Dr. Olugbenga Ogedegbe to Receive the 2023 Population Health Research Prize

Embargoed until 7 a.m. CT / 8 a.m. ET Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2023

DALLAS, Nov. 1, 2023 — The American Heart Association will present its 2023 Population Health Research Prize to Olugbenga “Gbenga” Ogedegbe, M.D., M.P.H., FAHA, of New York University’s Grossman School of Medicine. He will be recognized during the presidential session of the Association’s Scientific Sessions 2023 on Sunday, Nov. 12. The meeting will be held in Philadelphia, Saturday, Nov. 11 through Monday, Nov. 13 and is a premier global exchange of the latest scientific advancements, research and evidence-based clinical practice updates in cardiovascular science.

Dr. Ogedegbe’s distinguished research career has been focused on the intersection among health disparities, chronic diseases, cardiovascular risk reduction and global health. He is a health services researcher and implementation scientist with expertise in the development, implementation and translation of evidence-based interventions to reduce the risk of heart diseases in primary care practices and community settings among Black adults in the U.S.

Dr. Ogedegbe leads multiple research projects funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) including a program that uses an implementation science framework to evaluate the impact of community-clinical linkage models on hypertension control in Black patients across the NYU Langone Health System. Similarly, his work leading a coordinating center to prevent hypertension and reduce racial inequities in cardiovascular disease outcomes was funded by the Association. This center focuses on racial inequities in cardiovascular disease outcomes in five Black communities — Baltimore, Detroit, New York City, Boston and rural Alabama — by translating evidence-based high blood pressure prevention interventions into community settings like churches, barbershops, mobile vans and shopping malls. This initiative, known as the RESTORE (Addressing Social Determinants to Prevent Hypertension) Health Equity Research Network, comprises an interdisciplinary team of over 30 investigators from eight institutions across the country.

Dr. Ogedegbe has expanded his work to reduce cardiovascular disease burden in Africa, with support from the NIH to build research capacity in stroke and cardiovascular diseases. He is also focused on implementing task-shifting strategies to improve cardiovascular disease outcomes in primary care practices and community-based settings in Ghana and Nigeria.

“Congratulations, Dr. Gbenga Ogedegbe,” said the Association’s 2023-2024 volunteer President Joseph C. Wu, M.D., Ph.D., FAHA. “Your research in sub-Saharan Africa to identify the personal cost of heart disease and to build the pool of scientists and health care professionals who can sustainably meet the area’s need for cardiovascular resources is vital to advancing our mission to ensure equitable health in all communities.”

Dr. Ogedegbe is the Dr. Adolph and Margaret Berger Professor of Medicine and Population Health at New York University’s Grossman School of Medicine in New York City. He is the founding director of the Institute for Excellence in Health Equity at NYU Langone Health.

Dr. Ogedegbe earned his medical degree from Donetsk National University in Ukraine and a master’s in public health from Columbia University. He completed his internal medicine residency at Montefiore Medical Center and a postdoctoral fellowship in health services research and clinical epidemiology at Weill Cornell Medical College, both in New York City. He is board-certified in internal medicine and is the author of more than 400 peer-reviewed publications.

“I’m grateful to the Association for celebrating the advancement of health equity research and population health to address the growing global burden of cardiovascular diseases,” said Dr. Ogedegbe. “I’m utilizing my expertise in implementation science to translate evidence-based public health interventions into clinical practices and community settings to reduce the burden of cardiovascular diseases in the U.S. by leveraging the human resources capital, and in Africa by building sustainability capacity.”

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The American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2023 is a premier global exchange of the latest scientific advancements, research and evidence-based clinical practice updates in cardiovascular science for health care professionals worldwide. The three-day meeting will feature more than 700 sessions focused on breakthrough cardiovascular basic, clinical and population science updates Saturday, Nov. 11 through Monday, Nov. 13, 2023. Thousands of leading physicians, scientists, cardiologists, advanced practice nurses and allied health care professionals from around the world will convene in Philadelphia to participate in basic, clinical and population science presentations, discussions and curricula that can shape the future of cardiovascular science and medicine, including prevention and quality improvement. During the three-day meeting, attendees receive exclusive access to more than 4,000 original research presentations and can earn Continuing Medical Education (CME), Continuing Education (CE) or Maintenance of Certification (MOC) credits for educational sessions. Engage in Scientific Sessions 2023 on social media via #AHA23.

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