Driving Innovation in Injury Prevention: Dr. Jill Urban’s Journey with CTSI Resources

Dr. Jill Urban’s path to impactful research began with an undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering and internships at facilities like Frito-Lay and Palo Verde Nuclear Power Plant. While these roles were valuable, they didn’t ignite her passion. That spark came when Dr. Urban joined a summer internship at Wake Forest studying car crash injuries, where she first explored injury biomechanics—the application of engineering principles to the human body. This experience inspired her to pursue a PhD in biomedical engineering, focusing on translating biomechanics data into real-world safety improvements for athletes.

Building Research Foundations with CTSI

The foundation of Dr. Urban’s independent research career was laid through the CTSI KL2 program (now known as the K12 program). This program provided critical protected time, mentorship, and opportunities for networking and skill development, including participation in the Translational Research Academy. Importantly, the KL2 program opened doors for Dr. Urban to earn a Master of Public Health and introduced her to the principles of public health intervention and community engagement—key elements that now define her work.

Following her KL2 experience, Dr. Urban collaborated with Drs. Kristie Foley, Justin Moore, and her mentorship team to secure additional NIH funding via the K25 Career Development Award. Recognizing the need for further data, she applied for the Ignition Fund, which provided resources to collect neurocognitive data on youth football athletes. This $5,000 grant played a pivotal role, supplying preliminary data that supported both a PhD student’s F31 application and Dr. Urban’s own R01 grant submission. These strategic uses of CTSI funding demonstrate how targeted support can catalyze research momentum and long-term success.

Securing an R01 grant is a milestone for any researcher, and Dr. Urban credits CTSI’s writing resources and mentorship for her success. She participated in the K&R Writers Series and received expert editing from CTSI’s writing support specialists—which helped her refine grant proposals and improve communication. In addition, Dr. Urban utilized CTSI’s research studios for early-stage grant planning, benefiting from feedback outside her immediate collaborators. These resources proved invaluable, especially during challenging moments when persistence and strategic refinement led to successful funding after multiple submissions.

The Power of Community-Engaged and Implementation Science

Dr. Urban’s research evolved from observational studies to true community-engaged science, collaborating directly with youth football organizations to co-develop interventions that are both feasible and effective. CTSI’s Community and Stakeholder Research Engagement Programhelped plant the seed for this shift by introducing the idea of working with community partners. Dr. Urban’s research progressed with CTSI's formal and informal guidance, including encouragement to foster and lean into the relationships she had built over many years working with the community in observational research studies. Now, her work focuses on collaboration to achieve safer sports settings and stronger community partnerships.

Implementation science principles, championed by CTSI’s Dissemination, Implementation, and Quality Improvement program (DICQI), also inform Dr. Urban’s approach. By systematically assessing organizational readiness and adapting interventions to local contexts, her COACH program (Communities Aligned to Reduce Concussion and Head Impact Exposure) is improving coaching quality and athlete safety, while fostering relationships across high school and youth football communities.

Research Outputs and Recognition: Publishing with CTSI Support

With nearly 80 publications to her name—including 15–20 stemming from K awards—Dr. Urban’s research impact is clear. She highlights papers demonstrating the influence of practice activities on head impact exposure, foundational to the COACH framework, as some of her most influential works. She brings implementation science and community-engaged principles to her engineering research team, expanding the translational impact of their biomechanics research, and enriching the skillset of the biomechanics and neuroscience PhD and MS students she mentors. Professional write-ups have further elevated her and her team’s visibility in the CTSI newsroom and newsletters. CTSI’s writing support, networking opportunities, implementation science support, and community engagement programs have all contributed to this robust publication record.

Read additional articles about Dr. Urban’s research here:

CTSI: Empowering Researchers for Lasting Impact

Dr. Urban’s story exemplifies “pipeline success”—a journey marked by resilience, mentorship, and embracing new perspectives. She encourages early-career researchers to use CTSI resources, seek interdisciplinary collaboration, and persist through setbacks. “You just have tofind a way to communicate your research the way you feel is best,” she notes, crediting mentors and CTSI’s writing experts for helping her communicate her science effectively.

Dr. Urban’s future goals include expanding the COACH framework to other sports and regions, leveraging relationships and networks built through CTSI programs. Scaling up will rely less on traditional advertising and more on community partnership and adaptation—principles at the heart of community-engaged and implementation science.

Her motivation remains rooted in the relationships built with the youth football community and a commitment to supporting young athletes. CTSI’s resources and services have been instrumental in every step of the way, from initial research planning to grant writing, data collection, publication, and beyond.