About the Collaborative

Despite more than 38,000 firearm deaths and more than 115,000 injuries from firearms per year in the United States, the public and policymakers lack basic information on the causes of gun violence and how it can be prevented.

The National Collaborative on Gun Violence Research will support carefully selected, rigorous research designed to broaden agreement on the facts associated with gun policy, and support development of fair and effective policies.

Research priorities will be selected by the Research Advisory Committee, based on a review of existing science and the recommendation of gun policy researchers and stakeholders. Broadly, the collaborative will fund projects that focus on: Understanding the patterns of gun ownership and use; the benefits and harms of firearms in the United States; and evaluating policy interventions and technologies designed to reduce harms or increase the benefits of firearms use in the United States.

The collaborative is not an advocacy organization. Despite often contentious and partisan disagreement over gun policies, most people agree we need policies that will reduce gun violence, and many are interested in trustworthy information about how that could be accomplished while protecting individual’s rights. We aim to support research that will broaden agreement on the facts, and provide policymakers with the data-driven solutions and tools they need to make changes that will have a real and lasting effect on reducing gun violence.

Meet Our Team

RAND Project Staff

Andrew R. Morral

Andrew R. Morral

Director, National Collaborative on Gun Violence Research

Andrew R. Morral is a senior behavioral scientist at RAND, leader of Gun Policy in America, a RAND initiative to understand the effects of gun policies.

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Liisa Ecola

Liisa Ecola

Research Director, National Collaborative on Gun Violence Research

Liisa Ecola is a senior policy analyst at RAND. She has a broad range of research and management experience, including leading RAND’s work on the “Road to Zero,” a long-term vision of eliminating deaths from traffic crashes by 2050, and developing a tool to determine the costs and benefits of policies to reduce vehicle crash deaths and injuries. She has served as project manager for the Collaborative since spring 2021.

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Research Advisory Committee

Frank M. Clark

Frank M. Clark

Chairman

Frank Clark is President of the Chicago Board of Education. He is a member of the Chicago Bar Association, Commercial Club of Chicago, and Executives Club of Chicago. Clark is co-founder of the Rowe-Clark Math & Science Academy. He serves on the board of directors for Waste Management, Inc., on the board of trustees of the Museum of Science and Industry, on the board of directors of the Big Shoulders Fund, trustee of The Lincoln Academy of Illinois, Chair of the RAND Corporation Social and Economic Policy Advisory Board, and President of the Business Leadership Council. He is the retired chairman and chief executive officer of ComEd.

Regina Benjamin

Regina Benjamin, MD, MBA

Member

Regina M. Benjamin, MD, MBA is the 18th Surgeon General of the United States. As America’s Doctor, she provided the public with the best scientific information available on how to improve their health and the health of the nation. Dr. Benjamin also oversaw the operational command of 6,500 uniformed public health officers who serve in locations around the world to promote, and protect the health of the American People. In addition, Dr. Benjamin served as chair of the National Prevention Council—17 cabinet-level Federal agencies that developed the National Prevention Strategy, the road map for the Nation’s health.

Guido Imbens

Guido Imbens, Ph.D.

Member

Guido Imbens, Ph.D., is Professor of Economics at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and Professor of Economics in the Economics Department at Stanford University. He has taught at Harvard University, UCLA, and UC Berkeley. He joined the GSB in 2012. Imbens specializes in econometrics, and in particular methods for drawing causal inferences. Guido Imbens is a fellow of the Econometric Society, Royal Holland Society of Sciences and Humanities, the Royal Netherlands Academy of Sciences, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and holds an honorary doctorate from the University of St. Gallen. In 2017 he received the Horace Mann medal at Brown University.

Sally C. Morton

Sally C. Morton

Member

Sally C. Morton, Ph.D., is executive vice president of Knowledge Enterprise at Arizona State University. She joined the university in 2021, having previously served as dean of the College of Science at Virginia Tech, chair of Biostatistics at the University of Pittsburgh, vice president for Statistics and Epidemiology at RTI International, and head of the RAND Statistics Group. Her methodological research focuses on evidence synthesis, including meta-analysis. Her research projects span a range of clinical and societal issues including healthcare quality, homelessness, mental health, and substance abuse. Morton served as president of the American Statistical Association (ASA) and is a Fellow of the ASA and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Kathleen M. O’Toole

Kathleen M. O'Toole, JD, Ph.D.

Member

Kathleen O’Toole is a career police officer and lawyer who has earned an international reputation for her principled leadership and reform efforts. She recently completed her service as Chief of Police in Seattle, Washington where she led the Seattle Police Department through a major transformation project. In addition to addressing all requirements of the Settlement Agreement between the US Department of Justice and the City, Kathleen introduced leading-edge business practices and operational strategies that reduced crime and enhanced community trust. O’Toole also recently served as chair of the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland, and held several prominent positions in the local and state police organizations in Massachusetts, including Boston Police Commissioner.

Barrye L. Price

Barrye L. Price, Ph.D.

Member

Major General (Retired) Barrye L. Price is President and Chief Executive Officer of the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America, an organization that builds and strengthens the capacity of community coalitions to create safe, healthy, and drug-free communities through technical assistance and training, media strategy, conferences, and special events. Major General Price served on President Clinton and the First Lady's Task Force on “Raising Responsible and Resourceful Teenagers” in 2000 as well as the “Mississippi Delta Task Force,” which sought to revitalize the 207-county, seven-state region that comprises the Mississippi River flood plain from 1999 through 2000.

Jeffrey W. Runge

Jeffrey W. Runge, MD, FACEP

Member

Dr. Runge is currently the President and CEO of Carolina Complete Health Network, a network of medical practitioners organized to provide health services for the medically underserved. He is also the co-founder and Chief Medical Officer of Biospatial, Inc., a company improving national preparedness by providing operational intelligence and situational awareness of threats to health and safety at the local, state and federal levels. He previously headed the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and served as the first Chief Medical Officer of the Department of Homeland Security.