ICTIRT)
Improving Activity and Participation After Limb Loss: PALS-Plus
International Collaborative Trauma and Injury Research
Evaluation of the Trauma Survivors Network
Patient Response to an Integrated Orthotic and Rehabilitation Initiative for Traumatic Injuries in the Military (PIRORITI-MTF)
Self-Managing the Consequences of Major Limb Trauma
Validation of PROMIS for Orthopaedic Trauma Research
Organization, Financing, and Delivery of EMS in the United States
Outcomes Following Major Limb Trauma Sustained in the Military
Improving Trauma Outcomes: A Patient-Centered Approach
Major Extremity Trauma Research Consortium I
Major Extremity Trauma Research Consortium II
National Trauma Information Exchange Program
The Major Extremity Trauma and Rehabilitation Consortium
METRC