Ekene Onwuka, MD, MS

Dr. Onwuka is committed to providing excellent and compassionate care to neonatal and pediatric patients with diseases and conditions that require surgery. In addition to performing general neonatal and pediatric surgery, he is a member of the surgical oncology team at Texas Children's and is actively involved in caring for patients with sarcomas (rhabdomyosarcoma, non rhabdo-soft tissue sarcoma, malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors and synovial cell sarcoma), renal tumors, neuroblastoma, thoracic tumors, liver cancer and other rare gastrointestinal malignancies. He obtained his Bachelor of Science degree from Tufts University prior to earning his medical degree from Howard University College of Medicine and completing adult general surgery training at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus, Ohio. During his residency training, Dr. Onwuka performed three years of basic science research in tissue engineering while also participating in various clinical research projects and obtaining a Master of Science degree in Medical Science. After residency, Dr. Onwuka completed specialty training in Pediatric Surgery at Texas Children’s Hospital, one of the busiest programs in the nation and one of the largest for the treatment of pediatric cancer

Clinical Interests

Pediatric surgical oncology, thoracic and abdominal minimally invasive surgery, endocrine disease, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, pediatric injury prevention and outcomes 

Education

Organizations

Honors and awards

2022

Children’s Oncology Group Children’s Cancer Research Fund Minority Young Investigator Award, Research Funding

2020

The Ohio State University Department of Surgery Golden Hands Award,  Awarded to chief resident w/ best technical ability

2019

The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center Random Act of Kindness Award

2016

National Institutes of Health/National Medical Association Travel Award

2016

National Institutes of Health Diversity Supplement to R01 Recipient, Research Funding

2014

National Institutes of Health Advanced Research Training in Immunology for Surgery Trainees (ARTIST) T32 Recipient, Research Funding

* Texas Children’s Hospital physicians’ licenses and credentials are reviewed prior to practicing at any of our facilities. Sections titled From the Doctor, Professional Organizations and Publications were provided by the physician’s office and were not verified by Texas Children’s Hospital.

Research interests

Dr. Onwuka performs translational and outcomes research in patients undergoing general surgery and surgical oncologic procedures. He is interested in the application of large databases to identify areas for improvement in care, especially in regards to socioeconomic and racial disparities. He was recently awarded funding from the Children’s Oncology Group and the Children’s Cancer Research Fund to study genetic ancestry as it pertains to outcomes in patients treated for rhabdomyosarcoma.