Gillian Hotz, PhD is the director of the KiDZ Neuroscience Center and the Concussion, WalkSafe™ & BikeSafe™ Programs in the Department of Neurosurgery & The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, at University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. Dr. Hotz is a research professor and the principal investigator on many funded national, state, and local grants for injury prevention research projects and clinical trials for children with traumatic brain injury.
The WalkSafe™ program was developed in 2001 at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and the Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Medical Center. WalkSafe aims to improve pedestrian safety, increase physical activity, and enhance the walkability surrounding elementary schools. www.walksafe.us.
Since 2003, the pediatric pedestrian-hit-by-car (PPHBC) rates have declined by more than 40 percent and Walk Safe and has been identified as a significant contributor to the reduction of PPHBC rates in Miami-Dade County. The BikeSafe Program is now educating middle school age children in parks and classroom settings.
Dr. Hotz also directs a comprehensive Concussion Program and is a Credentialed ImPACT Consultant. She has presented at many conferences on the local, national, and international levels as well as published extensively in journals and books. Dr. Hotz is an author of two neurocognitive tests the Brief Test of Head Injury and the Pediatric Test of Brain Injury. She also is a member of a number of Boards and Advisory Groups specifically, Florida Injury Prevention Advisory Council, Florida Committee on Trauma, and the Sarah Jane Brain Project.