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Nancy Kassam-Adams, PhD
Associate Director for Behavioral Research, Center for Injury Research and Prevention
Dr. Kassam-Adams’ current research focuses on data sharing and data harmonization in traumatic stress research, and on the development and evaluation of tools that enable trauma-informed and family-centered care in pediatric health settings. Current National Institutes of Health-funded projects include an eHealth tool incorporating game-based screening of child symptoms and functioning, and online training for providers in non-pediatric emergency departments.
Bio
Over the past two decades, Dr. Kassam-Adams has led a research program focused on understanding how children and families respond to potentially traumatic events — such as medical emergencies, injury, and violence — and on developing secondary prevention protocols which can be integrated in pediatric healthcare settings or delivered broadly via the web.
She leads an international data archive of child trauma studies, a collaborative effort which aims to advance data sharing and enable integrative cross-study analyses. She also directs the Center for Pediatric Traumatic Stress, which provides training and resources for trauma-informed pediatric healthcare across the United States. She is a past president of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, and has been appointed to several national and international expert consensus groups on child traumatic stress.
Among her notable career achievements, Dr. Kassam-Adams:
- Leads a program of translational research (federally-funded since 1997) examining child and parent post-traumatic stress reactions, delineating prevalence and etiological mechanisms, and developing and evaluating theoretically grounded intervention models
- Serves as a national thought leader in defining the concept and practice of “trauma-informed” pediatric healthcare
- Leads an international collaboration creating a unique research resource in the traumatic stress field — a growing data archive of prospective child trauma studies that promotes integrative cross-study analyses
Education and Training
BA, Johns Hopkins University (Psychology), 1979
MS, Johns Hopkins University (Counseling), 1981
MEd, University of Virginia (Clinical Psychology), 1992
PhD, University of Virginia (Clinical Psychology), 1995
Titles and Academic Titles
Associate Director for Behavioral Research, Center for Injury Research and Prevention
Director, Center for Pediatric Traumatic Stress
Research Professor of Pediatrics
Professional Awards
Ethel B. Foerderer Fund Fellow, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, 1998
Publication Highlights
PubMed:
Kassam-Adams, N. and Olff, M. Embracing data preservation, sharing, and re-use in traumatic stress research. European Journal of Psychotraumatology. 2020 Apr; 11(1):1739885. PMID: 32341765; PMCID: PMC7170380
Kassam-Adams, N, Kenardy JA, Delahanty, DL, Marsac, ML, Meiser-Stedman, R, Nixon, RDV, Landolt, MA, & Palmieri, PA. Development of an international data repository and research resource: The Prospective studies of Acute Child Trauma and Recovery (PACT/R) Data Archive. European Journal of Psychotraumatology. 2020 Mar; 11 (1); doi: 10.1080/20008198.2020.1729025 PMID: 32284820
Kassam-Adams, N & Marsac, ML. Brief practical screeners in English and Spanish for acute posttraumatic stress symptoms in children. J Trauma Stress. 2016 Dec; 29(6):483-490. PMID: 27923266
Kassam-Adams, N., Marsac, ML, Kohser, K, Kenardy, J, March, S, & Winston, F. Pilot randomized controlled trial of a novel web-based intervention to prevent posttraumatic stress in children following medical events. J Pediatr Psychol. 2016 Jan; 41(1):138-48. PMID: 26089554
Kassam-Adams, N. Design, delivery, and evaluation of early interventions for children exposed to acute trauma. European J Psychotraumatology. 2014 Apr; 5: 22757. PMID: 25018860