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For Northeastern University alum Hamza Jahangir, a master’s in public health at the Charlotte campus not only benefited his healthcare career but also reinforced a mission of expanding access to oral healthcare to underserved populations. Originally planning on dental school after completing his undergraduate program at UNC Chapel Hill, a deferment from his top choice led Jahangir to a realization that an MPH would benefit him in his healthcare career.

“I saw that Northeastern had a campus in Charlotte and the program that I wanted” Jahangir said. “I saw this as an opportunity to get a master’s degree before dental school.”

Thanks to his capstone research project, a successful mobile dental clinic program in Mecklenburg County may one day be expanded from schools to the unhoused population in the county, providing basic dental care to the most vulnerable populations.

Jahangir worked closely with his capstone advisor Raydiance Swanston, a senior health program manager overseeing the dental program at Mecklenburg County Government’s Public Health Department, which supports a physical clinic in Charlotte, collaborations with local dental schools, and the newly launched mobile unit at public schools.

Swanston met Jahangir at a community engagement event for Northeastern students and the County’s public health department, connecting over his career plans and goals.

“I love being able to provide guidance and support on building out career paths for students, especially in dental health,” Swanston said. “He wanted to work closely with me on goals for the program and use it as the basis of his capstone for the MPH. Northeastern’s framework was well-organized and easy to navigate, and it was great having his outside perspective.”

Collaborating with Jahangir reinforced Swanston’s belief in the value of a master’s in public health, especially when combined with work experience. “When I first joined the County, I was in the middle of my MPH,” Swanston said. “My course on grant writing was applied to the dental program, which got us over a million dollars in funding to launch the mobile clinic and fully staff the program with dentists. The great thing about the MPH is that the curriculum is based on real healthcare service and translates both ways.”

Jahangir and Swanston reached out to dental clinics for pro-bono rotations, working with staff and dental students at North Carolina dental schools to count this work toward their clinical hours. They conducted extensive surveys and interviews of shelters, libraries, and unhoused populations in Charlotte and Boston.

Many of the unhoused individuals expressed how they did not have the money or time to think about getting dental care when they worried about their next meal.

“The biggest recommendation was for the mobile clinics,” Jahangir said. “We started running the first one for underserved populations and students at different schools – same perspective for homeless populations. Go to specific locations like libraries to provide basic dental care like cavity fillings, cleanings, and screenings.”

Born and raised in Pakistan, Jahangir moved to the USA eight years ago for a better education. He brought his personal experiences to the project, along with his passion for helping vulnerable populations ever since his time in undergrad helping distribute food on Sunday mornings, where he often connected unhoused individuals to dental care through University of North Carolina dental clinics.

“[In my capstone] I emphasized how I was an immigrant, and how I went through a whole process of getting my wisdom teeth removed because we didn’t know about dental insurance,” Jahangir added. “Underserved populations have access to benefits like Medicaid and Medicare, but these plans don’t cover oral healthcare.”

In addition to earning his MPH and his work with the County, Jahangir worked as a clinic administrator for Straight Set Orthodontics in New York City and will soon start at New York University Dental as a clinical administrator, where he hopes to learn more about strategic management and planning. He will apply for dental school in the next cycle.

Jahangir’s MPH was made possible by an inaugural Northeastern scholarship, and he expresses gratitude to Swanston alongside Northeastern’s Master of Public Health faculty and academic advising team for their support and advice along his public health journey.

Northeastern University’s MPH program is accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health and is a member of the Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health. If you’re interested in enrolling, or learning more about the program click here.