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About
Leo López III, MD, MHS, serves as the vice president for community and population health with University Health and is a practicing family medicine provider.
Dr. López is a graduate of the University of Texas Long School of Medicine and completed residency training in family medicine at Christus Santa Rosa. He earned a master’s degree in health science at Yale University while completing fellowship in health services research with the National Clinician Scholars Program at the Yale School of Medicine.
He previously served as the Senior Director for Equity, Policy, and Evaluation at New York City Health and Hospitals. In this role, he developed healthcare delivery models for special populations including those experiencing homelessness and the justice involved.
He is the former co-chair of the New York City Test + Trace Community Advisory Board, where he worked closely with over 50 community-based organizations in New York City to address health equity concerns related to COVID-19.
He previously held a faculty appointment as an Assistant Clinical Professor of Population Health at NYU Grossman School of Medicine. As a principal investigator, his research examined the diagnostic performance of emerging COVID-19 antigen testing systems.
As a fellow at Yale, Dr. Lopez led an effort to address health literacy in partnership with the Swahili-speaking refugee community in New Haven, Connecticut. Using a community health organizing model, his team developed community capacity to address health literacy disparities and used patient stories to examine experiences of discrimination in healthcare settings.
Dr. Lopez believes that stories have the power to facilitate positive community change. He directed documentary films at the intersection of social determinants of health and policy including Medicaid expansion, immigrant health, and food insecurity COVID-19. He produced films that capture experiences of families confronting generational conflict, and partnered with the United Nations to produce a film that advocates for youth as change agents in areas impacted by natural disasters. He delivered TEDxTalks that examine access to healthcare services and human rights.
Career Highlights:
Dr. Lopez was named a 2023 40 Under 40 Leader in Minority Health by the National Minority Quality Forum in Washington, D.C. He was recognized as the 2019 Young Physician of the Year by the National Hispanic Medical Association (NHMA) for his commitment to improving community health. He also received the 2017 and 2018 Resident of the Year Award from NHMA, and the 2015 Excellence in Public Health Award from the United States Public Health Service and the University of Texas Long School of Medicine San Antonio.
Research Interests:
Health system assessments and investments in community health
Philosophy of Care Statement:
A physician is a servant to the human condition with a moral and professional duty to extend compassion, to reduce preventable suffering, and to partner with patients, families, and communities in healing and achieving wellness.
Interests and Hobbies:
Exchanging ideas and stories; Sharing perspectives, laughs, and food; learning from others; team-based problem-solving;
Video
Articles & Publications
Journal Articles
Jasmine L. Travers, PhD; Brian E. McGarry, PT, PhD; Steven Friedman, MS; Louisa W. Holaday, MD; Joseph S. Ross, MD; Leo Lopez, MD; Kevin Chen, MD.Association of Receipt of Paycheck Protection Program Loans With Staffing Patterns Among US Nursing Homes. Journal of the American Medical Association. July 2023.
L. Liua, K. Meyers, L. J. Purpura, N. Nguyen, H. Mohria, J. Y. Chang, M. K. Annavajhala, L. Lopez, S. Lee, J. Shah, B. Lane, A. Cantos, S. A. Tukuru, Y. Guo, K. Ford, Y. Chiu, Z. Sheng, T. Choesang, D. Castor, M. Wang, C. Pili, M. N. Van Hoy, A. Wallach, J. Horton, Z. Chen, S. Rosenthal, S. McLaren, B. Jiang, F. Wang, H. Lu, A. Uhlemann, D. Ho, M. Yin. Development and performance of a point-of-care rapid antigen test for detection of SARS-COV-2 variants. Journal of Clinical Virology Plus. May 2022.
L. Lopez, K. Chen, L. Hart, A. Johnson. Access and Analytics: What the military can teach us about health equity. American Journal of Public Health. December 2021.
K. Chen, L. Lopez, J. Travers, J. Ross. Distribution of Paycheck Protection Program Loans to Healthcare Organizations. Journal of General Internal Medicine. Sept. 2021 .
L. Lopez, C. Gross. Are nonprofit hospitals holding up their end of the tax-free bargain? The Hill. August 2021.
L. Lopez, M. Dhodapkar, C. Gross. US Nonprofit Hospitals’ Community Health Needs Assessments and Implementation Strategies in the Era of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Journal of the American Medical Association. Aug. 2021.
K. Chen, K. Chen, L. Holiday, L. Lopez. Assessing Concordance Across Nonprofit Hospitals’ Public Reporting on Housing as a Community Health Need in the Era of the Affordable Care Act. Journal of Public Health Management and Practice. April 2021.
L. Lopez. Racial and ethnic health disparities related to COVID-19. Journal of the American Medical Association. January 2021 .
K. Chen, K. Chen, L. Lopez. Investing in Community Building Among Nonprofit Hospital Organizations in the United States. Journal of the American Medical Association. Oct. 2020.
L. Lopez, D. Silvestri, J. Ross. Medicaid Section 1115 Waiver Demonstration Programs: Transparency and Accountability Under the Affordable Care Act. Journal of the American Medical Association. October 2020 .
L. Lopez. Stop hospitals from hounding poor patients. Other words. April 2020.
L. Lopez. Are white men accessing covid-19 screening more than others? The Crisis Magazine. March 2020 .
L. Lopez. You lose a child, you lose your job. The Healthcare Blog. March 2019.
L. Lopez. Why advocacy is important. Resident Voice. Texas Academy of Family Physicians. June 2018.
L. Lopez. Behind the Border. The New Physician. March-April 2015, 23-27.
L. Lopez. On the Texas-Mexico border, a new drug trade emerges. The Lancet, Aug. 2013 Volume 382, Issue 9894, 756 – 757.
