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 and an Adjunct Faculty at UT Southwestern Medical Center. His research focuses on developing decision analytic tools that can be implemented easily by healthcare professionals and policymakers to improve patient health, advance the quality of care, and enhance the efficiency of care delivery.
For his research, Vishal partners with various organizations such as the Dept. of Veterans Affairs, where he has a faculty affiliation with the Primary Care High Risk Investigator Network. Additionally, he collaborates with organizations such as Parkland Hospital, Baylor Scott & White Health , Texas Health Resources, and Children’s Hospital. Vishal’s research has appeared in leading management and clinical journals. Further, 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 efforts have been recognized outside of academia, including from regulators, practitioners, and the broader healthcare community. His research was cited by the FDA in their workshop on “Assessing the Public Health Impact of Prescription Drug Postmarketing Safety Labeling Changes,” in which he was invited as an expert panelist. He won the most recent Excellence in Healthcare Award by DCEO Magazine in the Outstanding Healthcare Innovator category (and was a finalist in the Outstanding Healthcare Advocate category in 2020). Vishal has consulted with a variety of organizations, regularly advises digital health startups, and is frequently invited to speak at academic and industry conferences, universities, and hospitals. 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. To bring relevance to his research and teaching, Vishal attempts to draw from his diverse work experience in the corporate sector that spans several years in the chemical, manufacturing, and consumer goods industry.
Awards/Honors
Carl Sewell Distinguished Service to the Community Award, Southern Methodist University, 2023-24
Winner, D CEO’s 2023 Excellence in Healthcare Awards - Outstanding Healthcare Innovator [link, DCEO]
Plenary speaker, Collaborative Family Healthcare Association Annual Conference, 2023. [link]
Psychiatry Grand Rounds presentation, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 2023-24. [link]
C. Jackson Grayson Endowed Faculty Innovation Award, Southern Methodist University, 2022-23
Panelist, Designing and Developing Medical A.I., Science & Technology Law Review Symposium, 2022 [link]
Research Excellence Award, Southern Methodist University, 2021-22
Finalist, Sanjay and Panna Mehrotra Research Excellence Award, 2021 Recognizes a mid-career researcher for significant contributions to the practice of health applications through operations research and management science modeling and methodologies.
Selected to the 2022 Cohort of the NSF Division of Civil, Mechanical, and Manufacturing Innovation’s (CMMI) Game Changer Academies for Advancing Research Innovation
Winner, Dlin/Fischer Clinical Research Award, Academy of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry (ACLP), 2021
Finalist, INFORMS Service Science Best Cluster Paper Award, 2021
Honorable Mention,* College of Behavior in Operations Management Junior Scholar Paper Competition, 2021
Finalist, D CEO’s 2020 Excellence in Healthcare Awards - Outstanding Healthcare Advocate [link]
2nd place, INFORMS Behavioral Operations Management Section Best Working Paper Award, 2020
Honorable Mention, POMS College of Healthcare Operations Management Best Paper Award 2020
Grand Rounds Talk Speaker, Medical City Dallas, 2019
Semi-finalist, POMS College of Healthcare Operations Management Best Paper Award 2018
Expert Panelists, FDA and The Duke-Margolis Center for Health Policy workshop on Assessing the Public Health Impact of Prescription Drug Postmarketing Safety Labeling Changes, 2018
Finalist, POMS College of Healthcare Operations Management Best Paper Award 2016
NIA Postdoctoral Fellowship, The University of Chicago 2013-14
Katherine Dusak Miller PhD Fellowship, The University of Chicago 2011-2013
Winner, INFORMS Pierskalla Award for the Best Paper in Healthcare 2012
Semifinalist, INFORMS Innovation in Analytics Award 2012
Finalist, Lee Lusted Prize, Society for Medical Decision Making (SMDM) 2012
Nominated to attend Future Academic Colloquium, INFORMS 2012
Doctoral Fellowship, The University of Chicago Booth School of Business 2008-2012
Performance Award for exceptional service to the Executive MBA program 2011
Summer Research Award, The University of Chicago Booth School of Business 2009
Power of You Gold Award, Procter & Gamble 2007
Graduate Fellowship, University of Toronto 1999-2001
(*indicates student/postdoc)
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