A social behavioral epidemiologist by training, Dr. Peterson applies advanced population-level analysis and mixed methods approaches to examine issues of safety and mobility throughout the life course. This and her background in behavioral theory has been fundamental to the development of wholistic approaches to understanding of driving behavior and evaluating interventions. The goal of her research is to reduce speeding behaviors and increase life-long, equitable mobility through development, evaluation, and promotion of effective interventions and evidence-based policy.
Expertise: Social and behavioral epidemiology, social determinants of health, qualitative and mixed methods, speeding, aging driving needs, caregiving technology solutions, dementia caregiving, driving cessation, intervention development and evaluation, teen driving, distracted driving, mindfulness and driving
Let’s Connect
Phone
(734) 764-6504
Location
UMTRI
2901 Baxter Rd. Rm 223
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Primary Website
Additional Information
Education
- Postdoctoral Research Associate, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN USA, 2020-2021. Families and Long-Term Care Projects, Center on Health Aging and Innovation, Division of Health and Policy Management, School of Public Health.
- Doctor of Philosophy (Awarded June 30, 2020) University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA, 2014-2020. Epidemiology – Division of epidemiology and Community Health, School of Public Health.
- Master of Science, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA Behavioral and Social Sciences Intervention, School of Public Health.
- Bachelor of Arts with General Honors, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA Psychology with Honors – Department of Psychology
Service
- UMTRI Patricia F. Waller Scholarship Application Committee Chair (2025-present) and Committee Member (2021-2024)
- Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences Mobility of Older Persons and Individuals with Disabilities (AQC13) Committee Member (2025-present)
- Minneapolis Automated Enforcement Study Technical Advisory Committee Member, 2020
- Life Course Center, an NIA Center on the Demography and Economics of Aging, Member, 2020-Present
- Dementia-Friendly Airports Working Group Co-Chair, 2018-Present
- Navigating Air Travel as Persons with Dementia Project Survey Academic Lead
- Mobility for Minnesota’ Aging Persons Consortium, 2019-2021: Dementia and Driving MN Initiative Advisory Group MemberNeeds Assessment Project Expert Consultant
- Minnesota State Legislature’s Alzheimer’s Disease Working Group, 2018: Assessment of Trends and Disparities Committee Expert Consultant
Awards
- J.B. Hawley Student Research Award, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota [UMN], 2019
- Minnesota Gerontological Society Higher Education Student Award, 2019
- John S. Adams Award for Excellence in Transportation Research and Education, UMN Center for Transportation Studies, 2019
- Student Travel Award for the Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting, UMN Center for Transportation Studies, 2016 & 2017
Key Projects
- Principal Investigator. Special Topic and Trends Analysis of Impairment-Involved Crash Data in Michigan 10/01/2025-9/30/2026. Michigan State Police: Office of Highway Safety Planning Award 2026-APP-0210 (Total: $99,610.06)
- Principal Investigator, 2025 Michigan traffic crash facts (33d year of award to CMISST). 10/01/2025-9/30/2026. Co-Investigator: Carol A. C. Flannagan. Michigan State Police: Office of Highway Safety Planning Award 2026-APP-002 (Total: $655,054.37)
- Co-Investigator, Prevalence of Various Forms of Distractions and Factors that Influence Driver Engagement. 3/01/2025-08/31/2026. Principal investigator: R. M. St. Louis. AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety (Total: $200,803.00)
- Co-Investigator, Making ADS vehicles usable and inclusive: Interface design. 9/25/2024-9/24/2027. PI: K. Klinich. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Task Order No. 693JJ924F00173N (Total: $949,529.00)
- Principal Investigator, Guiding speed safety camera decision making in Michigan – Identifying stakeholder and public perceptions. 10/1/2024-9/30/2025. Michigan State Police: Office of Highway Safety Planning Award PP-2025-177 (Total: $99,490.54)
- Principal Investigator,Quantifying impacts of traffic enforcement activity levels on safety. 6/3/2024-6/2/2027. Co-Investigators: Carol A. C. Flannagan, A.J. Million. Behavioral Traffic Safety Cooperative Research Program (BTSCRP) Award BTS-31 (Total: $599,930.84)
Publications
Peterson, C. M., Louis, R. M. S., & Flannagan, C. (2025). Enhancing enrollment and adherence in long-term wearable research on dementia: Qualitative systematic review and meta-synthesis. JMIR Aging, 8(1), e63768. doi: 10.2196/63768
Peterson, C. M., Leslie, A., Bowman, P. J., & Flannagan, C. A. C. (2024 eprint). Unpacking the COVID-19 roadway fatality paradox: An analysis of motor vehicle crashes in Michigan 2019-2022. Traffic Injury Prevention, 24(1–9). doi. 10.1080/15389588.2024.2427264.
Peterson, C. M., Visclosky, T., Flannagan, C., Mahajan, P., Gabanyicz, A., Bouchard, J. J., Cervantes, V., Gribbin, W., & Hashikawa, A. N. (2024) Evaluating a virtual reality game to enhance teen distracted driving education: A mixed methods pilot study. JMIR Formative Research, 8(1):e60674. doi: 10.2196/60674. PMID: 39591605.
Peterson, C. M., Ingvalson, S. N., Birkeland, R. W., Louwagie, K. W., Scott, T. L., Pachana, N. A., Liddle, J., Gustafsson, L., & Gaugler, J. E. (2024). CarFreeMe™-Dementia:Potential benefits of a driving retirement program supporting persons with dementia and their families. Innovation in Aging, 8(3): igae022. doi: 10.1093/geroni/igae022. PMCID: PMC10962632.
Peterson, C. M., Leslie, A., Flannagan, C. A. C., & Nelson, T. F. (2024). On the road to retirement: Predicting nighttime driving difficulty and cessation using self-reported health factors. Journal of Transport & Health, 34(6):101724. doi: 10.1016/j.jth.2023.101724.
Gaugler, J. E., Zmora, R., Peterson, C. M., Mitchell, L. L. Jutkowitz, E., & Duval, S. (2023) What interventions keep older people out of residential long-term care? A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society (JAGS), 71(11):3609-3621 doi: 10.1111/jgs.18522. PMID: 37526432.
Mitchell, L. L., Horn, B., Stabler, H., Birkeland, R. W., Peterson, C. M., Albers, E., & Gaugler, J. E. (2023) Caring for a relative with dementia in long-term care during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Prospective Longitudinal Study. Innovation in Aging. 7(4):igad034. doi: 10.1093/geroni/igad034. PMCID: PMC10195573.
Peterson, C. M., Birkeland, R. W., Louwagie, K. W., Ingvalson, S. N., Mitchell, L. L., Scott, T. L., Liddle, J., Pachana, N. A., Gustafsson, L., & Gaugler, J. E. (2023). Refining a driving retirement program for persons with dementia and their care partners: A mixed methods evaluation of CarFreeMe™-Dementia. The Journals of Gerontology: Series B., 78(3):506-519. doi: 10.1093/geronb/gbac151. PMCID: PMC9985324.
Peterson, C. M., Birkeland, R., Barsel, S., Statz, T. L., Gaugler, J. E., & Finlay, J. M. (2022 eprint, 2024) “Sick with stress”: Perspectives on airport travel from persons living with dementia and their travel companions. Disability & Society, 39(1), 234-254. doi. 10.1080/09687599.2022.2070060.