Robin Pollini , PhD, MPH

Associate Director

Organization:

West Virginia University School of Public Health

Department:

WVU Injury Control Research Center

Classification:

Faculty

Associate Professor

Organization:

West Virginia University School of Medicine

Department:

Behavioral Medicine & Psychiatry

Classification:

Faculty

Associate Professor

Organization:

West Virginia University School of Public Health

Department:

Epidemiology

Classification:

Faculty

• MPH, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 2001
• PhD, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 2005

Catherine E. Paquette, Jennifer L Syvertsen, Robin A. Polini. Stigma at every turn: Health services experiences among people who inject drugs, International Journal of Drug Policy, Volume 57, Pages 104-110. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2018.04.004

Dr. Pollini is a substance abuse and infectious disease epidemiologist whose research focuses on mitigating the adverse health impacts of injection drug use; these include overdose, HIV, viral hepatitis, and serious injection-related bacterial infections like endocarditis. She uses innovative mixed methods study designs to examine how individual- and structural-level factors influence drug-related morbidity and mortality as well as health services access and utilization among people who inject drugs. Dr. Pollini has been Principal Investigator of several grants funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). Her current NIDA-funded research examines implementation of pharmacy-based naloxone distribution and its impact on overdose mortality rates.

WVU Injury Control Research Center

Current

1R01DA040807-01A1: Pollini (PI)                                                                          
5/01/2016–1/31/2021
NIDA                                                                                           
$3,169,073

Pharmacy Naloxone Distribution: Assessing a New Tool to Reduce Opioid Overdose Mortality

This study will assess implementation of a novel Massachusetts program designed to expand naloxone distribution through community pharmacies. The study will examine barriers and facilitators to program implementation from the perspectives of pharmacists, illicit opioid users, and potential overdose bystanders, and assess the impact of the program on opioid overdose mortality rates.

Role: Principal Investigator

 

Completed

1R01DA035098: Pollini (PI)                                                                                     
1/01/2013-12/31/2016
NIDA                                                                                                                         
$2,526,608

OTC Syringe Sales to Prevent HIV in Underserved Areas of Inland California

This study will capitalize on the opportunity for a “natural experiment” in HIV prevention to assess the implementation of a new pharmacy-based syringe access law, Senate Bill 41, in the inland counties of California’s Central Valley.

Role: Principal Investigator (in no-cost extension through 2017)

 

PIRE Corporate Development Grant: Pollini (PI)                                                     
7/17/15-7/31/16
Expanding Expertise in Rural Injection Drug Use                                                   
$24,800

This study will collect formative/preliminary data on injection drug use, related morbidity and mortality, and barriers to care that are unique to rural settings, with the goal of expanding NIDA-funded research activities in rural areas. New Hampshire will serve as the study site for data collection.

Role: Principal Investigator

 

1R21DA034950: Pollini & Kelley-Baker (Co-PIs)                                                  
2/01/2013-1/31/2015
NIDA                                                                                                                         
$421,967

Characterizing Prescription Drug Use in a Representative Sample of U.S. Drivers

This study added a prescription drug survey to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s 2013 National Roadside Survey.  The purpose of the study was to 1) characterize drivers taking prescription medications that have the potential to impair driving, 2) determine whether these drivers received warnings about the impairment potential of these drugs, and 3) explore drivers’ risk perceptions regarding the use of these drugs while driving.

Role: Co-Principal Investigator

 

69965-PIRE: Pollini & Lacey (Co-PIs)                                                                     
2/01/2013-5/31/2104
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation                                                                            
$150,000

Marijuana Decriminalization and its Effects on Drug-Involved Driving in California

This study used data from roadside surveys, the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), and other datasets to examine whether marijuana decriminalization in California is associated with increases in the prevalence of marijuana-positive driving.

Role: Co-Principal Investigator

 

5K01DA022923: Pollini (PI)                                                                                    
9/15/2007-08/21/2012
NIDA                                                                                                                         
$757,947

Defining the Role of Mexican Pharmacies in HIV Prevention – A Mixed Method Approach

This study used both quantitative and qualitative research methodologies to characterize barriers to sterile syringe purchase and associated impacts on HIV risk behaviors among injection drug users in Tijuana, Mexico.

Role: Principal Investigator

 

CHRP ID09-SD-016: Pollini (PI)                                                                              
4/01/2010-03/31/2012
California HIV/AIDS Research Program                                                                  
$200,000

HIV Care among Recently Released HIV+ Jail Inmates

This mixed methods longitudinal study examined factors that facilitate and impede HIV care continuity following release from the San Diego County Jail.

Role: Principal Investigator

 

5R01DA019829: Strathdee (PI)                                                                                
9/15/2005-7/31/2009
NIDA                                                                                                                         
$2,664,710

Epidemiology of HIV and BBVs among IDUs in Tijuana                                         

The goal of this study was to characterize the epidemiology of HIV, HCV, and syphilis among injection drug users in Tijuana, Mexico; this included identifying potentially modifiable individual, social, and environmental factors that contribute to disease risk.

Role:  Co-investigator

 

5R21DA024381 Strathdee (PI)                                                                                 
9/25/2007-8/31/2010
NIDA                                                                                                                         
$672,323

Drug Market Characteristics: Antecedents and Sequelae on the U.S.-Mexico Border        

This study examined retail drug market characteristics and their relationship to drug use patterns, medical consequences of drug use and cross-border mobility among injection drug users in the southwest border region.

Role:  Co-investigator

05-46118 Zúñiga (PI)                                                                                                
4/01/2006-6/30/2009
California Department of Health Services                                                                 
$473,370

Understanding Barriers to Health Care Access for HIV+ Persons in California Who Have Never Accessed HIV Medical Care

This study identified barriers to HIV care for persons living in California who had been diagnosed as HIV-positive at least three month prior to study recruitment but never initiated care.

Role:  Co-investigator