Northeastern recognized Matthew Miller for his life-saving research, teaching and public health contributions.
What do cancer and heart disease have in common with gun violence?
From a public health perspective, Northeastern University professor Matthew Miller says, avoiding any of them begins with understanding their root causes.
“Epidemiology helps us understand how to think about causation,” says Miller, an expert on injury and violence prevention. “By shedding light on the causes, one can then think about how to prevent the outcomes that you want to avoid and promote those that you want to see more of.”
Miller has devoted more than 25 years of his career to studying firearm-related injury and violence. His rigorous research has established a clear causal link between firearm availability and increased risks of suicide, homicide, and unintentional injuries and deaths.
In recognition of his contributions to research, teaching and public health service, Northeastern recently named Miller a university distinguished professor of health sciences and epidemiology.
This appointment follows his election to the National Academy of Medicine in November for his “foundational epidemiological research on firearm access and suicide” that “enhanced our understanding of the theoretical underpinnings of suicide prevention via lethal means restrictions.”
Miller credits his success to colleagues who have supported and enhanced his work through collaboration, including economist and mentor David Hemenway, Deborah Azrael, Catherine Barber, Sonja Swanson and David Studdert.
Miller has published more than 200 peer-reviewed papers, serving as first or senior author on over half of them.
His epidemiologic research shows that having a gun in the home significantly increases the risk of suicide for both the owner and other household members.
“In order to decrease suicide rates in the U.S., half of which are due to firearms, you actually have to decrease the availability of guns,” Miller says.
Gun owners are not more suicidal than non-owners, he says.
“However, when you reach for a gun, your chances of dying by suicide are much higher,” he says. “Nine out of 10 times you do not get a second chance with a gun, whereas when you use most other commonly used methods the likelihood of dying is much lower.”
That is why reducing access to guns is the most effective measure to quickly lower someone’s risk of dying by suicide. Other research has shown that fewer than 10% of people who survive a suicide attempt go on to die by suicide.
“If you can prevent someone from killing themselves today by removing guns from their home, you’ve not only prevented their suicide death in the short run, it is very likely you have also prevented it in the long run,” Miller says.
However, public awareness, he says, lags behind science.
In a national survey conducted with former Northeastern student Andrew Connor, Miller found that more than nine out of 10 people living with a gun do not believe it increases the risk of someone in their household dying by suicide.
Another of the surveys Miller conducted with Carmel Salhi, a Northeastern professor of public health and health sciences, found that 30% of parents were fine with their children knowing where firearms were stored, and 70% believed their child couldn’t access a gun unsupervised. But when their children were surveyed separately, about one-third said they could access the gun within five minutes — and half said within an hour.
Secondary effects of having a gun in the home include homicide victimization. Most victims in these killings, Miller says, are women, while most gun owners are men.
Miller’s research provides the scientific basis for the argument that reducing access to guns can have life-saving consequences.
He has written numerous amicus briefs supporting different types of legislation, and his research has been cited in court cases — including in front of the Supreme Court.
Miller also works with organizations advocating for firearm violence and suicide prevention.
“There are gun control groups that have done some terrific work, and they rely on the scholarship of many people, including the scholarship that I’ve conducted,” he says.
Despite the gravity of his research, Miller says he tries to remain hopeful about future improvements in public health. Teaching students, he says, reinforces that hope.
“I really love teaching undergraduates at Northeastern,” Miller says. “They’re serious. They’re smart. After their first co-op, they bring fresh perspectives that make them question things in ways that enrich the classroom discussions.”
Several students have even taken a gap year to conduct research with Miller and his colleagues, co-authoring papers in respected journals that he says he is proud to have his name on.