Rutgers School of Nursing Dean Linda Flynn (PhD, RN, FAAN) announced that Emilia Iwu (PhD, RN, FNP, FWACN), a clinical assistant professor, has been appointed assistant dean for the School of Nursing’s Center for Global Health. She previously served as interim director for global health.

An advanced practice nurse and board-certified family nurse practitioner, Iwu is an alumna of Rutgers School of Nursing where she received her MSN from the family nurse practitioner program and her PhD in Nursing. After earning her doctorate, she was named a Carnegie Foundation Fellow and also completed a two-year, National Institutes of Health-funded Ruth L. Kirschstein Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania. She earned her BSN degree from Rutgers School of Nursing-Camden and holds a BA degree in School Health Services from Rowan University in Glassboro.

Prior to joining the faculty at Rutgers in 2014, Iwu worked with the Institute of Human Virology and School of Nursing, University of Maryland, Baltimore as a faculty senior technical advisor for the CDC/PEPFAR-funded HIV Treatment, Prevention, and Care program in Nigeria. Her work included spearheading the development of national curricula for educating nurses and community health practitioners across Nigeria on HIV prevention and care.

Iwu’s research interests include HIV treatment access, retention, and outcomes (to reduce disparities) for children, adolescents, and families; health provider education/practice; and nursing leadership. Sigma, the international honor society of nursing, presented her with its Global Research Award in 2014.

Her current funded research includes a grant from the Institute of Human Virology-Nigeria and a grant from the Foreign Commonwealth Development Office of the United Kingdom, on which she serves as the principal investigator in Nigeria. She is conducting a longitudinal assessment of new midwifery education and training initiatives in conflict-affected areas of Northern Nigeria.  

Iwu is a fellow of the West African College of Nursing (FWACN) among other honors and awards. She is president of the National Association of Nigerian Nurses in North America; a board member with the CGFNS Alliance for Ethnical International Recruitment Practices; and a member of the National Academies of Sciences, Global Forum on Innovation in Health Professional Education.