
CLINICAL ANALYTICS &
DECISION SCIENCE (CADS) LAB
MEET OUR TRAINEES AND STAFF

ZAHED SHAHMORADI, PhD
Zahed Shahmoradi is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Clinical Analytics and Decision Science Lab at the University of Texas Health Science Center (UTHealth) at Houston, School of Public Health. His research at UTHealth focuses on developing disease simulation models to design screening guidelines and prevention strategies for HPV-associated cancers. Prior to joining UTHealth, he received his PhD in Industrial Engineering from the University of Houston and earned his MSc and BSc degrees in Industrial Engineering from Sabanci University and Isfahan University of Technology, respectively. His research experience is in mathematical optimization and decision-making, data-driven inverse optimization, statistical machine learning, and simulation, with healthcare applications such as disease diagnosis, screening guidelines, and diet and lifestyle recommendations. He has authored and co-authored papers in Operations Research, Computers and Industrial Engineering, Annals of Operations Research, and Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science. Outside of research, he served as the president for the INFORMS Student Chapter at the University of Houston where their team won the best student chapter award (Summa cum laude).
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HONORS AND AWARDS
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Future Faculty Program Travel and Professional Development Grant (Cullen College of Engineering, University of Houston)
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L. Xavier & Maria Cano Leadership Scholarship 2020 (Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Houston)
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Best Teaching Assistant Award Finalist (Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Houston)​
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YENAN ZHU, MS
Yenan Zhu is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Management, Policy, and Community Health at UTHealth SPH. She obtained her Master's degree in Health Behavior and Health Education (2018) from UT Austin and has a deep understanding of the nuances of health behaviors of individuals. She is a skilled health services researcher trained in analyzing large databases (administrative claims, national surveys, mortality data, and patient registries) to examine health care utilization behaviors including the use of preventative care, routine care, emergency care, prescription medication use and their clinical and economic consequences. Her research is published in Lancet Public Health, JAMA Network Open, and Pediatrics. Outside of work, Yenan enjoys foods, movies, and any winter sports.
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HONORS AND AWARDS
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Student Poster Award, UT SPH Research Day (2018)
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AD-HOC REVIEWER
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Gynecological Oncology
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Journal of Clinical Hypertension

YUEH-YUN (LYNDA) LIN, MS
Lynda is a second year doctoral student in the Department of Management, Policy & Community Health. She received her MS in Health Policy and Management from National Taiwan University (NTU). Before joining UTSPH, she served as Research Specialist at NTU. Lynda specializes in big data programming, data mining, and longitudinal data analysis. She is currently working on several projects, involving analysis of national cohort studies, national surveys, cancer registries, cancer linked databases, focused on describing HPV vaccination barriers, cancer risk, cancer treatment outcomes, quality of life among cancer survivors, and survival outcomes after cancer diagnosis. Her recent research is published in JNCI and Pediatrics.
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HONORS AND AWARDS
Competitive Student Scholarship , UT School of Public Health (2019-2020)
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AD-HOC REVIEWER
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Cancer Epidemiology Biomarker Prevention
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Preventative Medicine Reports

HALUK DAMGACIOGLU, PhD
Haluk Damgacioglu is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Clinical Analytics and Decision Science Lab at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) School of Public Health. His research is at the intersection of decision science, data analytics, and operations research. At UTHealth, he works on the development of several disease simulation models to aid clinical decision-makers and health policymakers. He received his Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering, focusing on the application of dynamic data-driven adaptive simulations and simulation optimization under uncertainty, from the University of Miami in 2019. He received his Bachelor's Degree and Master’s Degree in Industrial Engineering from the Middle East Technical University in 2011 and 2014, respectively. For his work, he has received several awards including the Data Analytics & Information Systems Best Student Paper Award at the Industrial and Systems Engineering (IISE) Annual Meeting in 2018, 2017 Gilbreth Memorial Fellowship from IISE, 2016 UM GSA Academic Excellence, Leadership and Service Award and 2015 ICCS Best Workshop Paper Award.
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HONORS AND AWARDS
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Lee B. Lusted Student Award Finalist – Society for Medical Decision Making 42nd Annual North American Meeting (2020)
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Data Analytics & Information Systems Best Student Paper Award - Industrial and Systems Engineering Annual Meeting (2018)
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Gilbreth Memorial Fellowship - Industrial and Systems Engineering (2017)
AD-HOC REVIWER
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JNCI
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Sexually Transmitted Diseases
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Sustainable Cities & Society
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Applied Mathematical Modelling

Shiang-Shiuan (April), Shyu
April is a Master student in Biostatistics and Data Science at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) School of Public Health. She completed her BS degree in Statistics from National Taipei University, Taiwan. Prior to joining the Clinical Analytics and Decision Science Lab, She worked in the Tri-Service General Hospital in Taiwan as a research assistant. Her research interests lie in longitudinal and correlated data, analysis of sample survey,and data science.

MADHURA KAPIL SHAH
Madhura is currently pursuing Master's in Public Health (Epidemiology) at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) School of Public Health. She has a Bachelor's degree in Pharmacy from The University of Mumbai. During her under graduation, she worked as a Hospital Pharmacist at Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital and after her graduation, she worked as a research associate on multiple projects sponsored by Abbott, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, and Biocon. She has keen interest in Pharamcoepidemiolgy, Health outcomes, and Economics.
CADSci Lab Alumni/Interns
Name Current Position
Chi-Fang Wu, PhD Senior Statistical Analyst, MD Anderson Cancer Center
GRA (2019 -2020)/Postdoctoral Fellow (2020-2021)
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Ryan Suk, PhD Assistant Professor, UTHealth School of Public Health
GRA (2019-2021)/Postdoctoral fellow (2021)
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Sehej Kaur Hara, MP. Epidemiology & Generalist, Houston Health Department
Intern (Spring 2021)
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An Kieu, MPH Junior Implementation Associate, Direct Healthcare
GRA (Spring, Summer 2021)
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