Shaping policy care programs

Dr. Sung Eun Choi’s research is critical to identifying the structural factors that drive disparities in dental care quality, and simulating the long-term costs and health outcomes of different policy scenarios. Her work informs health policy decisions, providing data-based evidence to implement targeted, cost-effective interventions, policy and delivery system reforms.

With her National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding disrupted, so is the ability to generate and deliver this timely evidence that could shape policy or community care programs. In a recent conversation with HSDM, she shared how she found her calling in research and why the funding freeze is a threat to the communities who need her work most.

Why did you get into your field of research?

I’ve always been drawn to research that directly informs population health and policymaking. My work sits at the intersection of data analytics, health policy, and decision modeling—disciplines that, when combined, can drive meaningful improvements in healthcare delivery and equity. Oral health remains largely siloed from broader healthcare conversations, despite its profound impact on overall well-being. Disparities in access and outcomes persist, particularly among underserved populations, yet often receive limited policy attention. My research aims to bridge that gap through data-driven approaches and inform evidence-based solutions.

What kind of federally funded projects were you working on?

My research has been supported by the National Institutes of Health and focuses on evaluating the effectiveness and value of policies and care delivery models aimed at improving access to dental care for underserved children. I use data analytics applied to large-scale datasets to identify children with the greatest need for dental care, examine how structural barriers contribute to gaps in quality of dental care, and use simulation modeling to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of strategies designed to improve both the quality and equity of pediatric dental care. 

These projects bridge oral health, health policy, and data science, generating evidence to inform both clinical decision-making and policy development.

What is the impact of this research?

This research has strong potential to inform Medicaid policy and delivery system reforms. By identifying structural factors that drive disparities in dental care quality, and simulating the long-term costs and health outcomes of different policy scenarios, we provide state and federal decision-makers with evidence to implement targeted, cost-effective interventions. 

The project helps shift the focus from access alone to quality and equity—recognizing that just having dental coverage isn’t enough if the care isn’t timely, high-quality, or equitably distributed.

What does halting your research’s funding mean to the people most affected?

The most immediate consequence is that we lose momentum in understanding and addressing preventable disparities in oral health. When funding is disrupted, so is our ability to deliver timely evidence that could shape policy or community care programs. 

The populations most affected—low-income children, families in underserved areas, and those relying on safety-net systems—are the very groups who stand to benefit most from evidence-informed policies. Halting this research risks widening gaps in care and delaying actionable solutions.

Dr. Sung Eun Choi is an assistant professor of Oral Health Policy and Epidemiology at Harvard School of Dental Medicine.