Stephen Hargarten, MD, MPH
Founding Associate Dean for Global Health
Contact Information
Biography
In January 2010, the Medical College of Wisconsin named Stephen Hargarten, MD, as associate dean of the Office of Global Health. Dr. Hargarten is also professor of Emergency Medicine.
Dr. Hargarten’s international experience began in medical school when he selected a two month elective clerkship in Nicaragua. In 1980, he volunteered at the Tom Dooley Heritage Hospital in Thailand, caring for refugees from Laos. He served on the Board of Directors of the Wisconsin Indochina Refugee Relief Fund and also on the Board of Tom Dooley Heritage. As an outcome of his MPH at the Bloomberg School of Public Health, Dr. Hargarten has extensively investigated US citizen deaths (initially Peace Corps Volunteers) that occur outside the United States and is a leading expert in this area of global health.
Along with colleagues in emergency medicine and in collaboration with the Center for International Health, a collaborative of several institutions, including the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Marquette University, Dr. Hargarten has served as co-principal investigator on large emergency medicine services (EMS) training projects in Poland, Croatia, Latvia, and China.
Currently, Dr. Hargarten serves on the Violence and Injury Prevention Mentoring Committee for the World Health Organization and serves on the board of directors of the Association for Safe International Road Travel (ASIRT). Dr. Hargarten has a long history of extramurally funded research in injury prevention, and has published over 100 research articles, editorials and chapters.
An alumnus of the Medical College, Dr. Hargarten joined the faculty in 1989. He completed an internship at the Gorgas Hospital in Panama, and previously served as a staff physician in the emergency departments at St. Joseph’s, St. Mary’s and St. Luke’s Hospitals before joining the College and the staff at the County Hospital and Froedtert Hospital. Dr. Hargarten completed his MPH at Johns Hopkins School of Public Health and Hygiene in 1984 and is a member of the Johns Hopkins Society of Scholars which is a honor for those who have shown distinction and excellence in their field of study.
He is an examiner for the American Board of Emergency Medicine and has received numerous awards in recognition for teaching excellence, research in injury prevention, and public service. He is the founding president of the Society for Advancement of Violence and Injury Research, and a past president of the Association of Academic Chairs of Emergency Medicine, as well as having served on many expert committees and advisory task forces. Most recently Dr. Hargarten was elected to the Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academy of Sciences. Election to the IOM is considered one of the highest honors in the fields of health and medicine and recognizes individuals who have demonstrated outstanding professional achievement and commitment to service. In 2014, Dr. Hargarten became the Director of the Milwaukee Global Health Consortium (formerly Center for International Health) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
He currently serves as a senior advisor to the Office of Global Health through the development of its next strategic plan, mentorship of residents/fellows in the GME Global Health Scholars academic enrichment program, director of the Dr. Elaine Kohler Summer Academy of Global Health Research, Course Director for the Master of Science in Global Health Equity Thesis Preparation, faculty lead with partnerships in Belize and Poland and the Network for the Prevention of Gun Violence in the Americas.
Publications
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JAMA Summit Report on Reducing Firearm Violence and Harms-Reply.
(Rivara FP, Richmond TS, Hargarten S.) JAMA. 2026 Apr 14;335(14):1272 PMID: 41784956 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-105032472965 03/05/2026
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Applying the Cardiff Model for Violence Prevention in the US-An Opportunity for Action Now.
(Simon TR, Wu DT, Hargarten SW.) JAMA Intern Med. 2026 Mar 02 PMID: 41770578 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-105032460165 03/02/2026
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Strategies for addressing social drivers of health at US trauma centers.
(Smith RN, Bonne S, Tatebe LC, Hargarten S, Kramer K, Kotagal M, Williams A, Berry S, Kirkendoll S, Campbell BT, Dicker RA.) Trauma Surg Acute Care Open. 2026;11(1):e001905 PMID: 41835485 PMCID: PMC12983917 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-105034090801 03/16/2026
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Toward a Safer World by 2040: The JAMA Summit Report on Reducing Firearm Violence and Harms.
(Rivara FP, Richmond TS, Hargarten S, Branas CC, Rowhani-Rahbar A, Webster D, Richardson J Jr, Ayanian JZ, Boggan D, Braga AA, Buggs SAL, Cerdá M, Chen F, Chitkara A, Christakis DA, Crifasi C, Dawson L, deRoon-Cassini TA, Dicker R, Erete S, Galea S, Hemenway D, La Vigne N, Levine AS, Ludwig J, Maani N, McCarthy RL, Patton DU, Quick JD, Ranney ML, Rimanyi E, Ross JS, Sakran JV, Sampson RJ, Song Z, Tucker J, Ulrich MR, Vargas L, Wilcox RB Jr, Wilson N, Zimmerman MA, JAMA Summit on Reducing Firearm Violence and Harms.) JAMA. 2025 Dec 23;334(24):2208-2219 PMID: 41182880 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-105021876686 11/03/2025
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(LeSueur J, Koser J, Chadwick T, Milia DJ, Pintar FA, Hargarten S.) Forensic Sci Med Pathol. 2025 Nov 11 PMID: 41217633 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-105021439641 11/11/2025
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Firearm Violence Prevention in Peril: A Call to Defend Our Public Safety Infrastructure.
(Semenza DC, Richmond TS, Rajan S, Betz ME, Branas C, Buggs SAL, Hargarten S, Richardson J, Rivara FP, Rowhani-Rahbar A, Sharpe TL, Webster DW, Pizarro JM.) Am J Public Health. 2025 Nov;115(11):1805-1808 PMID: 41061216 PMCID: PMC12510113 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-105018290786 10/08/2025
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(Stein R, Finnie RKC, Harmon S, Peng Y, Pritchard C, Vecsey H, Emmons KM, Hargarten S, Simon MA, Blanck HM, Harris DM, Bellows L, Coleman-Jensen A, Fleischhacker S, Koenings MM, Odoms-Young A, Seligman HK, Grant C, Powell A, Community Preventive Services Task Force.) Am J Prev Med. 2025 Mar;68(3):627-637 PMID: 39631447 PMCID: PMC12019972 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85214565696 12/05/2024
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Bullets as Pathogen-The Need for Public Health and Policy Approaches.
(Fleegler EW, Vargas L, Pulcini CD, Hargarten S.) JAMA. 2025 Feb 18;333(7):565-566 PMID: 39652065 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85219499077 12/09/2024
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Firearms Industry Immunity From Safety Regulation-A Call to Action.
(Cavataro BL, Seshan ML, Hargarten SW.) JAMA Health Forum. 2025 Jan 03;6(1):e244570 PMID: 39792399 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85214873197 01/10/2025
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Variation in Acute Pain Management of Youth With Nonfatal Firearm Injuries.
(Pulcini CD, Zamani M, Alpern ER, Chaudhary S, Ehrlich PF, Fein JA, Goyal M, Hall M, Hargarten S, Hoffmann JA, Myers R, Sheehan KM, Zima BT, Fleegler EW, CHARGE Group.) Acad Pediatr. 2025;25(8):102877 PMID: 40614961 PMCID: PMC12289321 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-105013767113 07/05/2025
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Youth Firearm Mortality in the Americas From 2015 to 2022.
(Degli Esposti M, Pulcini CD, Fleegler EW, Weigend Vargas E, Vargas L, Yock-Corrales A, Hargarten S.) JAMA Netw Open. 2024 Oct 01;7(10):e2437395 PMID: 39356508 PMCID: PMC11447584 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85205528645 10/02/2024
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Examining firearm-related deaths in Mexico, 2015–2022
(Weigend Vargas E, Degli Esposti M, Hargarten S, Vargas L, Goldstick JE.) Injury Epidemiology. December 2024;11(1) SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85199976400 12/01/2024