Essa Mohamed, Ph.D., receives Bush Fellowship

Essa Mohamed, Ph.D. (BMS ’18, CTSA ’18), a researcher at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, received a 2020 Bush Fellowship. Bush Fellows are awarded up to $100,000 over 12 to 24 months to pursue formal and informal learning experiences that help them develop the skills, attributes and relationships to become more effective, equitable leaders who can drive change in their communities and region. Dr. Mohamed wants to apply culturally sensible approaches to medical research to improve health outcomes by increasing the number of women and members of racial and ethnic minorities who participate in clinical trials and medical device development.

His Ph.D. thesis explored the prevalence of liver disease in African and Asian people and helped him understand the underrepresentation of diverse populations in medical research. His findings helped lead the World Health Organization to prioritize hepatitis at a global level and Mayo Clinic to change patient screenings. To better understand how to shift systems and bring equity to medical research, he will study market evaluation and strategic decision making and develop a network of medical industry mentors.