In the conference launching Injury Prevention, Pless made an important distinction between multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary research. Individuals from multiple disciplines conducting research on a particular problem characterize the former. Epidemiologists study crash data to determine risk factors for fatal motor vehicle crashes, engineers design car interiors to lessen energy transfer to occupants in the event of a crash, surgeons and emergency medicine physicians study crash injury patterns, and public policy researchers evaluate the effect of different legislative interventions on injury rates. This …