Utibe Essien, MD, MPH
Utibe Essien, MD, MPH, a researcher with HSR&D’s Center for Health Equity Research & Promotion (CHERP), has been selected by Business Insider as one of “30 young leaders who are forging a new future for healthcare in the pandemic’s shadow.” Individuals were selected due to their involvement in issues ranging from the development of treatments for COVID-19 to new approaches to women’s health. Dr. Essien was selected specifically for his work on racial disparities in healthcare, which is particularly relevant because COVID-19 disproportionately affects people of color. “I often say I was born into a life of health disparities,” Dr. Essien told Business Insider, as his parents had emigrated from West Africa to New York, where he was born prematurely.
An internist at the VA Pittsburgh Health Care system and Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Dr. Essien conducts research on racial and ethnic health disparities, and is particularly interested in variations in access to treatment and care for vulnerable populations. He received SGIM’s 2019 Inaugural Distinguished Professor of Health Equity Poster Walk and Talk award – and is frequently interviewed in major media regarding health disparities in COVID.
