Centers

Research Assistant

As part of Columbia’s Center for Youth Violence Prevention, Krystal Perkins works closely with the Center’s Surveillance Project Principal Investigator, Dr. Catherine Stayton (at the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene) on disseminating findings on violence-related injuries and deaths among youth. As Surveillance Coordinator, Ms. Perkins assists in the acquisition of data from administrative data sources and oversees the building and management of an active surveillance data system. She analyzes data from these multiple systems in order to monitor youth violence over time in Washington Heights-Inwood, other communities, and citywide. Ms. Perkins has presented surveillance findings at national conferences (e.g. the American Public Health Association), to Centers for Disease Control Program Officers, and to local community groups (e.g., AmeriCorps).

She is co-author of a manuscript, currently in draft, examining the behavioral and mental health correlates of weapon-carrying New York City youth. Krystal is a doctoral candidate at the City University of New York Graduate Center in Social/Personality Psychology; her dissertation examines the psychological mechanisms that account for the acceptance of injustice among low status groups.