Etsemaye P. Agonafer, MD, MPH, MS

Biography

Assistant Professor

Health Systems Science

Dr. Etsemaye Agonafer is committed to advancing health equity and justice for vulnerable individuals and populations, including veterans and individuals experiencing homelessness and incarceration. Her work amplifies these voices through narratives, mixed methods, and community partnered participatory research to impact healthcare delivery innovation that addresses social determinants of health.

Education and Training

Degrees: BS, USC, Department of Biochemistry
MS, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, Department of Health Policy & Management
MPH, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, Department of Health Policy & Management
MD, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA-Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science PRIME Medical Education Program

Postdoctoral training: Resident, Internal Medicine, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC)
Chief Resident, Internal Medicine, Quality and Patient Safety, VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System (VAPHS) and University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
Postdoctoral Fellow, National Clinician Scholars Program (f/k/a Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program), UCLA

Professional Positions

Physician: Twin Towers Correctional Facility, Los Angeles; 2018-Present

Externship: Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovations (CMMI): Prevention and Population Health Group; 2019

Assistant Professor, Health Systems Science: Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine; 2020-Present

Honors and Awards

Oliver Goldsmith MD Scholarship: Kaiser Permanente; 2013

Edith and Carl Lasky Memorial Award for Outstanding Research: David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA; 2014

Medical Student Research Thesis Program First Place Award: David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA-Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science; 2014

Dr. Charles R. Drew Award: Charles R. Drew Medical Education Program; 2014

Mateer Award: UPMC Internal Medicine Program Residency Program for Outstanding Intern; 2015

UPMC Outstanding Teaching Resident Award: Department of Medicine House Staff; 2017

Fellowship: President’s Commission on White House Fellows; 2021-2022

Community Engagement

Co-founder: Happy Feet, a UCLA PRIME-LA Project; 2009-2014

Peer Reviewer (Workshops and Abstracts): Society of General Internal Medicine Annual Meetings; 2018-present

Co-Chair, Steering Committee Member: Los Angeles Regional Reentry Partnership, Integrated Health Committee; 2019-present

Co-Chair: Empowerment Congress, Special Committee on COVID-19; 2021-present

Scholarly Activities

: View Dr. Etsemaye Agonafer’s Researcher Profile

Peer-reviewed research manuscripts

Wong SSF, Kuei JJ, Prasad N, Agonafer EP, Mendoza GA, Pemberton TJ, Patel PI. A simple method for DNA isolation from clotted blood extricated rapidly from serum separator tubes. Clin Chem 2007; 53:522-524.
Agonafer EP, Bui T. Bolstering the Biosocial Paradigm: The Next Steps in Medical Education and Practice. Academic Medicine. Volume 90(10) October 2015; 1291.
Agonafer EP, Benson M, Bui T. Training Internal Medicine Residents to Act on Social Determinants of Health Using Social Determinants of Health Fast Facts. SGIM Forum April 2020.
Agonafer, E.P., Carson, S.L., Nunez, V. et al. Community-based organizations’ perspectives on improving health and social service integration. BMC Public Health 21, 452, 2021.

Posters and presentations

Selected Oral Plenary Session Speaker. Case Study: A Qualitative Analysis of the Rise and Fall of Martin Luther King-Drew Medical Center. UCLA Senior Scholarship Day, CDU Medical Student Research Colloquium, Los Angeles, March 2014.
Agonafer EP et al. Co-Facilitator of Workshop: Teaching Trainees to Act on Social Determinants of Health. Society of General Internal Medicine 38th Annual Meeting 2015 Conference, Toronto, April 2015.
Diversity in Medicine: A Physicians’ Perspective. UPMC Internal Medical Residency Senior Talk, Pittsburgh, February 2017.
Agonafer EP et al. Co-Facilitator of Workshop: Quality Improvement Beyond Health Care- A Teaching Tool an Organizational Change Strategy to Address Social Determinants of Health. Society of General Internal Medicine 40^th Annual Meeting 2017 Conference, Washington, DC, April 2017.
Agonafer EP et al. Co-Facilitator of 3 Workshops: 7 Habits of Highly Effective Chief Residents; Make It Stick: Applying the Science of Learning to Everyday Teaching in the Clinic and on the Wards; and Strategies for Teaching Social Determinants of Health in Residency. Associate Program Directors in Internal Medicine, Alliance for Academic Internal Medicine, San Antonio, March 2018.
Agonafer EP et al. Workshop Co-Facilitator. Digital Tools to Connect Patients to Community Programs and Services. Society of General Internal Medicine 41^st Annual Meeting 2018 Conference, Denver, April 2018.
Oral presentation. Veteran-Centered Quality Improvement Conference, VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System OAA Advanced Fellows Conference, Pittsburgh, May 2018.
Rossitier B, Jacobs Z, Agonafer E, Sgro G. Workshop Co-Facilitator, Perspective-Taking: A Narrative Approach to Advocate for your Patients and yourself. Society of General Internal Medicine 42^nd Annual Meeting 2019 Conference, Washington DC, May 2019.
Special Symposium Panel Facilitator. Leaders Addressing Social Determinants of Health at a Health System Level. Society of General Internal Medicine 42^nd Annual Meeting 2019 Conference, Washington, DC, May 2019.
Agonafer EP, Brown A, et al. Whole Person Care-Los Angeles (WPC-LA): Community Stakeholders’ Perspectives to Improve Partnerships to Address the Social Needs of High-Risk Medicaid Patients. Martin F Shapiro Health Services Research Symposium at UCLA, Los Angeles, September 2019.
Agonafer EP, Brown A, et al. Whole Person Care-Los Angeles (WPC-LA): Community Stakeholders’ Perspectives to Improve Partnerships to Address the Social Needs of High-Risk Medicaid Patients. National Clinician Scholars Program 2019 Annual Meeting, Plenary Presentation, Philadelphia, November 2019.
Agonafer EP, Bui T. Special Symposium Panel Facilitator. Lessons from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) Committee Report: Integrating Social Care into the Delivery of Health Care to Improve the Nation’s Health. Society of General Internal Medicine 43^rd Annual Meeting 2020, Birmingham, AL, May 2019.
Nunez V, Agonafer EP, Brown et al. Whole Person Care – Los Angeles (WPC-LA): Perspectives of Community Social Service Agencies on Addressing Unmet Social Needs of Homeless Clients. Society of General Internal Medicine California- Hawaii Regional Meeting Oral Presentation at UCI in Irvine, CA, January 2020.