Dr. Priscilla Eyikojoka Pemu is an internist whose goal is to improve the health of all patients similar to those that she encounters in her primary care practice. The complex interplay of patient, physician, practice setting, environmental and psychosocial factors in perpetuating disparities in health outcomes led to her interest and work with the Community Physicians Network. In the past 15 years, we have developed a successful partnership based on a shared vision for improved care and outcomes among minority and underserved patients with Community Physicians who are part of the Morehouse Community Physicians Network (CPN). Overall focus has been on identifying gaps in treatment and outcomes and opportunities for improvement. As Medical Director of the Community Physicians’ Network (CPN), she is responsible for planning and executing research and quality improvement initiatives. CPN established several disease-specific registries for hypertension, Diabetes, heart failure, and metabolic syndrome of 6,500 individual patients. These were used to support research and quality improvement initiatives.
She is part of a team at Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM) that developed a system and method for chronic illness care that empowers patients to change behaviors relevant to their health through improved knowledge, support for goal setting, and accountability in sustaining behavior change.
Dr. Pemu is the Principal Investigator (PI) of the Morehouse School of Medicine site for the National Institutes of Health’s All of Us research program. The MSM site has enrolled more than 5,000 full participants, 95% of whom are African American, in the program by applying the principles of culturally congruent communication.
She leads the MSM Participant and Clinical Interactions Unit (PCI) of the Georgia Clinical and Translational Science Alliance (GA-CTSA). In the role, she is directly involved in ensuring quality and efficiency of clinical research studies through training of staff, review and prioritization of resources for clinical projects and review of data and safety monitoring reports as the chair of the Institutional Scientific Advisory Committee.
Dr. Pemu completed a residency with the TED organization in May 2019. As a participant in this highly selective incubator for breakthrough ideas, she introduced the concept of Culturally Congruent Coaching. Her TED Talk, featured as Editor’s choice on TED.com, shared the results of 12 years of research observations about what predicts successful health behavior change. The talk brings attention to the impact of behavior on health and wellbeing among people living with chronic illnesses and the doctors who care for them. She also discussed Culturally Congruent Coaching; a high-tech, high-touch approach to support behavior change that has produced great results among diverse patient groups.
Her contributions to science include:
She is also a proud mother of four; wife to Igho of 30 years; and a sister, friend, and daughter.
