- Joined Center for Health Systems and Policy Modeling as Healthcare Policy Modeler (Feb 2025) – Read more →
- PhD defense (Jan 2025)
- New article published in PLOS Global Public Health on COVID-19 mortality disparities across U.S. counties – Read more →
About
I’m a systems-engineering–trained modeler specializing in healthcare policy. I earned my PhD in Systems Engineering from Johns Hopkins University in January 2025, where I was part of the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE). During the COVID-19 pandemic, I co-developed the data automation pipeline for the Johns Hopkins COVID-19 Dashboard—supporting real-time global tracking that informed public health planning worldwide.
Currently, I work as a Healthcare Policy Modeler at the Center for Health Systems and Policy Modeling (CHSPM), housed in the Department of Health Policy and Management at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. My role focuses on developing supply-side models of the U.S. healthcare system, exploring how institutional structures and policy incentives shape care delivery and expenditures. This work draws on microsimulation, optimization, and data science to support value-based care, cost containment, and equity-oriented policy design.
Broadly, my research applies operations research and data science to complex problems. This includes projects aimed at improving patient safety at Johns Hopkins Hospital as well as methodological contributions to inverse optimization theory. I hold dual bachelor's degrees in Civil and Computer Engineering from Sharif University of Technology and am passionate about bridging rigorous modeling with real-world impact.
Current Focus Areas
- Health economics and payment reform
- Healthcare systems and policy modeling
- Operations research and decision science
Selected Publications
Evolving Patterns of COVID-19 Mortality in US Counties: A Longitudinal Study of Healthcare, Socioeconomic, and Vaccination Associations
Ganjkhanloo, F., et al. (2024). PLOS Global Public Health.
The Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering COVID-19 Dashboard: Data Collection Process, Challenges Faced, and Lessons Learned
Dong E, Ratcliff J, Goyea TD, et al. (2022). The Lancet Infectious Diseases.