Positions
- Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine
- Associate Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, College of Medicine
- Co-director, Women’s Mental Health Program
- Medical Director, Women’s Inpatient Unit
Contact
Email: jlcoker@uams.edu
Research Experience
My interest in women’s mental health started in residency with enjoyment in perinatal psychiatry. I have been interested in abhorrent behaviors that occur in women during this vulnerable time such as suicide and substance use disorders. My clinical and research focus has been on the development of substance use disorder programs for pregnant and postpartum women and risks of exposures to the developing fetus. My research career started during my PGY2 year of residency training and I have been able to assess risks of exposures including benzodiazepines, nicotine and buprenorphine during fetal development. I have worked with many disciplines within the Psychiatric Research Institute and the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology including basic scientists, brain imaging research, and the Women’s Mental Health Program.
As co-director of the Women’s Mental Health Program, I treat and evaluate women with general psychiatric illness and substance use disorders during pregnancy and up to one year postpartum. In addition to these clinical duties, I am responsible for overseeing the operations and care of women on the Women’s Inpatient Unit as medical director. This unit is tailored in the acute care and treatment of women with past trauma history and personality disorders.
My current research projects include working with a multi-site team through the Clinical and Translational Science Awards network to improve data collecting, evaluation and treatment of pregnant and postpartum women with opioid use disorders as well as a multi-site consortium on the impact of drug use disorders on fetal, neonatal and childhood brain development. When I am not tending to my clinical and research duties, I enjoy spending time with my husband and daughter as well as enjoying time with my extended family in Arkansas.
Andrew Solomon in The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression best summarizes my thoughts, “If you save the women, it has been said, they will in turn save the children, and so by tracing a chain of influence one can save the country.”
Recent Publications
White WR, Coker JL. The forgotten: Increasing awareness of late maternal
deaths. Int J Gynaecol Obstet. 2023 Nov 10. doi: 10.1002/ijgo.15245. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 37947247.
O’Carroll J, Ando K, Yun R, Panelli D, Nicklin A, Kennedy N, Carvalho B,
Blake L, Coker J, Kaysen D, Sultan P. A systematic review of patient-reported
outcome measures used in maternal postpartum anxiety. Am J Obstet Gynecol MFM. 2023 Sep;5(9):101076. doi: 10.1016/j.ajogmf.2023.101076. Epub 2023 Jul 2. PMID: 37402438.
White WR, Ray-Griffith SL, Coker JL. Time to pay attention: an
underrecognized casualty of the opioid epidemic. Arch Womens Ment Health. 2023 Aug;26(4):561-563. doi: 10.1007/s00737-023-01334-z. Epub 2023 Jun 7. PMID: 37284906.
Nieser KJ, Stowe ZN, Newport DJ, Coker JL, Cochran AL. Detection of
differential depressive symptom patterns in a cohort of perinatal women: an
exploratory factor analysis using a robust statistics approach. EClinicalMedicine. 2023 Feb 1;57:101830. doi: 10.1016/j.eclinm.2023.101830. PMID: 36798754; PMCID: PMC9925853.
White WR, Coker JL, Ray-Griffith SL. Psychiatric participation in US Maternal
Mortality Review Committees. Lancet Psychiatry. 2022 Sep;9(9):697-698. doi:
10.1016/S2215-0366(22)00269-3. PMID: 35964581.
Sultan P, Ando K, Elkhateb R, George RB, Lim G, Carvalho B, Chitneni A, Kawai
R, Tulipan T, Blake L, Coker J, O’Carroll J. Assessment of Patient-Reported
Outcome Measures for Maternal Postpartum Depression Using the Consensus-Based Standards for the Selection of Health Measurement Instruments Guideline: A Systematic Review. JAMA Netw Open. 2022 Jun 1;5(6):e2214885. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.14885. Erratum in: JAMA Netw Open. 2022 Aug 1;5(8):e2229924. PMID: 35749118; PMCID: PMC9233232.
Ghahremani T, Magann EF, Phillips A, Ray-Griffith SL, Coker JL, Stowe ZN.
Women’s Mental Health Services and Pregnancy: A Review. Obstet Gynecol Surv. 2022 Feb;77(2):122-129. doi: 10.1097/OGX.0000000000000994. PMID: 35201363.
Shah JR, Ramseyer A, Coker J. Peripartum management for women with opioid
dependence. Curr Opin Anaesthesiol. 2021 Jun 1;34(3):226-232. doi:
10.1097/ACO.0000000000000996. PMID: 33935169.
Bider EN, Coker JL. Postpartum psychosis and SARS-CoV-2 infection: is there a
correlation? Arch Womens Ment Health. 2021 Dec;24(6):1051-1054. doi:
10.1007/s00737-021-01150-3. Epub 2021 Jun 3. PMID: 34085138; PMCID: PMC8175096.
Fallin-Bennett A, Smid M, Salvador JG, Coker J, McKinney K, Weitzen S,
Bonham C, Ashford K. Perceived Effect of Research on Clinical Care for Women
With Opioid Use Disorder. J Obstet Gynecol Neonatal Nurs. 2022
Mar;51(2):195-204. doi: 10.1016/j.jogn.2021.12.006. Epub 2022 Jan 31. PMID:
35104441.
Coker JL, Ray-Griffith SL, McLeod C, Han X, Mancino M, Kearns GL, Stowe ZN.
Clearance of buprenorphine during pregnancy and neonatal outcomes. Arch Womens Ment Health. 2021 Dec;24(6):933-939. doi: 10.1007 s00737-021-01128-1. Epub 2021 Apr 16. PMID: 33864131.
Rabie N, Shah R, Ray-Griffith S, Coker JL, Magann EF, Stowe ZN. Continuous
Fetal Monitoring During Electroconvulsive Therapy: A Prospective Observation
Study. Int J Womens Health. 2021 Jan 6;13:1-7. doi: 10.2147/IJWH.S290934. PMID: 33442300; PMCID: PMC7797309.
Ray-Griffith S, Tharp E, Coker JL, Catlin D, Knight B, Stowe ZN.
Buprenorphine Medication for Opioid Use Disorder: A Study of Factors Associated With Postpartum Treatment Retention. Am J Addict. 2021 Jan;30(1):43-48. doi: 10.1111/ajad.13084. Epub 2020 Jul 16. PMID: 32673447; PMCID: PMC7772251.