Ruth Jeminiwa, PhD Receives AACP New Investigator Award

Ruth Jeminiwa, PhD, Assistant Professor recently received the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) New Investigator Award (NIA) for 2022. Dr. Jeminiwa is one of 17 pharmacy faculty recipients of the AACP 2022 New Investigator Awards.

The AACP New Investigator Award provides financial support to assist early-career pharmacy faculty in developing an independent research program and provide a foundation for future extramural research funding success by enabling these faculty to generate preliminary data. Dr. Jeminiwa joined the JCP Department of Pharmacy Practice in the spring of 2020. 

The title of Dr. Jeminiwa’s proposal for the AACP New Investigator Award is “Formative Research to Support the Treatment of Opioid Use Disorder in Pregnant Women.” Dr. Jeminiwa hopes her research improves patient-centered treatment practices and policies in the care of pregnant women with opioid use disorders. She believes this is a pressing issue due to the low incorporation of the preferences of this population in treatment decisions. In conducting this formative research, Dr. Jeminiwa expects to investigate two aims, first, to understand better the barriers and facilitators of shared decision-making in the treatment of pregnant women with opioid use disorders, and second, to develop an educational tool that supports women’s decisions to enroll in Medication-Assisted Treatment.

Dr. Jeminiwa hopes JCP student pharmacists might also be interested in collaborating on this project, “I believe that the research experience might stir up an interest to answer other research questions; it might ultimately inculcate a love for research in the student pharmacists.”  In addition, this project seeks to improve care for women who often face stigmatization due to their substance use disorder. Being a part of this project might encourage student pharmacists to speak up or fight for women with opioid use disorders and other marginalized patient populations.