Theresa A. Davies-Heerema, PhD

Clinical Associate Professor, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine

Biography

Assistant Dean, Master’s Programs
Director, MS in Oral Health Sciences Program
Clinical Associate Professor of Medical Sciences & Education

Dr. Theresa Davies began her tenure at the Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine (formerly BUSM) in the Department of Biochemistry over 40 years ago. After earning her PhD, she became an active contributor to the department, conducting research in Alzheimer’s disease with a focus on the role of platelets and the blood-brain barrier in amyloid deposition.

Dr. Davies has held several leadership roles throughout her career. She previously served as Assistant Director of the MA in Medical Sciences program and, since 2012, has directed the MS in Oral Health Sciences (OHS) program. In 2018, she expanded her responsibilities within Graduate Medical Sciences (GMS), first as Assistant Dean for Graduate Affairs and more recently as the administrator overseeing all master’s programs. Her portfolio includes leadership of Marketing & Recruitment, the Community Catalyst Center, and continued direction of the OHS program.

She also serves as the GMS faculty liaison to the BU Disability & Access Services office, supporting students who require accommodations. Dr. Davies is deeply committed to fostering an inclusive, supportive, and empowering environment that promotes academic, professional, and personal growth for all students.

Her scholarly work reflects her dedication to educational access and innovation. In 2019, she published findings demonstrating the effectiveness of the OHS pipeline program in preparing dental school applicants from groups underrepresented in dentistry. In 2020, she explored how alternative predictors of success can help reduce bias in the admissions process. More recently, she published on the integration of cultural competence training into the OHS curriculum and previously collaborated with the Department of Family Medicine and the Alumni Medical Library to develop an Evidence Based Medicine Mobile App using the novel EBM framework tool tailored for medical students.

Dr. Davies has been a core educator in the Biochemistry course MD512/OH751 (Dental Biochemistry) for over 25 years and serves as Course Manager for the core OHS course in Evidence-Based Dentistry. She is passionate about teaching, mentoring, and supporting students in research and writing.

Publications

  • Published 5/21/2024

    Bottenfield KR, Kelley MA, Ferebee S, Best AN, Flynn D, Davies TA. Effectively teaching cultural competence in a pre-professional healthcare curriculum. BMC Med Educ. 2024 May 21; 24(1):553. PMID: 38773591.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 5/26/2021

    Cohen-Osher M, Davies TA, Flynn DB, Young ME, Hoffman M. Finding Information Framework: A Tool to Teach Life-Long Learning Skills. PRiMER. 2021; 5:16. PMID: 34286219.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 1/15/2020

    Davies TA, Miller MB, Moore VA, Kaye EA. Predicting professional school performance with a unique lens: are there other cognitive predictors? BMC Med Educ. 2020 Jan 15; 20(1):14. PMID: 31941519.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 1/28/2019

    Davies TA, Kaye E, Stahlberger M, Abbas M, Sarkis C, Reed L, Dunham L, Schreiber BM, Leone C, Mascarenhas AK. Improving Diversity of Dental Students Through the Boston University Master's of Oral Health Sciences Postbaccalaureate Program. J Dent Educ. 2019 Mar; 83(3):287-295. PMID: 30692183.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 1/11/2015

    Lui A, Davies TA*, Liu A, Flynn DB, Wiecha JM, Cohen-Osher M, Hoffman-Kleiner M* (*shared senior author). Novel Mobile Application to Promote Evidence-Based Medicine Decision-Making in Medical Education. Medical Science Educator. 2015; (1-2).

    Read at: Custom

Other Positions

  • Director, M.S. in Oral Health Sciences Program, Dean’s Office
    Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Graduate Medical Sciences
  • Assistant Dean for Graduate Affairs
    Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Graduate Medical Sciences

Education

  • Boston University School of Medicine, PhD
  • University of Virginia, BS