News

Published on the UMSOM website, Adapted for the MPower website | October 22, 2025

Esa Matius Davis, MD, MPH, FAAFP, Professor of Family & Community Medicine and Senior Associate Dean for Population Health and Community Medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM), was elected today as a new member of the National Academy of Medicine (NAM). Dr. Davis, who is also Associate Vice President (AVP) for Community Health at the University of Maryland Baltimore (UMB), was recognized for her trailblazing work in advancing women’s health and health equity through epidemiological studies on maternal health disparities and her landmark clinical trials informing practice guidelines for improving obesity and diabetes-related maternal health outcomes. Dr. Davis also serves as the Lead Strategist for Health Equity at the University of Maryland Institute for Health Computing.

NAM elected 90 regular members, including Dr. Davis, and 10 international members during its annual meeting. She now joins the more than 2,400 members of this important organization. Membership in the Academy is considered one of the highest honors for individuals who have made major contributions to the advancement of the medical sciences, health care, and public health.

A widely published, NIH-funded researcher, Dr. Davis’s work focuses on obesity-related maternal and child health outcomes, understanding the perinatal determinants of adverse maternal health outcomes, and comparative effectiveness research. She led the Comparison of Two Screening Strategies for Gestational Diabetes (GDM2) Trial, which showed that while a proposed one-step glucose tolerance screening for gestational diabetes increased the number of mothers diagnosed and treated for gestational diabetes, it did not reduce maternal or infant mortality compared to the two-step screening currently practiced in the United States. Her current clinical trials focus on strategies to reduce postpartum hypertension, a bromocriptine intervention to address pericardium cardiomyopathy, and using family home visitation to improve maternal cardiovascular health.

As a member of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, where she now serves as Vice Chair, Dr. Davis was instrumental in expanding the task force guidelines in 2023 to recommend screening pregnant women for hypertensive disorders at prenatal doctor’s visits. Previous guidelines had recommended screening only for preeclampsia, but now recommend screening for other conditions involving high blood pressure, including eclampsia and gestational hypertension. Hypertensive disorders lead to a significant number of maternal deaths, 32.9 per 100,000 live births, with wide health disparities. Black women are five times more likely to die from preeclampsia and eclampsia than white women.

“Throughout her career, Dr. Davis has made a remarkable impact in the communities she has served. In just two years since joining our leadership team, she has worked hand-in-hand with faith-based organizations to tackle deeply-rooted health and social challenges—especially those contributing to shorter life expectancies in West Baltimore,” said Mark T. Gladwin, MD, Dean of the University of Maryland School of Medicine, Vice President for Medical Affairs, University of Maryland, Baltimore, and the John Z. and Akiko K. Bowers Distinguished Professor. “Her leadership in groundbreaking pragmatic clinical trials has also been transformative, shaping practice guidelines that are improving maternal health outcomes related to obesity and diabetes and helping to drive real change.”

Since joining the UMSOM faculty in July, 2023, Dr. Davis has focused on identifying and reducing health disparities in Maryland and the Baltimore communities. She co-authored a 2024 study quantifying higher risk of diabetes and complications faced by people living in small, rural towns compared to those living in cities and suburbs, with rural diabetes patients facing a 10 percent greater risk of heart attack, five percent greater risk of heart failure, and four percent greater risk of developing end-stage kidney disease.

Dr. Davis plays a crucial role in the development of a new community health village, currently under construction at the site of the former Mondawmin Mall in West Baltimore. When it opens in 2026, the 17,000-square-foot space will offer primary care and prevention medical services, dental, and ancillary services to the historically underserved West Baltimore community.

“I am deeply honored by this recognition by the National Academy of Medicine,” Dr. Davis said. “This is an opportunity to expand my work and commitment to finding the solutions for our most pressing community health needs and improving healthcare of all people.”

Before joining the UMSOM faculty, Dr. Davis served as Associate Professor of Medicine, Clinical and Translational Science and Director of the Career Education and Enhancement for Health Care Research Diversity Program at the University of Pittsburgh. Much of her work there focused on understanding the perinatal determinants of obesity, maternal health inequities and long-term cardiovascular health in women. She contributed to the field specifically by investigating the perinatal, cultural, and behavioral factors associated with the racial and socioeconomic inequities in obesity among women that have persisted for decades.

Dr. Davis has received numerous awards and recognitions during her career, including being named one of 25 Black Marylanders to Watch by the Baltimore Sun in 2024. She is also the director of the Transforming Biomedical Research and Academic Faculty Through Leadership, Opportunity Training and Mentorship (TRANSFORM) program, an NIH-funded national leadership and mentorship program for mid-career faculty transitioning to senior leadership.

Other UMSOM faculty members who have been elected to the National Academy of Medicine include: Margaret M. McCarthy, Kirsten Lyke, William Carpenter, Howard Goldman, E. Albert Reece, Paul Stolley, Donald Wilson, Theodore Woodward, Claire Fraser, and Robert Gallo.