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Omar M El Kawkgi, MD

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Omar.Elkawkgi@uky.edu
800 Rose Street

Positions

  • Assistant Professor
  • Associate Program Director, Endocrinology Diabetes and Metabolism Fellowship

College Unit(s)

Other Affiliation(s)
  • Internal Medicine - Endocrinology

Biography and Education

Education

Degree; MD, Royal College of Surgeons-Ireland, Dublin, Ireland

Residency; Internal Medicine, UMass Chan Medical School - Baystate, Springfield, Mass. 

Fellowship; Endocrinology and Metabolism, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.

 

Certifications:

Internal Medicine, American Board of Internal Medicine

Masters in Lipidology, National Lipid Association

Silver Quality Certification, Mayo Clinic Quality Academy

Membership:

Publications Committee, American Thyroid Association

Endocrine Society

American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists

American College of Physicians

Journal Responsibilities: Associate Editor; Clinical Thyroidology, Reviewer; BMJ Case Reports, Endocrine Practice, Thyroid Journal

Selected Publications

1. Colbeth HL, Genere N, Hall CB, Jaber N, Brito JP, El Kawkgi OM, Goldfarb DG, Webber MP, Schwartz TM, Prezant DJ, Zeig-Owens R. Evaluation of Medical Surveillance and Incidence of Post-September 11, 2001, Thyroid Cancer in World Trade Center-Exposed Firefighters and Emergency Medical Service Workers. JAMA Intern Med. 2020 Jun 1;180(6):888-895. doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2020.0950. PMID: 32310290; PMCID: PMC7171583.

2. Li D, El Kawkgi OM, Morris JC 3rd. A Patient with Hyperthyroidism and An Anterior Mediastinal Mass. J Endocr Soc. 2020 Aug 21;4(10):bvaa124. doi: 10.1210/jendso/bvaa124. PMID: 32999948; PMCID: PMC7514796.

3. El Kawkgi OM, Ross DS, Stan MN. Comparison of long-term antithyroid drugs versus radioactive iodine or surgery for Graves' disease: A review of the literature. Clin Endocrinol (Oxf). 2021 Jul;95(1):3-12. doi: 10.1111/cen.14374. Epub 2020 Dec 6. PMID: 33283314 

4. El Kawkgi OM, Li D, Kotwal A, Wermers RA. Hypoparathyroidism: An Uncommon Complication Associated With Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Therapy. Mayo Clin Proc Innov Qual Outcomes. 2020 Nov 3;4(6):821-825. doi: 10.1016/j.mayocpiqo.2020.07.006. PMID: 33367219; PMCID: PMC7749243.

5. Lincango-Naranjo E, Solis-Pazmino P, El Kawkgi O, Salazar-Vega J, Garcia C, Ledesma T, Rojas T, Alvarado-Mafla B, Young G, Dy B, Ponce OJ, Brito JP. Triggers of thyroid cancer diagnosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Endocrine. 2021 Jun;72(3):644-659. doi: 10.1007/s12020-020-02588-8. Epub 2021 Jan 29. PMID: 33512656. 

6. Brito JP, Ross JS, El Kawkgi OM, Maraka S, Deng Y, Shah ND, Lipska KJ. Levothyroxine Use in the United States, 2008-2018. JAMA Intern Med. 2021 Oct 1;181(10):1402-1405. doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2021.2686. PMID: 34152370; PMCID: PMC8218227. 

7. Genere N, El Kawkgi OM, Giblon RE, Vaccarella S, Morris JC, Hay ID, Brito JP. Incidence of Clinically Relevant Thyroid Cancers Remains Stable for Almost a Century: A Population-Based Study. Mayo Clin Proc. 2021 Nov;96(11):2823-2830. doi: 10.1016/j.mayocp.2021.04.028. PMID: 34736609; PMCID: PMC9645772. 

8. Kohlenberg J, Gu J, Parvinian A, Webb J, Kawkgi OE, Larson NB, Ryder M, Fatemi M, Alizad A. Added value of mass characteristic frequency to 2-D shear wave elastography for differentiation of benign and malignant thyroid nodules. Ultrasound Med Biol. 2022 Aug;48(8):1663-1671. doi: 10.1016/j.ultrasmedbio.2022.04.218. Epub 2022 Jun 4. PMID: 35672198; PMCID: PMC9246930. 

9. El Kawkgi OM, Stan MN. Radiofrequency Ablation for Papillary Thyroid Microcarcinoma Is Safe and Effective in Long-Term Follow-up. Clinical Thyroidology. 2021 Mar; 33(3):121-123.

10. El Kawkgi Omar, Brito Juan. Minority Populations with Thyroid Cancers Are Less Likely to Receive Specialist Care Clinical Thyroidology. 2022; 34(1):29-31.

11. Toro-Tobon David, El Kawkgi Omar. Risk of Second Primary Malignancy Associated with Cumulative Doses of Radioactive Iodine in Patients with Differentiated Thyroid Cance Clinical Thyroidology. 2023; 35(4):154-156.

12. El Kawkgi Omar. Deciphering Molecular Signatures Behind Different Radioactive Iodine Uptake Patterns in Differentiated Thyroid Cancer with Distant Metastases. Clinical Thyroidology. 2024;36(6):215-7.

13. El Kawkgi Omar. Increased Incidence or Detection Bias? Global Cohort Study Finds No Link between GLP1-RAs and Thyroid Cancer Risk. Clinical Thyroidology. 2025;36(1):33-36

14. El Kawkgi O, Toro-Tobon D, Toloza FJK, Vallejo S, Jacome CS, Ayala IN, Vallejo BA, Wenczenovicz C, Tzeng O, Spencer HJ, Thostenson JD, Li D, Kohlenberg J, Lincango E, Mohan S, Castellanos-Diaz J, Maraka S, Ospina NS, Brito JP. A Predictive Model for Graves' Disease Recurrence After Antithyroid Drug Therapy: A Retrospective Multicenter Cohort Study. Endocr Pract. 2025 Apr;31(4):455-464. doi: 10.1016/j.eprac.2024.12.011. Epub 2024 Dec 16. PMID: 39694327; PMCID: PMC12005976.