Obiora Onwuameze, MD, MS, PhD

Dr. Obiora Onwuameze completed medical school at the College of Medicine University of Nigeria in 1990 and proceeded to the University of Iowa where he completed his MS and PhD program focusing in Epidemiology in 2008.  In 2012, he completed his psychiatry residency training at the University of Iowa Hospital and Clinics and the same year was nominated to participate in the NIH funded Career Development Institute two-year fellowship through the University of Pittsburgh and Stanford University.  It was also in 2012 that he joined the faculty of the Department of Psychiatry SIU School of Medicine as an Assistant Professor. He has held several leadership positions and is currently the Director of Clerkship, Medical Director of the Community Support Network and Medical Director of the Behavioral Health Unit at St. John’s Hospital.

His research focuses on the broad area of schizophrenia spectrum disorders and severe/chronic mental illness with a specific focus on risk factors and predictors of clinical outcome.  His doctoral training in epidemiology and the NIMH funded research career development fellowship has been fundamental to his research career.  Most of his earlier work had focused on public health.  Dr. Onwuameze has several recognitions and awards including receiving the Winokur’s Resident Research Award for the best research thrice during his residency training at the University Of Iowa Carver College Of Medicine. Also, in 2012 he received the American Psychiatric Association Eli Lilly Resident Research Award, the American Society of Clinical Psychopharmacology New Investigator Award, and was selected to participate in the NIH funded Career Development Institute two-year fellowship. Dr. Onwuameze’s mentorship of resident research has resulted in recognition for excellence in Faculty Mentorship in Psychiatry Resident Research, Southern Illinois University School of Medicine June of 2014 and 2016.  Since joining the Department of Psychiatry, he has continued to collaborate with his colleagues nationally on original research resulting in several peer reviewed publications, book chapters, presentations in national conferences/meetings, abstracts. His clinical research focuses on the epidemiology and outcomes of schizophrenia spectrum disorders has led to multiple year grant funding from the NIH/SAMSA for the Assisted Outpatient Program to SIUMED and other collaborators. He is a member of the board American Academy of Clinical Psychiatrists, member editorial board Annals of Clinical Psychiatry, and a member committee on Clinical Psychopharmacology Curriculum Residency Training for the American Society for Clinical Psychopharmacology amongst others.