PhD Students

Rujeko O. Machinga (Asaolu)

Education

Master’s in Social Work, University of Louisville; Master’s in Marriage & Family Therapy, University of Louisville; Master’s in Community Health Education, Minnesota State University
Bachelor’s in Biochemistry, Minnesota State University

Teaching Interests

  • Clinical practice
  • International social work
  • Intimate partner violence electives

Research Interests

  • Intimate partner violence (IPV) among older adults and immigrants
  • Contributing factors or barriers to post-traumatic growth of older and/or immigrant IPV survivors
  • International students and social work education in the U.S.

Publications

  • Sterrett-Hong, E.M., Crosby, R., Johnson, M., Mayo-Wilson, J.R., Arroyo, C., Machinga, R., Brewer, R., Srivastava, A., Smith, A., & Arnold, E. (2022). Socio-ecological influences on HIV care engagement: Perspectives of young Black Men who have sex with men living with HIV in the Southern US. Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities, 1-11

Conference Presentations

  • Conner, L.R. & Machinga, R.O. (2023, March). Academic misconduct: Faculty attitudes and behaviors of student self-plagiarism [Oral Presentation]. CCTS Spring Conference, University of Kentucky.
  • Machinga-Asaolu, R.O. (2023, January). The effects of workplace support on workplace disruptions: differences between White and Black survivors of intimate partner violence [Oral Presentation]. Society for Social Work Research (SSWR) Annual Conference, Phoenix AZ.
  • Showalter, K. & Machinga-Asaolu, R.O. (2023, January). The impact of IPV on employment latent classes: Examining stability and support [Poster Presentation]. Society for Social Work Research (SSWR) Annual Conference, Phoenix AZ.
  • Machinga-Asaolu, R.O. (2022, April). Psychological abuse and intimate partner violence among older women [Virtual Conference Presentation]. Annual Optimal Aging Conference, Louisville, KY.
  • Conner, L. R. & Machinga-Asaolu, R.O. (2022, April). Looking for HIV risk in all the wrong places: Predictors of HIV risk among older adults by U.S. regions [Virtual Conference Presentation]. Annual Optimal Aging Conference, Louisville, KY.
  • Machinga, R.O. (2017, March). Toward a transdisciplinary approach to improve literacy on HPV and HHV-8 among young adults in Sub-Saharan Africa countries: A study in Zimbabwe. [Poster Presentation]. 68th Annual Conference of the Society for Public Health Education, Denver CO.

Bio

Rujeko “Rue” is an international student from Zimbabwe. Rujeko is a certified social worker in Kentucky and has practice experience in community-based and school-based mental health; individual, couple, and family therapy; FlourishCare navigating; and behavioral health case management. Rue is a Pre-Dissertation Fellow with the Association for Gerontology Education in Social Work (AGESW), a pre-doctoral fellow with the United in True Racial Equity at the UK, and a recipient of the Lyman T. Johnson Fellowship at the University of Kentucky.