Unini Odama, M.D., M.P.H., M.B.E.

Unini Odama is a board-certified internist and nephrologist, public health practitioner, and bioethicist. She most recently served as Vice President for Medical Affairs at DaVita, where she led infection prevention and management programs and played a key role in developing and implementing strategies to promote optimal kidney health and prevent chronic kidney disease. She practiced nephrology in rural Alabama and Georgia for over a decade, focusing on preventing chronic diseases and providing comprehensive health care. Dr. Odama has also served as a District Health Director for the Georgia Department of Public Health, overseeing health programs that serve thousands of individuals and managing workforce development, environmental health, and emergency preparedness. She is dedicated to preventing chronic diseases, building health and wellbeing capacity, and connecting health policies and innovations to person-centered care.

In addition to her clinical and public health work, Dr. Odama has made important contributions to research, education, and public service. She has published articles in well-known journals, including an NEJM piece on “A Person-Centered Approach to Kidney Care.” She has served as a CMS/CMMI Technical Expert Panelist and workgroup member. She has participated in various CDC webinars and workgroups on Infection Control, Emerging Threats, and Preparing for the Future. She is the founding physician of the YMCA-Davita Community Collaborative Kidney Health Program, which focuses on prevention, screening, and linking patients to care, and she volunteered as a nephrologist and advisor for Bridge of Life’s health education initiatives.

Additionally, she works as an affiliate educator in the Harvard Medical School MS of Bioethics Program, mentors graduate students, and has spoken at many national and international conferences.

Dr. Odama is a Fellow of the American Society of Nephrology. She earned her MD from the University of Jos, Nigeria, and completed her internal medicine training at Michael Reese/University of Illinois, Chicago. Dr. Odama also completed fellowships in hypertension, general nephrology, and transplant nephrology at Rush Presbyterian Hospital in Chicago and the Medical College of Virginia at Virginia Commonwealth University. She earned an MPH from Emory University and an MS in Bioethics from Harvard Medical School.