The Directory of Black Women Physicians

Dr. Jessica Opoku-Anane is a faculty member in the Division of Minimally Invasive Gynecologic Surgery in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. Dr. Opoku-Anane will establish a Comprehensive Endometriosis Center and will serve as director. She is also a Co-Director of the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Department of Ob/Gyn.

Prior to joining Columbia, Dr. Opoku-Anane served as an associate professor in the UCSF Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences where she served as the Chief of Minimally Invasive Gynecology and Urogynecology and Director of the UCSF Endometriosis Center.

An advocate for health equity, Dr. Opoku-Anane works alongside the department to do outreach and education among underserved populations in New York City through engaging community organizations and digital outreach.

Dr. Opoku-Anane specializes in the treatment of uterine fibroids, menstrual disorders, endometriosis and pelvic pain, ovarian pathology, intrauterine scarring (Asherman’s), Mullerian anomalies, alternatives to hysterectomy, and minimally invasive gynecologic surgery. She has received several awards, including the prestigious AAGL award for excellence in endoscopic surgery.

In addition to her clinical activities, she has been active in research and spent two years with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) both locally and in sub-Saharan Africa. Her more recent research includes a randomized control trial to test the ability of antifibrinolytics to decrease blood loss during myomectomy, a study accessing cancer associated mutations in deep endometriosis, and several studies on health equity among historically marginalized patients with endometriosis.

Dr. Opoku-Anane also has a longstanding interest in global health and spent extended periods of time throughout Africa on clinical and research programs. She has published a systematic review article on increasing laparoscopic surgery in developing countries and assists with the development of laparoscopic programs throughout sub-Saharan Arica. She is also a fellow of the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and a member of the American Association of Laparoscopic Gynecologists and the World Endometriosis Society.

Dr. Opoku-Anane obtained her medical degree from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and went on to complete her residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Harvard Brigham and Women’s and Massachusetts General Hospitals. She subsequently completed an AAGL fellowship in advanced minimally invasive gynecologic surgery at George Washington University and trained at the Center for Endometriosis Care in Atlanta.