Assistant Professor, Research
Department of Clinical and Health Informatics
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Kawtar Zouaidi, DMD, MPH, joined the McWilliams School of Biomedical Informatics as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Clinical and Health Informatics in April 2026. Dr. Zouaidi has a background in dentistry, public health, and informatics. She is a member of the Texas Center for Oral Healthcare Quality and Safety (TCOHQS). Her research aims to improve the quality and safety of dental care by generating data-driven evidence to inform and improve care delivery.
Dr. Zouaidi has contributed to national and multi-institutional federally funded initiatives focused on patient safety and high-risk medication prescribing in pediatric dentistry. Her work emphasizes the use of large healthcare datasets, electronic health records, and informatics approaches to study adverse outcomes associated with dental care and dental sedation practices. She collaborates with multidisciplinary teams to advance safer, more effective dental care delivery systems and to translate research findings into practical, real-world applications.
Dr. Zouaidi’s research has contributed to both the scientific literature and to the development of strategies that improve clinical practice, quality of care, and patient safety.
Tell us about your research center and/or what research/work you are currently working on.
I am a member of the Texas Center for Oral Healthcare Quality and Safety (TCOHQS), and my work focuses on improving dental care delivery through data-driven research. My current research focuses on improving the quality and safety of pediatric dental sedation. I collaborate with local and national multidisciplinary teams to identify care gaps and adverse outcomes associated with sedation for dental treatment. This work leverages administrative claims and EHR data, along with qualitative methods, to generate actionable insights. These efforts have informed the development of targeted interventions and practical safety tools that support safer clinical practice.
What type of student or Postdoctoral Fellow are you looking for to work in your center? I welcome students and trainees from diverse backgrounds who are curious, self-motivated, and passionate about using informatics to improve the quality of care and patient outcomes.
What does the future of your research look like?
The future of my research centers on proactive harm prevention, leveraging
informatics to enable clinicians to anticipate and mitigate risks and to
optimize care delivery, thereby improving patient safety and outcomes.
What does the future of informatics look like?
The future of informatics is human-centered; focused on designing
technologies that support clinicians, improve patient experiences, and
translate data into meaningful, actionable care.