Maria Bulzacchelli is the Director of the Undergraduate Program in Public Health Studies. Dr. Bulzacchelli has worked in the field of public health for over 20 years. She earned her PhD in Health and Public Policy from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Prior to joining the Public Health Studies Program, she was an Assistant Professor of Health Policy and Management at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She served on the Board of Health for the Town of Amherst, Massachusetts from 2009 to 2012. Prior to entering graduate school she held positions at the Harvard School of Public Health and Massachusetts General Hospital. She completed her undergraduate studies at Bowdoin College.

Dr. Bulzacchelli’s research interests are mainly in the area of injury prevention and control. She has considerable expertise in evaluating injury prevention interventions. Much of her work focuses on occupational injuries and safety-related behaviors, especially compliance with safety standards and worker behavior in hazardous industries such as manufacturing, tree care, and commercial fishing. The overarching objective of this work is to increase our understanding of the relationship between regulatory action, policy implementation, safety practices, and injury rates. Dr. Bulzacchelli is also interested in local public health systems. Her work in this area aims to ensure that local agencies can provide essential services to meet emerging as well as existing public health challenges.

Select Publications

Gagen TM, Bulzacchelli MT. Improving local service delivery to prevent falls in community-dwelling older adults: translating research to practice. Gerontologist. 2021 Aug 13;61(6):819-825. doi: 10.1093/geront/gnaa121.

Doucette ML, Bulzacchelli MT, Frattaroli S, Crifasi CK. Workplace homicides committed by firearm: recent trends and narrative text analysis. Injury Epidemiology, 2019 Mar 18;6:5. doi: 10.1186/s40621-019-0184-0. eCollection 2019.

Sulsky SI, Bulzacchelli MT, Zhu L, Karlsson L, McKinnon CJ, Hill OT, Kardouni JR. Risk factors for training-related injuries during U.S. Army basic combat training. Military Medicine. 2018;183(March/April Suppl.): 55-65.

Doucette ML, Bulzacchelli MT, Gillum TL, Whitehill JM. The Massachusetts school sports concussions law: A qualitative study of local implementation experiences. Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics. 2016;44: 503-513.

Waritu AS, Bulzacchelli MT, Begay ME.  Use of fees to fund local public health services in Western Massachusetts. Journal of Public Health Management and Practice. 2015;21(2): 167-175.

Bulzacchelli MT, Sulsky SI, Rodriguez-Monguio R, Karlsson LH, Hill OT. Injury during U.S. Army basic combat training: A systematic review of risk factor studies. American Journal of Preventive Medicine. 2014;47(6): 813-822.

Julius A, Kane B, Bulzacchelli MT, Ryan HDP III. Compliance with the ANSI Z133.1 – 2006 safety standard among arborists in New England. Journal of Safety Research. 2014;51: 65-72.

Pollack K, Bulzacchelli M. Workplace injury and behavior change. In S Kahan, A Gielen, P Fagan, & L Green, Eds. Health Behavior Change in Populations. Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2014:315-337.

Gielen AC, McDonald E, Frattaroli S, McKenzie L, Backes B, Glenshaw M, Shields W, Bulzacchelli MT, and the CARES -- Children ARE Safe -- Mobile Safety Center Partnership.  If you build it, will they come? Using a mobile safety center to disseminate safety information and products to low-income urban families. Injury Prevention. 2009;15: 95-99.

Bulzacchelli MT, Gielen AC, Shields WC, McDonald EM, Frattaroli S. Parental safety–related knowledge and practices associated with visiting a mobile safety center in a low-income urban population. Family and Community Health. 2009;32 :147-158.

Bulzacchelli MT, Vernick JS, Sorock GS, Webster DW, Lees PSJ. Circumstances of fatal lockout/tagout-related occupational injuries in manufacturing. American Journal of Industrial Medicine. 2008;51:  728-734.

Bulzacchelli MT, Vernick JS, Webster DW, Lees PSJ. Effects of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s control of hazardous energy (lockout/tagout) standard on rates of machinery-related fatal occupational injury. Injury Prevention. 2007;13: 334-338.

Vernick JS, Webster DW, Bulzacchelli MT, Samia Mair J. Regulation of firearm dealers in the United States: An analysis of state law and opportunities for improvement. Journal of Law, Medicine and Ethics. 2006;34: 765-775.

Webster DW, Bulzacchelli MT, Zeoli AM, Vernick JS.  Effects of undercover police stings of gun dealers on the supply of new guns to criminals. Injury Prevention. 2006;12: 225-230.

Michaud CM, McKenna MT, Begg S, Tomijima N, Majmudar M, Bulzacchelli MT,  Ebrahim S, Ezzati M, Salomon J, Kreiser J, Hogan M, and Murray CJL. The burden of disease and injury in the United States – 1996. Population Health Metrics. 2006;4: 11.

Murray CJL, Kulkarni SC, Michaud C, Tomijima N, Bulzacchelli MT, Iandiorio TJ, Ezzati M.  Eight Americas: Investigating mortality disparities across races, counties, and race-counties in the United States. PLoS Medicine. 2006;3: 1513-1524.