Masoud Rouhizadeh, PhD, FAMIA
Assistant Professor; Lead, Intelligent Critical Care Center (IC3)
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About Masoud Rouhizadeh
Dr. Masoud Rouhizadeh is an Assistant Professor in the AI in Health Sciences initiative at the University of Florida (College of Pharmacy) and the Lead of the AI Collaboration Hub at the UF Intelligent Critical Care Center. Before joining UF, he was a faculty member at Johns Hopkins Medicine, where he currently holds an Adjunct Assistant Professor position. At Johns Hopkins, he co-founded the Center for Clinical Natural Language Processing (C2NLP) and co-led AI and NLP initiatives at the Institute for Clinical and Translational Research. He completed his postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania’s Institute for Biomedical Informatics. He holds a PhD and a Master’s degree in Computer Science and Engineering from Oregon Health and Science University, and a Master’s degree in Human Language Technology from the University of Trento, Italy.
Dr. Rouhizadeh’s research is supported by federal grants from agencies including the CDC, NIA, NIMHD, FDA, NIDA, and PCORI. His work focuses on developing large language model (LLM) pipelines for healthcare data integration, specifically for identifying social, behavioral, and mental health outcomes, substance use patterns, and Alzheimer’s disease risk factors. He also leads the development of informatics infrastructure for multi-site healthcare research networks. With over 16 years of experience in clinical NLP and biomedical informatics, Dr. Rouhizadeh has established a track record of translating AI innovations into practical clinical applications, with particular emphasis on implementation science.
Teaching Profile
Courses Taught
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PHA6265 – Introduction to Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy I
College of Pharmacy
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PHA6910 – Supervised Research
College of Pharmacy
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PHA6241 – Introduction to Artificial Intelligence in Pharmacy
College of Pharmacy
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PHA6805 – Applied Data Interpretation and Reporting of Findings in Pharmacy
College of Pharmacy
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PHA6935 – Selected Topics in Pharmacy
College of Pharmacy
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PHA7979 – Advanced Research
College of Pharmacy
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PHA6449 – Pharmacogenomic and Genomic Data Analysis
College of Pharmacy
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PHA5226C – Pt Safety and Quality
College of Pharmacy
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PHA6427 – Pharmacogenetics of Drug Metabolism
College of Pharmacy
Teaching Philosophy
With interdisciplinary expertise in computer science and biomedical informatics, Dr. Rouhizadeh has made significant contributions to teaching and curriculum development at the intersection of AI and healthcare. He has developed curricula and coordinated courses in biomedical informatics and Natural Language Processing in Health Sciences. Additionally, he provided AI training for clinical faculty and staff and mentored five individuals who secured positions as assistant professors, researchers, and advisors within prestigious institutions. At the University of Florida, Dr. Rouhizadeh is leading the reactivation of the College of Pharmacy (COP) AI Taskforce, crafting an AI integration roadmap for the PharmD curriculum, and establishing a College-wide AI certificate program. He is also designing a new graduate course on practical AI methods for pharmacy research and contributing to the curriculum of UF’s innovative MS program in AI in Biomedical and Health Sciences. Furthermore, he has redesigned and contributed to several graduate courses, incorporating applied AI and hands-on experience with AI techniques in healthcare research. His efforts ensure students are well-prepared for the challenges of a data-driven healthcare landscape, and the success of his AI modules led to a nomination for the COP 2024 Teaching Team Awards. With a strong commitment to mentorship, Dr. Rouhizadeh has guided numerous graduate students, staff, clinicians, and faculty at various institutions. He has served on graduate student committees and K training grant committees, with mentees securing faculty positions. He also advises postdoctoral fellows, Courtesy Faculty members, and PharmD Visiting Scholars, all exploring AI in healthcare. His mentorship approach facilitates the successful transition of engineering students into the medical domain by integrating them into applied problem-solving focused on healthcare analytics, active learning activities, and collaborations between diverse student groups, providing a comprehensive foundation. Dr. Rouhizadeh’s mentees have achieved substantial successes in industry (Google, Amazon, and NVIDIA), academia (Harvard, UCLA, Duke, and JHU), and the FDA.
Research Profile
Supported by federal grants and contracts from agencies including the CDC, NIA, NIMHD, FDA, NIDA, and PCORI, Dr. Rouhizadeh’s research integrates cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI)—particularly natural language processing (NLP) and large language models (LLMs)—to enhance health outcomes through real-world data analysis.
With extensive training in biomedical informatics, computer science, linguistics, and machine learning, combined with leadership experience, Dr. Rouhizadeh is uniquely positioned to lead innovative research in this field. As a faculty member in the University of Florida’s AI in Health Sciences initiative and a core member of the College of Pharmacy’s AI Task Force, he develops large-scale AI solutions for healthcare. This builds upon his experience at Johns Hopkins University, where he co-founded the Center for Clinical NLP and led NLP efforts at the Institute for Clinical and Translational Research, creating pioneering AI solutions with significant clinical impact.
Dr. Rouhizadeh’s research applies AI and LLMs to extract valuable insights from diverse healthcare data sources, including unstructured electronic health records, patient-reported outcomes, lab tests, and claims data. He focuses on extracting key details, developing computable phenotypes for individuals and populations, and creating precise, data-driven health condition profiles. These phenotypes support predictive modeling, risk assessment, personalized treatment planning, and population health management. A key emphasis of his research is explainability; he prioritizes interpretable AI methods to ensure that generated insights are transparent and clinically relevant, enhancing their utility in healthcare decision-making.
0000-0002-9006-6112
Areas of Interest
- AI-driven extraction and analysis of mental health outcomes, including suicidal behavior, anxiety, and depression.
- Analyzing substance use patterns and their impact on vulnerable populations.
- Developing AI tools for early risk assessment in Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders (ADRD).
- Investigating linguistic markers for early detection of neurological conditions.
- Large Language Models (LLms) and Natural Language Processing (NLP)
- Studying population health, focusing on social and behavioral determinants of health.
Publications
Academic Articles
Presentations
Grants
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Assessing Barriers and Facilitators for Participating Structured Lifestyle Intervention
Active
- Role:
- Co-Investigator
- Funding:
- EMORY UNIV via CTRS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION
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Assessing Barriers and Facilitators for Participating Structured Lifestyle Intervention and Its Real-world Effectiveness and Cost-effectiveness among US Veterans
- Role:
- Co-Investigator
- Funding:
- CTRS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION
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1Florida Alzheimers Disease Research Center
Active
- Role:
- Project Manager
- Funding:
- NATL INST OF HLTH NIA
Education
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Postdoctoral Training in Biomedical Informatics and Data Science
University of Pennsylvania
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Ph.D. in Computer Science and Engineering
Oregon Health and Science University
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M.Sc. in Computer Science and Engineering
Oregon Health and Science University
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Professional Master’s in Human Language Technology and Interfaces
University of Trento
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M.A. in Linguistics
Allameh Tabatabai University
Contact Details
- Business:
- (352) 273-9397
- Business:
- mrouhizadeh@ufl.edu
- Business Mailing:
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PO Box 100496
GAINESVILLE FL 32610 - Business Street:
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1889 Museum Rd.
Room 6012
Malachowsky Hall for Data Science and IT
Gainesville FL 32611