Heather Loo
Heather Loo is a dental student at the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine. Loo graduated with a B.S. in Health Science at Boston University, where she noticed the lack of current data on access to dental care in Massachusetts. This observation led her to complete her thesis on oral care access for MassHealth beneficiaries, investigating patient and provider barriers to program participation. This project sparked her research interest in oral health disparities and the social determinants of health.
As a SUMR Fellow, Loo is working on two projects. The first project is with Dr. Danielle Cullen of the Children’s Hospital of Pennsylvania. The project investigates the referral process to oral health resources for emergency department patients in Massachusetts. The project highlights their ability to access oral care and areas where the navigation and referral resources could be improved. Loo is also working with Dr. Erica Dixon at the Accelerate Health Equity Initiative. Her role is to update the Health Equity Dashboard, a public tool that provides data on health statistics in Philadelphia.