About Us

The Boost 'em in the Back Seat video was created and its related research is being conducted by a team of researchers in the Department of Pediatrics' Division of Community Health and Research (CHR) at Eastern Virginia Medical School (EVMS) in Norfolk, Virginia, USA. The CHR (formerly known as the Center for Pediatric Research) has conducted scientific investigations to improve the health of children and their families for over a decade.

The Division of CHR is dedicated to serving children and their families through basic, clinical, and applied research that advances the prevention and treatment of disability and disease. Through education, training and collaboration the CHR promotes the translation of research to innovations that improve child health. Research projects range from child abuse and child safety to school behavior and the promotion of proper vaccine use across the age span. 

Principal Investigator: Kelli England Will, Ph.D.

Co-Producer and Past Coordinator: Cynthia Shier Sabo, M.S.

Collaborator: Bryan E. Porter, Ph.D.

Current members of the Boost 'em in the Back Seat research team include Kelli England Will, Ph.D., and Melissa Minnick, B.S.

Dr. Kelli England Will, Principal Investigator, is a Clinical Psychologist and Associate Professor of Pediatrics at EVMS. Dr. Will received her M.S. in Experimental/General Psychology from Old Dominion University and earned her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Virginia Tech. Dr. Will's areas of expertise are injury prevention, substance abuse prevention, health behavior theory, and risk communication. She has training and experience designing, implementing, and evaluating health-promotion programs and has received over 20 research grants from agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, US Department of Transportation, and the US Navy for her injury prevention research. Dr. Will is also a Nationally Certified Child Passenger Safety Technician.

Melissa Minnick, B.S. is a Research Assistant I at EVMS. Ms. Minnick received her Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Old Dominion University in 2009, and is currently pursuing her Master's in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at Old Dominion. Ms. Minnick has training and experience in data collection, entry, and traffic safety research.