PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Soroush Saghafian

Soroush Saghafian is an operations researcher who applies AI and analytics to healthcare and public policy. After a Ph.D. in Industrial and Operations Engineering at the University of Michigan in 2012, they joined Harvard Kennedy School in 2015 and founded the Public Impact Analytics Science Lab. Their papers on ambiguous partially observable Markov decision processes (2018) and ambiguous dynamic treatment regimes (2023) develop methods for treatment decisions under ambiguity, including reinforcement learning for transplant patients. Saghafian won the inaugural INFORMS Mehrotra Research Excellence Award in 2020, served as co-principal investigator on a Department of Defense melanoma project in 2024, and published the book Insight-Driven Problem Solving in 2025. Since August 2026, they are an associate professor at the University of Maryland's Smith School of Business and core faculty of its Artificial Intelligence Interdisciplinary Institute.

Now at
Robert H. Smith School of Business
Works
113
Citations
2,130
h-index
22
Badges

Publication numbers from OpenAlex, as of 22 October 2026.

Timeline

  1. 2005–2012

    Degrees from Sharif to Michigan

    An M.S. in Industrial Engineering from Sharif University of Technology comes in 2005, and an M.S. in Mathematics from the University of Michigan in 2009. A Ph.D. in Industrial and Operations Engineering from Michigan follows in 2012.

  2. 2015–2020

    Joining Harvard Kennedy School

    In 2015, they join Harvard Kennedy School as an assistant professor, and they become an associate professor in 2020. They found the Public Impact Analytics Science Lab (PIAS-Lab), which applies the science of analytics to societal problems.

  3. 2018–2023

    Ambiguous treatment regimes

    In 2018, the Journal of Economic Theory publishes their paper on ambiguous partially observable Markov decision processes. In 2023, Management Science publishes their paper on ambiguous dynamic treatment regimes, a reinforcement learning approach motivated by patients who develop new-onset diabetes after transplantation.

  4. 2020

    A Covid-19 strategy for Bahrain

    The Public Impact Analytics Science Lab partners with the government of Bahrain in 2020 to design a more effective strategy for mitigating the spread of Covid-19 in the country.

  5. 2020–2021

    Two INFORMS honours

    The inaugural INFORMS Mehrotra Research Excellence Award goes to them in 2020, for contributions to the practice of health applications through operations research and management science. In 2021, they win the INFORMS MSOM Young Scholar Prize for contributions to scholarship in operations management.

  6. 2024

    AI for melanoma treatment

    In 2024, the lab receives a nearly $3 million Department of Defense grant for a project with the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute that uses AI to analyze genomic data and personalize melanoma treatment. They serve as co-principal investigator, and the project also builds a chatbot that lets physicians question the AI's recommendations.

  7. 2025

    A book on analytics science

    Cambridge University Press publishes the book Insight-Driven Problem Solving: Analytics Science to Improve the World in 2025. It tours how AI, machine learning, data science, operations research, optimization, statistics and economics came together to address societal problems.

  8. Since August 2026

    Associate professor at Maryland

    In August 2026, they join the University of Maryland after more than a decade at Harvard. They are an associate professor in the Decision, Operations and Information Technologies department at the Robert H. Smith School of Business, with a joint appointment as core faculty at the Artificial Intelligence Interdisciplinary Institute at Maryland (AIM).

Career

  1. Since 2026Robert H. Smith School of BusinessAssociate professor
  2. Since 2026University of MarylandCore faculty
  3. 2015–2020Harvard Kennedy SchoolAssistant professor, Associate professor
  4. From 2015Public Impact Analytics Science LabFounder
  5. 2012–2016Arizona State University
  6. 2011–2026Harvard University

Education

  1. 2012University of MichiganPh.D.
  2. 2009University of MichiganM.S.
  3. 2005Sharif University of TechnologyM.S.

From the biography and OpenAlex affiliations (the years of papers that list the organization), so some years are approximate.

  1. People shaping AI work at a median of 3 organizations over a career: 3 for university starters and institute and lab starters, versus 2 for company startersIncludes University of Maryland. Across 6,853 people shaping AI with a dated work role, we estimate a median of 3 parent organizations over a career (mean 3.6), comparing role groups, starting sectors and starting decades from the 1950s to 2020–2026.
  2. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other universityIncludes University of Maryland. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other university. We compare doctorate and 5+ year employment links, career timing and current workplaces for 187 major-prize and 1,111 best-paper winners.
  3. More people shaping AI studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology than at any other institutionIncludes University of Maryland. We estimate where the people shaping AI studied and where their careers led. Massachusetts Institute of Technology leads with 467 former students, including 291 recorded doctorates.
  4. The company share of AI researchers’ top papers was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974Includes University of Maryland. We estimate where the people shaping AI worked when their most-cited papers appeared: the company share was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974, and Google led all organizations in 2020–2024.

Colleagues

People with dated positions at the same organization in the same years.

Sources and credits

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  1. Soroush Saghafian - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org. Checked 20 October 2026.
  2. Harvard Kennedy School Public Impact Analytics Science Lab Receives $3 Million From DOD | The Harvard Crimson thecrimson.com. Checked 20 October 2026.
  3. Soroush Saghafian joins University of Maryland after 11 years at Harvard | ETIH EdTech News edtechinnovationhub.com. Checked 20 October 2026.
  4. Soroush Saghafian | Harvard Kennedy School hks.harvard.edu. Checked 20 October 2026.
  5. [2112.04571] Ambiguous Dynamic Treatment Regimes: A Reinforcement Learning Approach arxiv.org. Checked 20 October 2026.
  6. Soroush Saghafian Directory Page | Robert H. Smith School of Business rhsmith.umd.edu. Checked 20 October 2026.
  7. Saghafian's PIAS-Lab Receives DOD Award – Center for Health Decision Science chds.hsph.harvard.edu. Checked 20 October 2026.
  8. Insight-Driven Problem Solving: Analytics Science to Improve the World - Fifteen Eighty Four | Cambridge University Press cambridgeblog.org. Checked 20 October 2026.
  9. Insight-Driven Problem Solving: Analytics Science to Improve the World | Harvard Kennedy School hks.harvard.edu. Checked 20 October 2026.