~ RGVRC Affiliate Scholar ~

Deanna M. Giraldi, MPH is a doctoral candidate at the University of Oxford’s Department of Social Policy and Intervention. Her mixed methods research explores the biopsychosocial impacts of firearm violence on survivors, their families and caretakers, and communities with shared identities (e.g. LGBTQ+, women, BlPOC, etc.). Giraldi’s current work seeks to explore our conceptualizations of “exposure” and “survivorship”—moving away from binary definitions of physically wounded or not toward a spectrum of experiences ranging from short-term to cumulative physical, psychological, social, and economic harms. A gun violence survivor herself, Giraldi works alongside fellow survivors to shape and promote more comprehensive gun violence response programs in the aftermath of trauma. Prior to her doctoral studies, Giraldi completed her Master of Public Health degree at the Yale School of Public Health while working as a research assistant with Everytown for Gun Safety. She then moved to Washington, DC, to work on health sciences policy with the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine.