Dr. Denise Asafu-Adjei named 2023 AUA Gallagher Health Policy Scholar

Denise Asafu-Adjei, MD, MPH, is currently active within the AUA as a member of the inaugural AUA Diversity and Inclusion Committee and the AUA Legislative Affairs Committee.

The American Urological Association (AUA) has named Denise Asafu-Adjei, MD, MPH, as the 2023 AUA Gallagher Health Policy Scholar, the advocacy group announced in a news release.¹ Asafu-Adjei is an assistant professor of urology at Loyola University Chicago-Stritch School of Medicine, and she also serves on the editorial advisory board for Urology Times^®.

"Dr. Asafu-Adjei has demonstrated a consistent presence and engagement assisting in the formulation of health policy for urology. We look forward seeing her grow her expertise [and] expand her leadership even further through the Gallagher program,” AUA Public Policy Chair Eugene Rhee, MD, said in the news release.

The Gallagher Health Policy Scholar Program was created in 2007 to honor former AUA executive director G. James Gallagher. It continues to serve as an annual intensive training to prepare young urologists for leaderships positions in health policy.

The highly competitive year-long program sponsors the selected scholar to attend national conferences and meetings, receive mentoring from experienced AUA physicians, and participate in a seminar sponsored by the American College of Surgeons. The current Gallagher Scholar is Brian D. Duty, MD, MBA, an associate professor of urology at the Oregon Health & Science University² who will pass the baton to Dr. Asafu-Adjei next year.

Asafu-Adjei first began her career in health policy during her undergraduate program at Carnegie Mellon University, where she earned a minor in health policy and management. She then earned her Master of Public Health at the Harvard University T.H. Chan School of Public Health and went on to receive her Doctor of Medicine at the University of Michigan Medical School.

She completed her residency at Columbia University Irving Medical Center of the New York Presbyterian enterprise. During her time there, she was awarded a grant by the Society of Academic Urologists to develop an e-course for residents titled, “Essentials of Health Policy for the Urologist.”

Asafu-Adjei is currently active within the AUA as a member of the inaugural AUA Diversity and Inclusion Committee and the AUA Legislative Affairs Committee. She now tacks on a new accomplishment to her running list of involvements as the 2023 Health Policy Scholar.

"I am prepared and excited to be fully immersed in the health policy work of the AUA as the 2023 Gallagher Scholar," said Dr. Asafu-Adjei.

References

1. American Urological Association announces 2023 Gallagher Health Policy Scholar. News release. American Urological Association. Published online December 15, 2022. Accessed December 16, 2022. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/american-urological-association-announces-2023-gallagher-health-policy-scholar-301703434.html

2. Gallagher Health Policy Scholar Program. American Urological Association. Accessed December 16, 2022. https://www.auanet.org/advocacy/get-involved/scholar-and-fellowship-programs/gallagher-health-policy-scholar-program