Program Manager, Violence Prevention Institute

Lexie M. Contreras, MPH is the Program Manager for the Supportive Hospital-based Intervention for Firearm Trauma (SHIFT) Study at the Tulane Center for Youth Equity. She is also a fifth-year PhD candidate in the Department of Social, Behavioral, and Population Sciences at The Celia Scott Weatherhead School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. Her interest in violence prevention stems from her experiences growing up in Stockton, California, and desire to better understand how place is associated with health. She is broadly interested in how the built and social environments are associated with youth firearm injury. Lexie’s current research looks at the role social support plays in youth firearm beliefs and behaviors. Lexie is a strong advocate for the mixed methods and community-engaged research methodologies and strives to incorporate both into her work. 

Before returning to graduate school, Lexie worked as a clinical research coordinator at the David Geffen School of Medicine where she oversaw numerous clinical trials in the Department of Nephrology as a member of the CORE Kidney Program. As a graduate student, she has worked on studies ranging from community violence exposure, child maltreatment, and firearm violence. 

In her spare time, Lexie enjoys trying new restaurants across the city, taking her two dogs to the park, and travelling with her husband.