Heidelberg-Harvard funds international collaboration aimed at addressing global oral health disparities

A new joint initiative funded by a Heidelberg-Harvard Strategic Partnership Grant will bring together oral public health leaders from HSDM and Heidelberg University’s Institute of Global Health to address the most pressing global oral health challenges. The initiative—SMILE-Bridge: Strategic Multinational Initiative for Leading Equity in Oral Health—is one of seven strategic partnership grants funded in 2026. A memorandum of understanding between the two universities launched the grant program in 2025 as part of a collaboration to advance science and research. 

“Oral diseases affect more people than any other health condition worldwide and are among the most expensive diseases to treat. Yet their consequences are borne disproportionately by poor and vulnerable communities,” said Dr. Stefan Listl, professor of Translational Health Economics and director of the Oral Health Section at Heidelberg Institute of Global Health (HIGH), who serves as co-principal investigator (co-PI) for the initiative. “Through SMILE-Bridge, we are creating a strategic partnership between Harvard and Heidelberg to bridge the gap between evidence and action, empowering communities, practitioners, and policymakers to advance oral health equity on a global scale.”

Teams from both universities will be involved in research on the ground in areas with vulnerable populations in Latin America, Germany, and the United States. Through joint, community participatory research, they will conduct oral health needs assessments and community stakeholder interviews to develop and test program prototypes for feasible oral health improvements in those communities. 

“This approach will allow us to create and test community-based oral health interventions that could be transferable across other countries and communities,” said Dr. Catherine Hayes, chair of the Department of Oral Health Policy and Epidemiology (OHPE), associate professor of oral health policy and epidemiology at HSDM, and co-principal investigator (co-PI). “This is an exciting opportunity to bring together stakeholders from across the globe to work together to find cross-cutting solutions that address unique oral health challenges in vulnerable communities globally. We are excited to get started on this work with our Heidelberg partners.”

The project will kick off in September 2026 with partners and stakeholders gathering in Heidelberg with representatives from HSDM, Heidelberg University, and community partners from Germany, US, and Chile. From HSDM, the project team will include OHPE faculty members Drs. Elizabeth Alpert, Sung Choi, Christine Riedy, Brittany Seymour, and Shenam Ticku. From HIGH, the project team will include Oral Health Section members Drs. Tareq Al-Ahdal, Patrick Hennrich, Federico Zilio, Carolina Yanez, as well as research associates Lina Weinert and Michael Lorenz.

The initial work will involve establishing community partnerships and co-creating the process for determining oral health needs in each community and co-designing interventions to meet those needs.