Jill Demirci | School of Nursing | University of Pittsburgh

PhD, RN, IBCLC

Assistant Professor

Health Promotion & Development

Profile

Dr. Demirci’s research focuses on diverse aspects of human lactation, with an emphasis on clinical and behavioral interventions to address uptake, duration, and intensity of breastfeeding. She is especially interested in the design and implementation of mHealth breastfeeding support interventions, addressing policy and infrastructure barriers to breastfeeding goal attainment, and the etiology, prevention and treatment of perceived insufficient milk.

She has received NIH, foundation, and institutional funding in the following areas: breastfeeding trajectories and problems among mothers of late preterm infants, complementary and alternative therapies to address perceived insufficient milk, SMS- and telelactation-based breastfeeding support, breastfeeding support and practices in child care centers, and antenatal milk expression among mothers of healthy and surgical infants. Dr. Demirci has methodological expertise in qualitative methods and behavioral intervention research/RCTs with childbearing women.

Clinical Emphasis

Dr. Demirci is a former postpartum staff nurse at UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital and practicing International Board-Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh Primary Care Oakland. She holds a secondary appointment in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

Teaching

She teaches Nursing Care of Mothers, Newborns and Families Clinical (NUR 1250C).

Service

Dr. Demirci has held leadership positions at the national, regional/state, and local/university levels. Nationally, she has served on the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric, and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN) Public Policy Committee, Editorial Advisory Board, Nominating Committee, and Research Advisory Panel. She is a grant and abstract reviewer for AWHONN and American Nurses Foundation (ANF). Dr. Demirci serves on the editorial boards of several journals, including BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth and Journal of Perinatal and Neonatal Nursing (contributing editor) and regularly reviews manuscripts for journals within her area of expertise.

Regionally, she is a board member of the Mid-Atlantic Mothers’ Milk Bank and the Pittsburgh-based Human Milk Science Institute and Biobank, and was a Co-Chair of the Magee-Womens Hospital Nursing Research Council (nurse-led QI projects). As part of her secondary appointment within the Department of Pediatrics, Dr. Demirci participates in programmatic improvement for research fellows and led a writing group. At the School of Nursing, she currently serves or served on the following committees and organizations: Sigma Eta Chapter, Admission, Progression, & Graduation; Schoolwide Curriculum; and Honors Committee.