
Assistant Professor
Jacobs School of Medicine & Biomedical Sciences
Adolescent Medicine; Community Based Participatory Research; Community Health Research; Community Pharmacy; Global Health; Health Disparities Research; Health Outcomes Research; Health Services Research; Implementation Science; Program Evaluation; Public Health; Qualitative Methods
Dr. Obinna Ekwunife is a health economist and implementation scientist and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine, Division of Population Health, at the University at Buffalo. His research focuses on developing, evaluating, and implementing cost-effective strategies to reduce health inequities among adults with chronic diseases, particularly in low-income and underserved populations. As a health economist on multidisciplinary teams focused on health equity, he applies econometric and economic evaluation methods to identify interventions that improve health outcomes, inform resource allocation, and expand access to effective health services.
Dr. Ekwunife currently serves as a Co-Investigator on six active research projects, leading the health economics evaluation components. These include four NIH R01-funded projects: an NIH/NIMHD-funded study (R01MD018721) evaluating a cardiovascular risk-reduction intervention combining income supplementation, food incentives, and education among food-insecure African American adults; an NIH/NIDDK-funded study (R01DK149293) comparing continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) with traditional fingerstick blood glucose monitoring among non-insulin-treated adults with poorly controlled type 2 diabetes; an NIH/NIDDK-funded study (R01DK149584) evaluating CGM, telephone coaching, and values clarification to help older adults with diabetes engage in values-concordant care; and an NIH/NIDDK-funded study (R01DK148601) examining whether addressing social needs plus poverty produces greater benefits than addressing social needs alone or usual care among low-income adults with type 2 diabetes. He also serves as Co-Investigator on two American Diabetes Association-funded projects: one evaluating a CGM-enhanced Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) among adults with prediabetes and another testing a CGM-enhanced digital literacy and navigation intervention for low-income adults with type 2 diabetes. Dr. Ekwunife previously served as Site Principal Investigator on an NIH P30 Center for AIDS Research (CFAR)-funded study evaluating pharmacy-delivered oral HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in Nigeria, examining private community pharmacies as an innovative platform for expanding access to HIV prevention services.