Md Hafizur Rahman

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Health Services Research and Policy

I am a PhD student working at the crossroads of precision health, digital medicine, machine learning, AI, genetics, and modern healthcare delivery. I am fascinated by the idea that we can spot risk early, long before symptoms show, and use that insight to redesign how care is delivered. Instead of waiting for cardiometabolic problems to appear. I am interested in building a system that quietly predicts who is heading toward trouble and intervenes before damage sets in.
At a broader level, I spend my time thinking about how to move healthcare away from the old one-size-fits-all model. I want care that adapts to people’s biology, their pathophysiology, and the realities of their lives. My work uses real-world clinical and genetic data to find hidden patterns and turn them into practical, equitable tools that clinics can actually use.
Before starting my PhD, I worked across several projects related to maternal health, health information systems, and mental health that showed me how powerful data-driven decision-making can be when it’s done thoughtfully. Those experiences shaped my focus on prevention, efficiency, and building systems that make sense for both patients and clinicians.
Long-term, I want to help create care models that are more anticipatory and reactive, more personalized, and more computationally intelligent—a system that keeps people healthy instead of scrambling to fix things after they break.

Education
  • MS in Precision Health, University of Chicago (2025)
More About

I focus on applying data-driven methods to improve prevention and care for chronic diseases, with a broader interest in building practical, intelligent tools that strengthen public health systems.

Areas of Expertise
  •  Computational Modeling
  • Machine Learning & AI
  • Predictive Modeling
  • Precision Health and Genetics
  • Health Services Research
  • Cardiometabolic Disease
Honors, Awards, and Achievements
  • Tuition Grant: Phoenix Tuition Scholarship & GeoHealth Fellowship, University of Chicago and National Institutes of Health (NIH) (2024–2025). Amount: USD $95,000.
  • Research Grant: Systematic Review on Violence Against Women & Girls (VAWG), Global Affairs Canada (2024–2025). Amount: USD $6,000.
  • Research Training Fellowship: Research Trainee Fellowship, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF). Amount: USD $12,000.
  • Travel Grant: Consortium of Universities for Global Health (CUGH), 2023. Amount: USD $4,600.
  • Thesis Research Grant: Young Researcher Fellowship, WaterAid Bangladesh, 2019. Amount: USD $1,000.
  • Competition Award: Winner, School-Level Television Debate Competition, Bangladesh Television (BTV), 2010. Prize: USD $30.
Affiliations
  • Editorial Board Member, BMC Public Health — 2024 to Present
  • Debater, National Debate Federation Bangladesh (NDFBD), Khulna — 2010 to 2018
Course Instruction

Instructor, Thesis Writing and Data Analysis Workshops for MD Students, BSMMU (Bangladesh) — Trained over 200 students.

Research Interests

My research interests include health services research, precision health, digital health, machine learning and AI applications in public health, predictive modeling, genetic and clinical data integration, and cardiometabolic disease prevention.

Selected Publications
  • Social franchising in healthcare: a systematic review and narrative synthesis of implementation and outcomes. Rahman MH, Perkins JE, Usmani NG, Manna RM, Sajib MRUZ, Akter E, Shomik MS, Ahmed A, El Arifeen S, Tasnim Hossain A, Rahman AE. BMJ Glob Health. 2025 Feb 17;10(2):e017101. PMID: 39961691. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39961691/.
  • Depressive, anxiety symptoms and their co-occurrence among women seeking antenatal care in Bangladesh. Rahman MH, Manna RM, Usmani NG, Chandra P, Al Mamun MA, Amin MR, Khan MA, Ahmed HU, Islam SMH, Islam MS, Ara T, Akter E, Ahmed A, Shomik MS, El Arifeen S, Hossain AT, Rahman AE.. Sci Rep. 2025 May 17;15(1):17137. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-01801-w. PMID: 40382460; PMCID: PMC12085565. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40382460/
  • Mobile apps to prevent violence against women and girls globally: a systematic app research and content analysis. Rahman, M.H., Usmani, N.G., Chandra, P., Manna, R.M., Ahmed, A., Shomik, M.S., Arifeen, S.E., Hossain, A.T. and Rahman, A.E. JMIR Formative Research. 2025 March 02. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12208507/
  • Design, Development and Implementation of a Digital Burial Record-Keeping and Management System in Bangladesh. Rahman MH, Hossain AT, Barua Uchchash B, Islam MS, …Arifeen SE, Hossain AT, Rahman AE. Journal of Global Health, 2025 Feb 28;15:04086. doi: 10.7189/jogh.15.04086. PMID: 40017452; PMCID: PMC11894443. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11894443/.
  • Disparities in the maternal healthcare continuum among Bangladeshi women: evidence from nationally representative surveys. Rahman MH, Akter E, Ameen S, Jabeen S, Ahmed A, Rahman AE, Hossain AT. Midwifery. 2023 Sep 16;127:103814. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37806164/.
  • Compliance to hand hygiene and its determinant factors among Community Health Care Providers in Community Clinics: an observational study in Bangladesh. Rahman MH, Hassan MN, Khan MS, Hasanuzzaman M, Awal N. Journal of Infection Prevention. 2022 Mar;23(2):67-74. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35340922/.
  • Anxiety and depressive symptoms among COVID-19 patients admitted to three isolation facilities in Bangladesh. Rahman MH, Banik G, Ahmed A, Arifeen SE, Hossain AT, Hasan MA, Rahman AE. Health psychology Open, July-December 2021: 1-10. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8504249/.
Roles and Responsibilities

As a Graduate Research Assistant, I support analytics and computational research, including machine learning and AI model development for health services projects.

Research Project Involvement
  • Polygenic Risk, Daily Step Count, and Incident Type 2 Diabetes: Predictive Survival Modelling in the All of Us Research Program — PI.
  • AI Readiness and reflections on using custom GPT for a class assignment among online MPH students — Co-I.
  • Digital and non-digital interventions to prevent violence against women and girls (VAWG): Narrative synthesis and systematic review — PI.
  • Determinants of Handwashing Practice among Community Health Care Providers in Community Clinics (CCs) — PI.
  • Implementation research on an online tele-mental health counselling system for hospital patients in four public health facilities — Co-I.
  • Estimating excess mortality during the COVID-19 pandemic using burial site data and household surveys; development of a digitalized death record-keeping system — Co-I.
  • Feasibility assessment of the social franchise model for mobile doctor appointments (HealthAdvisors.com) — Co-I.
  • Feasibility of developing and introducing an inpatient E-Register for sick newborn and pediatric patients to strengthen the Management Information System (MIS) — Co-I.
  • Implementation research on the BDHealth mobile application providing national-level health survey estimates (USAID) — Co-I.