Jeffrey F. Peipert, MD, PhD

Jeffrey F. Peipert, MD, PhD, the Robert J. Terry Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, is honored for his long-standing efforts using clinical epidemiology to improve women’s health.

Peipert, vice chair of the clinical research division for the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, is a national expert in the areas of family planning and infectious diseases, specifically sexually transmitted infections. He was the principal investigator of the Contraceptive CHOICE project, a large clinical study that found that by removing barriers such as cost, education and access to all types of contraception, women overwhelmingly chose long-acting reversible contraception such as intrauterine devices and implants that traditionally are more expensive but much more effective than birth control pills. The study also found that there was a marked reduction in the number of unintended pregnancies. Another pivotal multicenter clinical study (PEACH) found that outpatient antibiotic treatment for pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) was as effective and less costly than inpatient treatment, resulting in a change in Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines on PID treatment.

He is a consummate educator and researcher, securing millions of dollars in research funding, and has mentored hundreds of students from high school through postdoctoral training as well as junior faculty. A strong collaborator, he is actively involved in clinical research efforts across the campus and around the world. For his contributions to the field of reproductive medicine, Peipert received the 2014 Alan F. Guttmacher Lectureship Award from the Association of Reproductive Health Professionals.

Peipert earned his medical degree from Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta and his doctoral degree from Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. He joined the Washington University faculty in 2006.