Adjunct Faculty
Adjunct faculty typically have an academic or research appointment at another institution and contribute or collaborate with one or more School of Medicine faculty members or programs.
Adjunct rank detailsFederico E Vaca, MD, MPH
Professor AdjunctDownloadHi-Res Photo
About
Copy Link
Titles
Professor Adjunct
Biography
Dr. Vaca is Professor Adjunct in the Yale School of Medicine's Department of Emergency Medicine.
He is a board-certified emergency medicine physician and physician-scientist. He previously served as a Medical Fellow for the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in Washington, D.C. Over the last 20 years, his research has focused on occupant safety, adolescent development and behaviors that influence the risk of motor vehicle crash injury as well as health disparities in injury and alcohol use disorders. His research has been funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), NIH’s Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR), and the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). Dr. Vaca has chaired and served on several NIH scientific review committees, chaired national expert panels directed by the National Academies of Sciences, Medicine, and Engineering’s Transportation Research Board, and previously served on the Board of Scientific Counselors for the CDC’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control.
Last Updated on June 08, 2023.
Appointments
Emergency Medicine
Professor AdjunctPrimaryChild Study Center
Professor AdjunctSecondary
Other Departments & Organizations
Education & Training
- MPH
- University of California at Los Angeles (2002)
- Medical Fellow
- U.S. Department of Transportation and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) (2002)
- Fellow
- University of California-San Diego (1996)
- Resident
- University of California-Irvine Medical Center (1995)
- Chief Resident
- University of California, Irvine (1995)
- MD
- Creighton University School of Medicine (1992)
Research
Copy Link
Overview
Medical Research Interests
Accident Prevention; Adolescent; Adolescent Development; Behavioral Medicine; Behavioral Research; Emergency Medicine; Healthcare Disparities; Motor Vehicles; Social Behavior
ORCID
0000-0002-8652-3755
Research at a Glance
Yale Co-Authors
Frequent collaborators of Federico E Vaca's published research.
Publications Timeline
A big-picture view of Federico E Vaca's research output by year.
Research Interests
Research topics Federico E Vaca is interested in exploring.
James Dziura, MPH, PhD
Barbara Banz, PhD
Kaigang Li, PhD
Antonio Riera, MD
Deepa Camenga, MD, MHS, FAAP
Leslie Curry, PhD, MPH
103Publications
1,069Citations
Adolescent
Motor Vehicles
Emergency Medicine
Publications
2026
Utah’s Move from 0.08 to 0.05 BAC Per Se Policy: Effects on Driver Crash Fatalities Compared to Contiguous States
Li K, Fell J, Hosseinichimeh N, Hu S, Vaca F. Utah’s Move from 0.08 to 0.05 BAC Per Se Policy: Effects on Driver Crash Fatalities Compared to Contiguous States. American Journal Of Preventive Medicine 2026, 108380. PMID: 42167382, PMCID: PMC13271174, DOI: 10.1016/j.amepre.2026.108380.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricTrends in alcohol-involved crashes among young California drivers before, during and after the COVID-19 pandemic
Lotito A, Vaca F, Hu S, Hill L, Griswold J, Li K. Trends in alcohol-involved crashes among young California drivers before, during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal Of Transport & Health 2026, 49: 102322. PMID: 42170659, PMCID: PMC13189544, DOI: 10.1016/j.jth.2026.102322.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAltmetricAn adapted brief negotiation interview for alcohol and cannabis use among assault-injured emerging adults: A randomized pilot trial protocol
Coupet E, Dodington J, D’Onofrio G, Stover C, Dziura J, Vega C, Couvertier E, Latham E, Gawel M, Fiellin D, Fretz S, Vaca F. An adapted brief negotiation interview for alcohol and cannabis use among assault-injured emerging adults: A randomized pilot trial protocol. Contemporary Clinical Trials 2026, 164: 108287. PMID: 41839387, PMCID: PMC13033190, DOI: 10.1016/j.cct.2026.108287.Peer-Reviewed Original Research
2025
Greater readiness to cut down on drinking behaviors increases effects of a digital behavioral health intervention tool in reducing unhealthy alcohol use among Latino emergency department patients
Li K, Jolly T, Dziura J, Vaca F. Greater readiness to cut down on drinking behaviors increases effects of a digital behavioral health intervention tool in reducing unhealthy alcohol use among Latino emergency department patients. Alcohol And Alcoholism 2025, 60: agaf062. PMID: 41020495, PMCID: PMC12477594, DOI: 10.1093/alcalc/agaf062.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsRiding With Alcohol-Impaired Drivers in Fatal Crashes: Modeling Historical Trends and Future Projections Using a System Dynamics Approach.
Hosseinichimeh N, MacDonald R, Li K, Fell J, Haynie D, Simons-Morton B, Banz B, Camenga D, Iannotti R, Curry L, Dziura J, Andersen D, Vaca F. Riding With Alcohol-Impaired Drivers in Fatal Crashes: Modeling Historical Trends and Future Projections Using a System Dynamics Approach. Journal Of Studies On Alcohol And Drugs 2025, 86: 849-861. PMID: 39913281, PMCID: PMC12576931, DOI: 10.15288/jsad.24-00199.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitations
2024
How the cognitive load of simulated driving affects the brain dynamics underlying auditory attention
Banz B, Wu J, Camenga D, Mayes L, Crowley M, Vaca F. How the cognitive load of simulated driving affects the brain dynamics underlying auditory attention. Traffic Injury Prevention 2024, 25: s167-s174. PMID: 39485699, DOI: 10.1080/15389588.2024.2373950.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsIndividual and social-environmental factors among young drivers informing decisions to ride with an impaired driver and drive impaired: A sequential mixed methods assessment
Vaca F, Camenga D, Li K, Zuniga V, Banz B, Iannotti R, Grayton C, Simons-Morton B, Haynie D, Curry L. Individual and social-environmental factors among young drivers informing decisions to ride with an impaired driver and drive impaired: A sequential mixed methods assessment. Traffic Injury Prevention 2024, 25: s15-s24. PMID: 39485697, PMCID: PMC11563878, DOI: 10.1080/15389588.2024.2368595.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsMindfulness, crashes, and risky driving behaviors among adolescents and young adults in the United States
Ehsani J, Duren M, Koppel S, Vaca F, Hellinger A, Grant B, Sabit A, Yenokyan G. Mindfulness, crashes, and risky driving behaviors among adolescents and young adults in the United States. Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives 2024, 28: 101248. DOI: 10.1016/j.trip.2024.101248.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricCongruency of Crash- and Hospital- Reported Injuries Among Child Passengers
Sartin E, Pfeiffer M, Hartka T, Zonfrillo M, Vaca F, Metzger K, Goodman A, Curry A, Myers R. Congruency of Crash- and Hospital- Reported Injuries Among Child Passengers. American Journal Of Preventive Medicine 2024, 67: 841-848. PMID: 39025247, PMCID: PMC11585451, DOI: 10.1016/j.amepre.2024.07.008.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricThe Phenomenon of Teen Delay in Driving Licensure: Considerations at the Intersection of Mobility and Social Welfare for Emerging Adults.
Vaca F, Drabo E, Li K. The Phenomenon of Teen Delay in Driving Licensure: Considerations at the Intersection of Mobility and Social Welfare for Emerging Adults. The Journal Of Law, Medicine & Ethics 2024, 52: 81-84. PMID: 38995254, DOI: 10.1017/jme.2024.42.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitations
Academic Achievements & Community Involvement
Copy Link
Activities
activity Appointments and Promotions Committee - Yale University School of Medicine
CommitteesCommittee Memberactivity Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine
Professional OrganizationsBoard Memberactivity Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine
Professional OrganizationsCommittee Memberactivity Transportation Research Board of the National Academies, Committee on Operator Education and Regulation, ANB30
04/01/2013 - PresentCommitteesMemberactivity Transportation Research Board of the National Academies, Committee on Simulation and Measurement of Vehicle and Operator Performance, AND30
04/15/2016 - PresentCommitteesMember
Honors
honor Leffell Prize for Clinical Excellence
04/01/2019Yale School of Medicine AwardYale School of MedicineDetailsUnited Stateshonor Board of Scientific Counselors
01/27/2017National AwardCenters for Disease Control and Prevention, National Centers for Injury Prevention and ControlDetailsUnited Stateshonor National Faculty Teaching Award
06/20/2013National AwardAmerican College of Emergency PhysiciansDetailsUnited Stateshonor California State Traffic Safety Achievement Award
04/01/2007Regional AwardCalifornia Office of Traffic SafetyDetailsUnited Stateshonor AAMC, Humanism in Medicine Award
01/01/2005National AwardAssociation of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), University of California, Irvine-School of MedicineDetailsUnited States
News
Copy Link
Get In Touch
Copy Link