Full Name
Dr. Ijeoma Nnodim Opara
Job Title
Associate Professor, Internal Medicine-Pediatrics
Company
Wayne State University School of Medicine & Wayne Health
Speaker Bio
Dr. Ijeoma Nnodim Opara, MD, FAAP, FAIM, is an award-winning and highly published physician-scientist, educator, and internationally recognized health equity leader at Wayne State University School of Medicine and Wayne Health. A double board-certified Internal Medicine–Pediatrics physician, her work centers on dismantling race-based medicine and advancing Black health, dignity, and joy across clinical care, public health, and medical education.
She served on the State of Michigan implicit bias advisory Taskforce, the state's pharmacy and therapeutics committee, and the governor's reproductive justice roundtable. An NIH- and American Heart Association–funded health equity implementation researcher, she bridges medicine, community-engaged research, health policy, and emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence. She is the founder of the Health Equity & Justice in Medicine (HEJIM) Initiative and leads widely adopted healthcare and public health professional training curricula, including the Moving Health Literacy Together, Global & Urban Health Equity (GLUE), and Global Health Equity Antiracism & Decolonization (GHEARD) programs. She partners with government agencies, healthcare and public health institutions, community organizations & Community Health Workers to advance training in social determinants of health, race-based medicine, and health literacy.
Dr. Opara is Founder and Co-Chair of the Collaborative to End Race-Based Medicine - Detroit (CERM), as well as co-chair of the Canada-US Coalition to End Race Correction (CU-CERCH) in Healthcare; and organized the first North American Conference to End Race-Based Medicine (NACERM), advancing global efforts to address medical racism by eliminating race correction in healthcare. She served on the 46th Presidential White House Health Equity Leaders Roundtable, The Governor of Michigan's Reproductive Justice Roundtable, and The State of Michigan Implicit Bias Licensing Requirement advisory board. She also leads equity-centered AI initiatives as a fellow of the NIH AIM-AHEAD program.
As Founder of OparaSpeaks, she equips institutions to translate equity into measurable impact. She is a mentor, movement-builder, and master visionary advancing justice, excellence, and liberation in medicine, healthcare, and public health.
She served on the State of Michigan implicit bias advisory Taskforce, the state's pharmacy and therapeutics committee, and the governor's reproductive justice roundtable. An NIH- and American Heart Association–funded health equity implementation researcher, she bridges medicine, community-engaged research, health policy, and emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence. She is the founder of the Health Equity & Justice in Medicine (HEJIM) Initiative and leads widely adopted healthcare and public health professional training curricula, including the Moving Health Literacy Together, Global & Urban Health Equity (GLUE), and Global Health Equity Antiracism & Decolonization (GHEARD) programs. She partners with government agencies, healthcare and public health institutions, community organizations & Community Health Workers to advance training in social determinants of health, race-based medicine, and health literacy.
Dr. Opara is Founder and Co-Chair of the Collaborative to End Race-Based Medicine - Detroit (CERM), as well as co-chair of the Canada-US Coalition to End Race Correction (CU-CERCH) in Healthcare; and organized the first North American Conference to End Race-Based Medicine (NACERM), advancing global efforts to address medical racism by eliminating race correction in healthcare. She served on the 46th Presidential White House Health Equity Leaders Roundtable, The Governor of Michigan's Reproductive Justice Roundtable, and The State of Michigan Implicit Bias Licensing Requirement advisory board. She also leads equity-centered AI initiatives as a fellow of the NIH AIM-AHEAD program.
As Founder of OparaSpeaks, she equips institutions to translate equity into measurable impact. She is a mentor, movement-builder, and master visionary advancing justice, excellence, and liberation in medicine, healthcare, and public health.
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