Contact Information
6214 Bishop Blvd, Suite 2258, Dallas, TX 75205-2501
214-768-3145
Education
PhD, MBA, University of Chicago Booth School of Business, Chicago, IL
Academic Affiliations
University of Texas at Southwestern Medical Center
Department of Veterans Affairs, North Texas Health Care System
The Center for Chronic Disease Research and Policy, University of Chicago
About Me
Vishal Ahuja is the Corrigan Research Professor and an Associate Professor of Information Technology and Operations Management at SMU Cox School of Business. He also serves as Adjunct Faculty at UT Southwestern Medical Center and as Academic Director of the Cox School's healthcare initiative. His research develops decision-analytic tools that healthcare professionals and policymakers can implement easily to improve patient health, advance the quality of care, and enhance the efficiency of care delivery.
For his research, Vishal partners with organizations including the Department of Veterans Affairs (with which he holds a faculty affiliation), Parkland Hospital, Baylor Scott & White, Children's Hospital, and Texas Health Resources. His work has appeared in leading management and clinical journals. He has either won or been a finalist for several awards and honors including Pierskalla Award for the Best Paper in Healthcare Management Science, Innovation in Analytics Award, and Sanjay and Panna Mehrotra Research Excellence Award, which recognizes significant contributions to the practice of health applications. Most recently, he won the Dlin/Fischer Clinical Research Award from the Academy of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry for his research related to improving mental health outcomes of high-risk veterans.
Vishal's impact extends beyond academia, reaching regulators, practitioners, and the broader healthcare community. His research was cited by the FDA in its workshop on “Assessing the Public Health Impact of Prescription Drug Postmarketing Safety Labeling Changes,” where he was invited as an expert panelist.
In 2025, he was named to the AI75 list recognizing the most innovative AI leaders across industries in Dallas–Fort Worth. He won the Outstanding Healthcare Innovator award by DCEO Magazine in 2023 and was a finalist for the Outstanding Healthcare Advocate award in 2020. Vishal regularly advises digital health startups and is frequently invited to speak at academic and industry conferences, universities, and hospitals, including Grand Rounds Talks. Vishal currently serves on the advisory board of TraumaCare, an AI-based software solution to improve clinical decision-making.
Vishal holds an MBA and a PhD in Business Administration from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. At Cox, he teaches MBA courses in operations management, supply chain management, and service operations. He draws on diverse corporate experience spanning several years in the chemical, manufacturing, and consumer goods industries to bring relevance to his research and teaching.
