Influential Woman · Healthcare Research, Traumatic Brain Injury Research, Rehabilitation
Juliet K. Haarbauer-Krupa, PhD
Senior Health Scientist (retired), Speech Pathologist, Division of Unintentional Injury Prevention
Marietta, GA 30062
Her Story
About Juliet
Juliet began her academic journey at Penn State with the intention of attending medical school, but a difficult experience in organic chemistry led her to reconsider her path. After visiting her university’s career office, she discovered speech pathology—a field that aligned her interests in biology and working with people. She went on to earn her bachelor’s degree at Penn State and later completed her master’s degree at the University of Pittsburgh, supported by strong mentors and colleagues who helped shape her early clinical foundation.
Early in her career, Juliet worked at the Children’s Institute, where she and her colleague Mark Gilvisacer helped establish one of the first pediatric brain injury units. At the time, little research existed on childhood brain injury, prompting her and her team to develop new approaches grounded in developmental literature and clinical need. This pioneering work led her to co-author a foundational book in the field and sparked a lifelong commitment to advancing care for children with brain injuries. She later followed her husband to the Washington, DC area, where she helped open a head injury rehabilitation unit at National Rehabilitation Hospital in the 1980s.
After relocating to Atlanta in 1988, Juliet completed her PhD and transitioned more fully into research, leading federal longitudinal studies and securing foundation grants focused on pediatric and young adult brain injury. Her work has consistently bridged clinical practice and research, driven by the belief that evidence-based care is essential for improving outcomes. She later served as a senior health scientist at the CDC for 12 years, contributing to national efforts including the impact of the TBI Act and early prevalence studies, and she continues to remain active in research, advocacy, and expanding access to rehabilitation care for underserved populations.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Juliet
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to persistence and really a supportive husband. If I wanted to go to a conference, he'd say go ahead. You know what I mean? He's always supported me and my work. Having that kind of support from your close loved ones is so important.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I received came from my mentors who encouraged me to pursue my PhD and stay in the field. Dr. Mark Ivasaka, who I was co-author on the first book with, was a big encourager. He encouraged me to get my PhD and stay in the field. Also, a neuropsychologist by the name of Robin Morris at Georgia State contacted me when I first moved here and said, Julie, you gotta apply for a PhD in neuroscience. I said no, I'm having kids and I just moved here, but then I did get my PhD and he was on my committee and was the best mentor ever. Between him and Mark and my friend Roberta de Pompeii, who really supported me and joined my grants to help me, they all showed me how to mentor people.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I love to mentor people, so I would encourage that person to get into the field. I'll give an example of two young women I mentored during their doctoral program in Ohio. Following that, they both got postdoc grants and they both got federal grants, and they're studying children. When I was at CDC, I created a grant to study Return to School, and the people I've mentored in Ohio were successful with getting a grant. That makes me feel good that I'm able to mentor people who want to get into the field. Jenny and Angela, I encourage them to join publications with me. Those are things you can do to help people and talk. I review a lot of things that I don't have to be on, because I want people to get the word out.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
My goal is to make sure that kids who experience a TBI and adults get care after the injury, because this is an unexpected event. People don't know the effects when you get hit in the head, usually, unless you're a scientist like me. They don't know the effects, and they're just flabbergasted many times. They didn't realize it was going to affect them, and I follow survivors on social media and it's heartbreaking to see what they post about trying to get care, and they can't get it. So my goal is to help more people get care. I don't know whether we're going to be able to do much under this administration that has cut a lot of the federal funding and insurance and everything. On the positive side, I was just at a pediatric conference in Canada, and I was so impressed with the volume and different types of research people are doing on kids now. It's really exciting.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
The most important values in my work and personal life are persistence, mentorship, ensuring access to care for individuals with brain injury, and supporting expanded opportunities for women.
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