Dr. Utibe R. Essien’s connection to healthcare started at birth, shaped by the same disparities he now studies. Today, as a physician scientist and advocate, he focuses on expanding access to life-saving medications for underserved communities. As he prepares to graduate from the Harold Amos Medical Faculty Development Program (AMFDP) this summer, his time in the program reflects both how far he’s come and the community that helped get him there.
“I always say I was born into a life of health disparities,” Dr. Essien shares. “My mom had preeclampsia during the majority of her four pregnancies, including with me. I was also born premature via c-section. These experiences, which are more common among Black women and babies, inspired my work in health disparities.”
Medicine was not always the plan, however. Growing up with a father who worked as a primary care physician, Dr. Essien saw firsthand the long, demanding days the profession required and was certain he would choose a different path. That changed after he had the opportunity to work alongside his father and witness the impact he had on their community.
“As the proud son of Nigerian immigrants, my parents are definitely my motivation to go into this field,” he says. “Now, I’m grateful to be a physician taking care of veterans on the hospital wards and to spend a significant portion of my time doing research, trying to understand why there are persistent gaps in access to life-saving medications, especially for people from underrepresented and underserved groups.”
Dr. Essien is a board-certified internal medicine physician, Associate Professor of Medicine at UCLA, and health services researcher at the VA Center for the Study of Healthcare Innovation, Implementation, and Policy. His research, focused on racial and ethnic disparities in the use of novel medications and technologies for treating heart disease, has earned national recognition and more than $3.5 million in research funding.
“In 2021, I coined the term ‘pharmacoequity,’ which has been the primary focus of my work,” he says. “It describes the goal of ensuring that everyone, regardless of their background, has access to affordable, life-saving medicines. It’s been a privilege to work in this space, especially with the support of Amos.”
Dr. Essien was first introduced to AMFDP in 2012 as a medical student at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx. His supervising attending, Dr. Cristina Gonzalez, had just been accepted into the program and described it as a family of researchers and leaders. Dr. Essien noted AMFDP, now known as the Amos Institute for Medical Faculty Development (AIMFD), as a program he hoped to be part of one day and recalls meeting other scholars like Dr. Gonzalez early in his career.
“I met so many Amos scholars at conferences, and they were always the people I admired most,” he shares. “They were brilliant scientists, creative leaders, and innovators in the field. I wanted to learn from them, be mentored by them, and be part of that community.”
Those aspirations became a reality when Dr. Essien joined the program in 2022. He quickly found himself part of a network of peers and mentors he could turn to, especially during moments of transition. Just three months into the program, when he moved across the country to a new institution, the Amos community provided support, guidance, and a sense that he did not have to navigate the experience alone.
“Academic medicine can be really isolating, especially in research. We’re often expected to put our heads down, write grants, publish papers, and keep moving up the ladder,” he says. “Through Amos, it’s not just about going through the motions of being a clinician scientist or advancing along a career path, it’s about transforming your field in your own way. That’s the impact of the Amos experience. It pushes you to be a transformer, not just a physician scientist.”
As he prepares to graduate from the program this summer, Dr. Essien is stepping into his next role as an Amos alum. He reflects on how the program has helped him better understand who he is and who he is meant to be. Now, he becomes part of the broader legacy of Amos, helping to sustain the community that shaped him.
“Amos really does feel like a family. That’s not a word you hear often at work, especially in academic medicine, but I think we’re all looking for that,” he says. “We’re born into families and we create them. I started this conversation talking about my own family, so it’s been really special to have a family in the academic space, too.”
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