The Centre

IPC at a glance.

The Injury Prevention Centre (IPC) has been the leader in injury prevention in Alberta for almost 30 years. Working in partnership with organizations, communities, and individuals, we initiate and implement evidence-informed initiatives, programs, and advocacy efforts. By focusing on preventing injuries, we save lives and keep Albertans out of emergency rooms and hospital beds. We work as connectors, providers, and leaders committed to our vision of ensuring that “Albertans work and play hard, free from life-limiting injuries.”

Our history.

Established in 1998 as the Alberta Centre for Injury Control & Research (ACICR), the Injury Prevention Centre (IPC) is the oldest injury prevention centre in Canada. Over the past 30 years, Alberta has seen a significant decrease in the injury-related hospital admission rate of 0.4% each year. While this is good news, injury remains the leading cause of death for Albertans aged 10 to 49 years and impacts the Alberta economy with a cost of over $7 billion annually, about $5 billion being direct medical costs.

A message from our Director.

My journey to injury prevention is very personal; I sustained a life altering injury at the age of 18 that left me physically disabled. This experience gave me a deep understanding of the impact preventable injuries have on individuals, families, communities and ultimately society. It also cemented my belief in the need for injury prevention. The Centre works across Alberta to empower Albertans to prevent injuries through surveillance, program support, knowledge synthesis and translation, and education and information sharing. While we have made tremendous strides in reducing preventable injuries, injuries still remain a leading cause of death and disability for Albertans.

Our team.

Kathy L Belton

Director, Adjunct Professor

Tel: 780.492.9762

Kathy is the Director of the Injury Prevention Centre in the School of Public Health at the University of Alberta. Her areas of interest are knowledge translation, motor vehicle and farm-related injuries and falls prevention for seniors. Kathy has a Masters of Education specializing in Adult education and a PhD in Epidemiology at the University of Alberta. In 2013 she was awarded the National Leadership Award for her work in injury prevention. As an injury survivor, she knows first-hand the impact of preventable injuries.

Claire Benny

Scientific Director, Assistant Professor

Tel: 780.492.0454

Claire is the Scientific Director of the Injury Prevention Centre and an Assistant Professor in the School of Public Health at the University of Alberta. Claire holds a MSc in Population & Public Health (UBC) and a PhD in Epidemiology (UAlberta) and completed her CIHR-funded postdoctoral training at Public Health Ontario. Claire has research interests in social inequities, injury prevention, substance use, and causal inference methods in epidemiology and her role is to oversee the research program at the Injury Prevention Centre.

Shelley Dallas-Smith

Seniors' Falls Program Coordinator, Finding Balance

Tel: 780.492.6019

Shelley joined IPC in 2024 as the Project Coordinator for Finding Balance. She holds a degree in Recreation Administration from the University of Alberta. Prior to joining IPC, Shelley spent over 30 years with Alberta Health Services, where she worked in various roles, including Recreation Therapist, Injury Prevention Specialist, and Health Promotion Facilitator. Shelley has extensive experience working with seniors, particularly in the area of falls prevention. She founded and chaired the Central AB Falls Prevention Coalition for 15 years and has been a longstanding partner and contributor to the Finding Balance program.

Kristy Desmarais

Education Coordinator

Tel: 780.492.9769

Kristy is the newest member of the IPC team, and as the Education Coordinator she brings 29 years of experience as an educator. She has a BEd from the University of Alberta, as well as an MRE from Newman Theological College. As a classroom teacher and school principal for preschool to grade 6 students, safety has always been a number one priority. She continues her dedication to bringing high quality, research-based, educational programs and initiatives to educators, parents and children through the various committees and working groups she has been on throughout her career.

Colleen Drul

Data Analyst

Tel: 780.492.9764

Colleen is the injury data analyst at the Centre. Colleen is the IPC resource for internal and external guidance on injury surveillance, classification, and data related issues. She is responsible for providing leadership in provincial injury surveillance initiatives at the Centre. Colleen has over 17 years experience in data services.

George Frost

Knowledge Translation & Digital Comms Coordinator

Tel: 780.492.9758

George started at the Centre in 2011 as a Research Assistant and is now responsible for the development of the Centre's web assets, digital communications, and resources.

George's background is in Kinesiology (BSc at UofA), and he served six years (2010-16) on the Board of Directors of the Alberta Kinesiology Association as VP Communications. He previously worked in private industry performing functional capacity and MSK evaluations, audiometry, and drug screening for workplace health and safety programs. George has also trained in the EMS field as an Emergency Medical Responder, completed the Canadian injury Prevention Curriculum, received certification in Digital Health Promotion from York University, and Knowledge Translation Professional certification from SickKids at the University of Toronto.

Jodie Moisan

Office Coordinator (HR, finance)

Tel: 780.492.8859

Jodie is the office coordinator, overseeing general operations and human resources, and is executive assistant to the Directors.

Patti Stark

Community Mobilization Coordinator

Tel: 780.492.2330

Meet Patti, a public health pro with over 30 years of experience making communities safer and healthier. Since 2003, she's been working tirelessly at the Centre to educate, empower, and raise awareness about injury prevention. Whether it's helping individuals, groups, or entire communities, Patti is all about connecting people with resources and services that can make a real difference.

From traffic safety to suicide prevention, Patti’s impact has been far-reaching. These days, she's busy strengthening Alberta's injury prevention network, promoting poison prevention, and tackling e-scooter safety—because safety is her passion!

When she’s not working to make the world a safer place, Patti can be found savouring a chai latte, curled up with a good book, or exploring the outdoors with her family and her trusty dog.

Marla Zubiak

Office Coordinator (programs, operations)

Tel: 780.492.6019

Marla coordinates resource distribution and inventory for the Centre, as well as logistics for the BrainWaves and Finding Balance programs.

These Lands.

The University of Alberta, its buildings, labs, and research stations are primarily located on the territory of the Néhiyaw (Cree), Niitsitapi (Blackfoot), Métis, Nakoda (Stoney), Dene, Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) and Anishinaabe (Ojibway / Saulteaux), lands that are now known as part of Treaties 6, 7 and 8 and homeland of the Métis. The University of Alberta respects the sovereignty, lands, histories, languages, knowledge systems and cultures of all First Nations, Métis and Inuit nations.

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