Houra Mahmoudzadeh

Dr. Houra Mahmoudzadeh is an Associate Professor in the Department of Management Science and Engineering at the University of Waterloo, the Managing Director of the Health AI and Analytics Lab, and an affiliated faculty member in the Waterloo Data and Artificial Intelligence Institute and the Future Cities Institute. She is the 2026-2027 President of the Canadian Operational Research Society (CORS).

Dr. Mahmoudzadeh's research mainly focuses on the methodology and applications of large-scale robust optimization and data-driven inverse optimization, with a special interest in healthcare. She has active research collaborations with several health organizations, including the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Waterloo Wellington Regional Cancer Program, Waterloo Regional Health Network (WRHN), and Cambridge Memorial Hospital. Her work has been published in top journals in Operations Research and Medical Physics and has been funded through multiple NSERC grants and other internal/external funding. She is an Associate Editor for the INFORMS Journal on Computing, and an Area Editor for the Health Systems journal.

• Decision making under uncertainty

• Data analytics

• Robust optimization

• Inverse optimization

• Large-scale optimization

• Medical decision making

• Cancer treatment

• Hospital operations

• AI for Healthcare

Data-driven and Robust Optimization: Dealing with uncertain and noisy data in mathematical models. Optimization and decision-making under uncertainty.

Large-Scale Optimization: Developing problem-specific decomposition-based algorithms to solve computationally intensive mathematical programming models. Designing heuristics for solving extremely large-scale applications.

Inverse Optimization: Inferring implicit decision-making criteria based on observed decisions. Data classification and parameter inference in structured models. Finding the optimization parameters for a given optimal solution. Robust inverse optimization with uncertain observations.

• 2015, Doctorate, Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Toronto

• 2006, Master of Science, Industrial Engineering, Sharif University of Technology

• 2003, Bachelor of Science, Industrial Engineering, Sharif University of Technology

• 2024 Teaching Excellence Award, Faculty of Engineering, University of Waterloo

• 2026-2027 President, Canadian Operations Research Society (CORS)

• 2025-2026 Vice-President, Canadian Operations Research Society (CORS)

• MSCI 251 - Probability and Statistics 1
  • Taught in 2021, 2022, 2023
• MSCI 331 - Introduction to Optimization
  • Taught in 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024
• MSCI 634 - Deterministic Models in Operations Research
  • Taught in 2021, 2022, 2023
• MSE 251 - Probability and Statistics 1
  • Taught in 2026
• MSE 331 - Introduction to Optimization
  • Taught in 2026
• MSE 433 - Applications of Management Engineering
  • Taught in 2026
• MSE 634 - Deterministic Models in Operations Research
  • Taught in 2024, 2026

* Only courses taught in the past 5 years are displayed.

• Prof. Houra Mahmoudzadeh recognized for teaching excellence
• Seven researchers receive Graham Seed Fund awards