Timothy Loftus, M.D., J.D. ’21, joined the law school as the Health Disparities Project Fredman Family Foundation Practitioner-in-Residence and Lecturer July 1.
Launched recently by the Center for Ethics and Public Service in cooperation with the School of Medicine’s M.D./MPH Program, the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center and a coalition of civic and faith-based partners from Coconut Grove Village West, the Health Disparities Project focuses on community-centered health law and policy research, advocacy, and reform.
“We are fortunate to have Dr. Loftus here. He brings invaluable health care expertise and experience to the important work of the Health Disparities Project,” said Acting Dean Stephen Schnably.
During the 2020-2021 academic year, the Health Disparities Project received both a U-LINK grant (“COVID-19: Evaluating Fault Lines in the Health of Our Communities and Developing Community-Centered Solutions”) and an Association of American Medical Colleges Next Award.
“In April 2020, the law school’s longstanding community partners in Coconut Grove Village West asked for assistance as the pandemic disproportionately impacted that community,” said Loftus. “Driven by their input, Professor Tony Alfieri and I penciled together a plan built from a vision he had for almost two decades: to work alongside M.D. and MPH minds to address these very issues. To see the plan starting to come to fruition brings me a lot of hope, excitement and inspiration to continue. The opportunity to do so in this new role comes with gratitude for the generosity of the Fredman Family and the commitment of our Miller School, Sylvester Cancer Center and community partners.”
In addition to his 3L work with the Center for Ethics & Public Service and the M.D./MPH program, Loftus served as a 2L Intern with the Florida Health Justice Project. Before law school, he served as vice president of a health care software startup integrating home health data into electronic medical records. He obtained a B.S. in Chemistry with highest distinction and magna cum laude from the University of Illinois and an M.D. from Washington University in St. Louis. Loftus did postgraduate training in emergency medicine at New York-Presbyterian Hospital, The University Hospital of Columbia and Cornell, training at both Weill Cornell and Columbia University Medical Centers in New York City.
“We thank the Fredman Family Foundation for its generous support of this important project as well as the M.D./MPH Program, the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center and the law school’s community-based partners in Coconut Grove Village West,” said Schnably.
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