BIOGRAPHY

Born and raised in Accra, Ghana. Dr. Nii-Aponsah had his Bachelor’s degree in Medical Sciences from the University of Ghana and graduated with a Doctor of Dental Surgery degree from the University of Ghana School of Medicine and Dentistry. 

In Ghana, he worked intensely in non-profits and community-based practices, and that is where he fell in love with community-based participatory oral health research. After which he has gained expertise and worked on several collaborative community based research programs in the United States, and Ghana. 

Dr Nii-Aponsah holds a Master’s in Public Health at Northern Illinois University, with emphasis on Health Education and Health Promotion, and a Ph.D. in Public Health Sciences doing extensive work on oral cancer disparities. 

He completed his Residency training in Dental Public Health (New York State Dental Public Health Residency Program) in the Department of Community Dentistry at the Eastman Institute for Oral Health, University of Rochester Medical Center. He also completed the year-long leadership academy Dental Public Health Leadership Academy (DPHLA) training program, where his work focused on Medical-Dental Integration research particularly on using Oral health centers as primary referral points on essential Medical diseases.

Dr. Nii-Aponsah was also an Assistant Professor of Health Sciences at North Central College and a Lecturer at Northern Illinois University, teaching Epidemiology, Biostatistics, Research Methodology and design, and General courses in Public Health Sciences. 

Through his transitions in career paths, he has garnered expertise in working with diverse populations and how they strive to improve their oral health status. He has actively participated in multiple research projects and received numerous grants for his work with health disparities; notable among is the NIH UR CTSI grant for his work in exploring oral and system dental integration and his work on establishing routine diabetes screening in the dental office. 

Dr Nii-Aponsah currently serves on the Board of Directors of the American Institute of Dental Public Health. He was the Immediate Past Chair of the Academic Section of the Illinois Public Health Association and has extensive experience in Nonprofit Leadership as well as organizational leadership in various capacities. 

He is passionate about providing quality comprehensive clinical care to his patients and using research to explore oral health disparities and their implications on systemic disease, especially as they affect vulnerable populations. His lifetime goal is to use his clinical expertise, research, and training to eliminate oral health inequalities as they affect vulnerable populations.