Department of Medicine
Faculty Profiles by Division

Division of General Internal Medicine

Faculty Profiles
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photo Utibe R. Essien, MD, MPH

General Internal Medicine

Assistant Professor of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, School of Medicine

Core Investigator, Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion, VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System

Email: uessien@pitt.edu

Phone: 412-383-0811
Contact
Office: 3609 Forbes Avenue
2nd Floor
Pittsburgh, PA 15203
 
Phone: 412-383-0811
Fax:
E-mail: uessien@pitt.edu
Administrative Assistant:
Genevieve Daniels
Address: 3609 Forbes Avenue
2nd Floor
Pittsburgh, PA 15203
Email: gdaniels@pitt.edu
Phone: 412-383-0627
Education and Training
Education
BA in Psychology, New York University
MD, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 2013
MPH in Clinical Effectiveness, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, 2018
Training
Internal Medicine Residency (Primary Care), Massachusetts General Hospital, 2016
General Internal Medicine Fellowship, Massachusetts General Hospital / Harvard Medical School, 2018
Research Interest
Dr. Essien is a health services researcher and practicing general internist who conducts research on racial/ethnic health disparities. His research focus is on the use of novel therapeutics and technologies in the management of chronic diseases and understanding mechanisms by which differences exist in their uptake and diffusion.

As an early career researcher, Dr. Essien has applied innovative methods to study whether racial/ethnic differences exist in the use of novel anticoagulants in patients with atrial fibrillation, including after controlling for patient-level socioeconomic status factors. Additionally, he has applied a disparities research framework to the COVID-19 pandemic, becoming a national expert in the health disparities that are disproportionately affecting minority communities in the U.S. with COVID-19.

Currently, Dr. Essien is a Core Investigator in the Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion in the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System. He is studying patient, provider, and system-level predictors of use of novel treatments in chronic disease management among Veterans. He is also interested in developing patient-centered interventions to increase knowledge of therapeutic options.
Clinical Interest
Dr. Essien is a board-certified general internist who cares for adult patients at the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System as a teaching attending on the Inpatient Internal Medicine Service. He is experienced in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of a wide array of medical problems that affect adults of all ages.
Educational Interest
Dr. Essien actively participates in the education and training of medical students and resident physicians, instructing them as an attending on the inpatient internal medicine service. Dr. Essien also lectures on research methodology, cardiovascular health disparities, and using social media to promote research.

Dr. Essien is the Director of the Career Education and Enhancement for Health Care Research Diversity Program for Medical Students (CEED II).
Publications
For my complete bibliography, Click Here.
Selected Publications:
Essien, U. R., Kim, N., Hausmann, L. R. M., Mor, M. K., Good, C. B., Magnani, J. W., Litam, T. M. A., Gellad, W. F., Fine, M. J. Disparities in Anticoagulant Therapy Initiation for Incident Atrial Fibrillation by Race/Ethnicity Among Patients in the Veterans Health Administration System. JAMA Netw Open. 2021; 4(7): e2114234.
Essien, U. R., McCabe, M. E., Kershaw, K. N., Youmans, Q. R., Fine, M. J., Yancy, C. W., Khan, S. S. Association Between Neighborhood-Level Poverty and Incident Atrial Fibrillation: a Retrospective Cohort Study. J Gen Intern Med. 2021.
Essien, U. R., Kornej, J., Johnson, A. E., Schulson, L. B., Benjamin, E. J., Magnani, J. W. Social determinants of atrial fibrillation. Nat Rev Cardiol. 2021; 18(11): 763-773.
Essien, U. R., Magnani, J. W., Chen, N., Gellad, W. F., Fine, M. J., Hernandez, I. Race/Ethnicity and Sex-Related Differences in Direct Oral Anticoagulant Initiation in Newly Diagnosed Atrial Fibrillation: A Retrospective Study of Medicare Data. J Natl Med Assoc. 2020; 112(1): 103-108.
Essien, U. R., Sileanu, F. E., Zhao, X., Liebschutz, J. M., Thorpe, C. T., Good, C. B., Mor, M. K., Radomski, T. R., Hausmann, L. R. M., Fine, M. J., Gellad, W. F. Racial/Ethnic Differences in the Medical Treatment of Opioid Use Disorders Within the VA Healthcare System Following Non-Fatal Opioid Overdose. J Gen Intern Med. 2020; 35: 1357-1544.
Essien, U. R., He, W., Ray, A., Chang, Y., Abraham, J. R., Singer, D. E., Atlas, S. J. Disparities in Quality of Primary Care by Resident and Staff Physicians: Is There a Conflict Between Training and Equity?. J Gen Intern Med. 2019; 34(7): 1184-1191.
Larosa, A. R., Pusateri, A. M., Althouse, A. D., Mathier, A. S., Essien, U. R., Magnani, J. W. Mind the gap: Deficits in fundamental disease-specific knowledge in atrial fibrillation. Int J Cardiol. 2019; 292: 272-276.
Schulman, E., Chudow, J. J., Essien, U. R., Shanbhag, A., Kargoli, F., Romero, J., Di Biase, L., Fisher, J., Krumerman, A., Ferrick, K. J. Relative contribution of modifiable risk factors for incident atrial fibrillation in Hispanics, African Americans and non-Hispanic Whites. Int J Cardiol. 2018; 275: 89-94.
Essien, U. R., Holmes, D. N., Jackson, L. R., Fonarow, G. C., Mahaffey, K. W., Reiffel, J. A., Steinberg, B. A., Allen, L. A., Chan, P. S., Freeman, J. V., Blanco, R. G., Pieper, K. S., Piccini, J. P., Peterson, E. D., Singer, D. E. Association of Race/Ethnicity With Oral Anticoagulant Use in Patients With Atrial FibrillationFindings From the Outcomes Registry for Better Informed Treatment of Atrial Fibrillation II. JAMA Cardiol. 2018; 3(12): 1174-1182.
Sponsored Research/Activities
Title: UCSF Research in Implementation Sciences for Equity (RISE 2)
Role: Principal Investigator
Funding Agency: University of California - San Francisco / National Heart, Lung, & Blood Institute
Grant Number: R25 HL126146
Start Year: 2019
End Year: 2020
Notable Achievements
40 Under 40 Leaders in Minority Health, National Minority Quality Forum, 2019
American Heart Association Young Investigator Seed Grant, 2019
Health Science Research Award, Annual Department of Medicine Research Day, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, 2020
Einstein Alumni Rising Star: Clinical Practitioner Award, 2021
Larry E. Davis Award for Excellence in Race Research, 2021
AAMC Herbert Nickens Faculty Fellowship Award, 2021
Pittsburgh Magazine 40 Under 40, 2021
AHA-EPI Elzabeth Barrett Connor Award, 2021

Division Websites

Cardiology

Endocrinology and Metabolism

Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition

General Internal Medicine

Geriatric Medicine
Hematology/Oncology

Infectious Diseases

Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine

Renal-Electrolyte

Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology

Contact

Department of Medicine
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3550 Terrace Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15261
Email:  chairoff@pitt.edu
Phone:  412-648-9636
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