Onyema Ogbuagu, MBBCh, FACP, FIDSA
Associate Professor of Medicine (AIDS) and of PharmacologyCards
About
Titles
Associate Professor of Medicine (AIDS) and of Pharmacology
Affiliated Faculty, Yale Institute for Global Health
Biography
I am an Associate Professor of Medicine and Pharmacology, and Director of the Yale antivirals and Vaccines research program (formerly HIV Clinical Trials program) of the Yale AIDS Program, Section of Infectious Diseases of the Yale School of Medicine.
My clinical responsibilities include educating and training medical students, residents and infectious diseases fellows in various capacities in inpatient and outpatient settings; and through structured course work and other teaching sessions. As a faculty of the HIV training track of the Yale-Internal Medicine primary care program and as a faculty of the Human Resources for Health program in Rwanda (2013 to 2019), I have extensive experience with curriculum development, structuring of residency training programs, and mentoring residents and faculty. In Rwanda specifically, I have and still continue to mentor medical residents and junior faculty in quality improvement and clinical research projects that are locally relevant and addressing important infectious diseases-related problems (particularly HIV/AIDS epidemic and antimicrobial resistance).
Furthermore, I have facilitated meaningful educational and research collaborations between faculty and trainees across institutions. As the program director of World Bank and HRSA-funded efforts supporting the Liberia College of Physicians and surgeons (LCPS)–run Internal medicine residency training program, I have overseen the selection and deployment of faculty to Liberia, and am responsible for educational programs and activities aimed at strengthening the residency training program. Through an award from National Academy of Sciences / USAID, I have trained Liberia's first-ever Infectious Diseases physician who achieved fellowship of the West African College of Physicians in that specialty in 2022. Overall, my expertise and collective experiences to date have positioned me to design and run successful projects around capacity building in low-resource settings including developing and implementing innovative and robust medical training and research programs for faculty, fellows, residents and students.
Since 2017, I have been the Director of the Yale AIDS Program HIV clinical trials program, and a principal investigator on numerous pharmacokinetic, phase 2 and 3 safety and efficacy trials of novel antiviral compounds (HIV, SARS CoV-2). I am also a lead investigator on the international DISCOVER trial evaluating TAF/FTC vs TDF/FTC for HIV prevention among MSM and transgender women as well as PURPOSE-2 trial evaluating long acting lenacapavir for PrEP among MSM, transmasculinizing and transfeminizing individuals as well as gender non binary individuals who have sex with men. I am also funded by NIAID (2023-25) for work advancing HIV PrEP for adolescent girls and young women in Liberia.
In response to the COVID pandemic, I have been Yale principal investigator on multiple investigational therapeutic and preventative clinical trials for COVID-19 including remdesivir (now FDA approved), leronlimab and remdesivir and tocilizumab combination therapy as well as the Pfizer/BioNTech and GSK/Sanofi COVID-19 Vaccine trials. IN addition, I am also the PI on multiple ongoing trials evaluating mRNA vaccines for other infectious diseases and vaccines for bacterial infection.
Appointments
AIDS
Associate Professor on TermPrimaryPharmacology
Associate Professor on TermSecondary
Other Departments & Organizations
Education & Training
- Fellowship
- Yale School of Medicine (2012)
- Residency
- Mount Sinai School of Medicine (2010)
- MBBCh
- University of Calabar (2003)
Research
Overview
My clinical, educational and research interests revolve around improving the care and health outcomes of individuals living with or at risk for HIV/AIDS in domestic and international settings. Since 2011, I have been a member of the Yale AIDS Clinical Trials Program, and Director of the Program (since May 2017) and have been a principal and or co-investigator on numerous pharmacokinetic, phase 2 and 3 safety and efficacy trials of novel antiviral compounds (HIV). Most recently, given the alarming rate of new infections among men who have sex with men (MSM), I have added HIV prevention trials to my clinical trials activities. I am currently a co-principal investigator on a Yale CIRA funded project, which has supported the formation of a cohort of men who have sex with men, who are at high risk for HIV and are engaged in HIV PrEP services in order to study the impact of substance use on retention in care and adherence to PrEP.
Internationally, as a visiting professor to the National University of Rwanda since 2012, I have and continue to mentor medical residents and junior faculty, conducting meaningful clinical research projects that are locally relevant and addressing important infectious diseases-related problems (particularly HIV/AIDS and antimicrobial resistance). Similarly, in Liberia, as the Program Director of Yale’s Office of Global Health’s efforts to support Internal Medicine residency training, we have received funding (World Bank and HRSA) to support strengthening clinical research capacity in Liberia.
Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)
Academic Achievements & Community Involvement
Clinical Care
Overview
Onyema Ogbuagu, MBBCh, is an infectious diseases specialist who cares for patients who are affected by or at risk for HIV/AIDS, and directs Yale AIDS Program HIV clinical trials research. He also provides care for COVID-19 patients and leads Yale’s clinical studies around COVID-19.
Dr. Ogbuagu was drawn to infectious diseases by the intellectual challenges, but he quickly started to appreciate the rewards he experienced in patient care. “I trained in Nigeria, where you see lot of disease and suffering and late presentations, and you are working in a resource-limited space where you feel that if things were better, people would survive,” he says. He found similar issues in the United States, where HIV often affects people who struggle socioeconomically, and are stigmatized and neglected in society. “You get that deep desire to make a difference, save lives, make suffering better, and heal people, and you can offer services to a vulnerable population,” he says.
One of a doctor’s most important roles is to reassure patients, Dr. Ogbuagu says, and information often helps. “For HIV, we are able to tell people now that treatments have evolved to the point where most people with the virus have a normal life expectancy—all you need to do is take your medicine to keep the virus at bay. For COVID, I remind patients that the majority of people have good outcomes, even among the elderly, so that is in their favor.” He adds that patients at Yale who enroll in clinical trials have the advantage of access to potentially effective therapies before they are FDA-approved.
In addition to his work at Yale, Dr. Ogbuagu contributes to creating sustainable patient care, supporting training, and furthering research activities and patient services in Liberia and Rwanda. “I’ve trained a whole generation of physicians in Rwanda, and the first infectious disease fellow ever in Liberia. I think we are making some steps in the right direction,” he says.
Clinical Specialties
Fact Sheets
Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)
Learn More on Yale MedicineCOVID-19
Learn More on Yale MedicineCoronavirus
Learn More on Yale MedicineSepsis
Learn More on Yale Medicine
Board Certifications
Infectious Disease
- Certification Organization
- AB of Internal Medicine
- Original Certification Date
- 2012
Internal Medicine
- Certification Organization
- AB of Internal Medicine
- Latest Certification Date
- 2019
- Original Certification Date
- 2009
Yale Medicine News
News
News
- October 03, 2024
A Promising Injectable for HIV Prevention
- September 12, 2024Source: CNN
Twice-a-year injection reduced risk of HIV infection by 96%, drug company says — more than daily PrEP pill
- August 20, 2024Source: TODAY
Mpox is a global health emergency. Will it cause a lockdown like COVID? What experts say
- July 30, 2024Source: HIVinfo
The HHS Panel on Antiretroviral Guidelines for Adults and Adolescents With HIV Announces New Community and Scientific Members