Faculty – MS in Healthcare Leadership and Management

Biography

Dr. Mehmet Ayvaci is an Associate Professor of Information Systems at the University of Texas Dallas. His research broadly explores the economics of information and information technology in healthcare, with a specific focus on algorithmic decision-making, artificial intelligence, and human behavior. His interdisciplinary research combines decision theory, game theory, econometrics, and machine learning. He has published in premier journals both in management sciences and other disciplines such as medicine and informatics and has been invited to speak at more than a dozen conferences. Among his many honors are the Conference of Health IT and Analytics (CHITA) “Best Young Researcher” Award, the “Best Published Paper” Award given by the Information Systems Research Journal, and “Best Paper” Award given by the POMS College of Healthcare Operations Management. His works have received publicity through a variety of channels including coverage in media, news stories in practitioner magazines, and editorials in academic journals. He serves as an Associate Editor at Healthcare Management Science Journal and INFORMS Journal on Data Science. Prof. Ayvaci earned a B.S. degree in Industrial Engineering from Texas A&M University, an M.S. degree in Management Science & Engineering from Stanford University, and a Ph.D. degree in Industrial and Systems Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Research Focus

Economics of Health Information and Technology, Decision Theory, Healthcare Analytics/Machine Learning, AI in Healthcare

Courses Taught:

• HMGT 6323/MIS 6317 – Healthcare Informatics
• HMGT 6334 – Healthcare Analytics

Biography

As a registered nurse with over 35 years of experience and a career spent in a variety of healthcare settings and management roles, Cathy has technical expertise in healthcare IT, value-based care, data management and reporting, and clinical and case management services for both insured and uninsured populations. She also brings a wealth of knowledge and experience as a leader and manager, working in both large and small organizations, and has found a niche in helping start-up organizations and rapidly expanding teams move through times of growth and change. During her career, Cathy has co-founded a software company, worked as a consultant, served as a senior executive with over 150 direct and indirect reports, and successfully worked hand in hand with colleagues ranging from front line staff to executive leaders. Cathy has enjoyed being on the forefront as an industry leader throughout her career, always working toward innovative approaches to drive quality-focused, evidence-based care delivery to serve patients and communities.

Cathy holds a Bachelor’s in Nursing from Baylor University, and a Master’s in Healthcare Administration from University of Missouri-Columbia. She is an active member of ACHE North Texas and Board member for Visiting Nurse Association of Texas and The Agape Clinic, two nonprofit organizations serving North Texas. In addition to her board responsibilities, Cathy volunteers regularly with Dallas Responds to serve the marginalized in our community.

Courses Taught:

• HMGT 6320 – The American Healthcare System
• HMGT 6340 – Principles of Hospital Administration

Biography

Jeffery P. Drummond’s areas of expertise include representing hospitals and other health care providers, physicians and physician groups, research organizations, laboratories, and managed care entities in mergers and acquisitions of health care entities, formation and dissolution of corporations, companies, and partnerships, development of joint ventures (including ambulatory surgery centers and physician-owned hospitals), negotiation and formation of managed care networks, private placement of and tender offer for securities, and the issuance of over $2 billion of health care and tax-exempt financings.

He regularly advises clients regarding compliance with health care, pharmaceutical, and tax exemption laws and regulations, as well as cybersecurity and data breach issues. Drummond is a frequent speaker on HIPAA, medical record privacy and security issues, and cybersecurity, and advises clients regarding compliance with those laws and regulations.

Since 2002, Drummond has written a weblog on HIPAA matters entitled “HIPAABlog.” Drummond is also a contributing editor to D Magazine’s web publication “D Healthcare Daily,” and a member of the editorial advisory board of “Report on Patient Privacy.” Drummond was named a “Best Lawyer in Dallas” in the healthcare field in 2014, 2018, 2019, and 2002 by D Magazine; named in “The Best Lawyers in America” for health care law in 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021, and Who’s Who Legal: Healthcare 2021.

Drummond is a member of the Dallas Bar Association and past chairman of the Dallas Bar Association’s Health Law Section. He is also a member of the American Health Lawyers Association and the National Association of Bond Lawyers and is listed in the “Red Book” as a bond counsel.

Courses Taught:

• HMGT 6330 – Healthcare Law Policy and Regulation

Biography

Director of the Healthcare Management honors program, Professional Program in Healthcare Management

Prior to joining the University of Texas at Dallas, Mr. Karnuta served as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Conifer Health Solutions, a healthcare revenue cycle management and consulting company serving over 800 healthcare provider organizations throughout the US. Previously, he spent nearly 20 years at Perot Systems Corporation, a worldwide provider of information technology services, where he held several senior-level positions including Vice President of Finance, Healthcare Industry Group Chief Financial Officer and Global Tax Director. He began his career in public accounting where he served as a Tax Manager with Price Waterhouse.

With over 30 years of professional experience, Mr. Karnuta has led finance and accounting organizations focusing on: financial reporting, operational delivery, taxation, pricing, strategy and decision support. He spent several years working in Europe where he led a finance team that spanned 6 countries on three continents. Earlier in his career, Mr. Karnuta served as an adjunct lecturer at George Mason University and The American University in Washington, DC. He was more recently an adjunct lecturer at the University of Texas at Dallas before retiring from his corporate duties in order to devote his efforts full-time to educating the next generation of business leaders.

Courses Taught:

• ACCT 2301 – Introductory Financial Accounting
• ACCT 3332 – Intermediate Financial Accounting I
• ACCT 6301 – Financial Accounting
• ACCT 6332 – Intermediate Financial Accounting II
• ACCT 6373 – Advanced External Auditing
• ACCT 6344 – Financial Statement Analysis
• HMGT 3080 – Healthcare Management Honors Program Seminar
• HMGT 3311 – Healthcare Financial Analysis
• HMGT 3320 – Complex and Dynamic Healthcare Environment
• HMGT 6311 – Healthcare Financial Operations Accounting

Biography

Michael Malaise has served Parkland Health since 2012 and is now the Senior Vice President of Communications and External Relations. Malaise was responsible for building the initial External Affairs Department at Parkland Health which encompasses Corporate Communications, Government Relations, Marketing, Community Relations Departments. Currently Malaise’s oversee all aforementioned departments and serves as an executive sponsor for Parkland Health system’s Community Health Needs Assessment focused on reducing health disparities and the assessment’s corresponding response plan. Malaise serves as a member of Parkland’s Compliance and Ethics Leadership Committee.

With over 20 years of professional experience in healthcare consulting, Malaise gives back to his community teaching at the graduate level at the University of Texas at Dallas where he received a master’s degree in healthcare management in 2015. Malaise also worked full time while obtaining his doctoral degree in Health Services Management at the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 2020.

Courses Taught:

• HMGT 6311 – Healthcare Economics

Biography

Dr. Mauriello was the 2021 OWLIE Recipient for Jindal Graduate Faculty of the Year! Dr. Mauriello is the Director of the Center for Internal Auditing Excellence at the University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) where he is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the academic program. UTD is one of twelve recognized centers of excellence in the world, as designated by the Institute of Internal Auditors, and is currently recognized as the largest graduate program in internal auditing. Currently, Dr. Mauriello teaches core courses in the graduate program which include Internal Audit, Advanced Internal Audit, Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC), Advanced Data Analytics for Accountants and Auditors, and IT Audit. He also teaches various accounting courses including Financial Statement Analysis and Managerial Accounting.

Prior to UTD, Dr. Mauriello has more than 19 years of management and supervisory experience in accounting and auditing in both public company and consulting environments. He has expertise performing business risk assessments, ERM projects, anti-fraud program development services, performance improvement strategy assessments, quality assessment reviews, and fraud investigations within the Risk Advisory umbrella, along with traditional internal audit co/outsourcing and SOX Compliance project management services.

Dr. Mauriello is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Certified Internal Auditor (CIA), Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE), Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA), Certified Information Technology Professional (CITP), Certified Management Accountant (CMA), Certified Financial Services Auditor (CFSA), and is certified in risk management assurance (CRMA).

Courses Taught:

• HMGT 6380 – Internal Audit
• HMGT 6336 – Information Technology Audit and Risk Management
• ACCT 6386 – Governance Risk Management and Compliance GRC
• ACCT 6392 – Advanced Auditing
• ACCT 6374 – Advanced Data Analytics for Accountants and Auditors

Biography

Dr. Kannan Ramanathan is a clinical professor in the Naveen Jindal School of Management bringing over 20 years of international corporate experience spanning four countries: process re-engineering in several industries (airlines, real estate, re-insurance, healthcare). Ramanathan focuses on strategy implementation and operations management; continuous improvement; and data analytics with spreadsheets. Ramanathan has 15 plus years in years international teaching experience in business management working in China, India, Mexico and the USA.

Courses Taught:

• HMGT 6321 – Strategic Leadership of Healthcare Organizations
• HMGT 6335 – Spreadsheet Modeling and Analytics
• HMGT 6332 – Quality Improvement in Healthcare Six Sigma and Beyond
• OPRE 6364 – Lean Six Sigma
• OPRE 4310 – Lean Six Sigma Processes

Biography

Tim Stephens is an Assistant Professor of Practice in the Naveen Jindal School of Management bringing over 30 years’ experience in various areas to include executive management, IT, business, financial, and administrative operations. Tim received his Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering, with a specialization in Biomedical Engineering from SMU, and earned his MBA from the University of North Texas, with a concentration in Management Science. Tim has received ACUE/ACE Certification in Effective College Instruction, and has also completed professional training in Project Management, ERP Systems and Processes, LEAN, Agile Process Improvement, and Public Speaking.

Research interests include Integration of IoT (Internet of Things)

Courses Taught:

• HMGT 6325 – Healthcare Operations Management
• HMGT 6327 – Electronic Health Records Applications
• MIS 6308 – System Analysis and Project Management
• ITSS 3300 – Information Technology for Business

Biography

Keith Thurgood is a Clinical Professor of Healthcare Leadership and Management at the Jindal School of Management of the University of Texas at Dallas where he also leads the graduate program in Healthcare Leadership and Management. He is also an Adjunct Professor of Marketing and Entrepreneurship at UTD. In addition to his responsibilities at UT Dallas, Dr. Thurgood is a faculty member and senior advisor for the Thayer Leader Development Group (West Point, New York).

Dr. Thurgood brings a unique perspective on healthcare, operations management and leadership having served at senior-level leadership positions in for-profit and not-for-profit organizations. Most recently Dr. Thurgood has returned to UTD following a 14-month sabbatical following an appointed by the Secretary of Defense Chief Management Officer to lead the largest global community services reform effort in a generation. He was also President, Spend and Clinical Management, MedAssets, a healthcare performance improvement company. He also served as President and CEO of Overseas Military Sales Corporation and as the Senior Vice President of Operations for Sam’s Club. He also served as the CEO of The Exchange (formerly the Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES), the United States Department of Defense’s $10 billion global for-profit retail enterprise and he has also held executive positions with Frito-Lay and PepsiCo. In addition to his civilian job, he has over 28 years of Army service, both active and reserve. Major General Thurgood served as the Deputy Commanding General and Chief of Staff, United States Army Reserve in Washington, D.C. His last assignment prior to his retirement was the Deputy, Business Transformation, Office of the Secretary of the Army.

Dr. Thurgood serves on numerous not-for profit boards.

Dr. Thurgood holds a BA in Political Science from Brigham Young University, a MS in Strategic Studies from the Army War College, a MS in Business Administration from Boston University and a PhD in Organizational Development and Leadership from Capella University. He is a frequent nationally recognized speaker on leadership and operations management.

Courses Taught:

• HMGT 3301 – Introduction to Healthcare Management
• HMGT 3311 – Healthcare Financial Analysis
• HMGT 3320 – Complex and Dynamic Healthcare Environment
• HMGT 6320 – American Healthcare System

Biography

Dr. Jim Walton joined Genesis Physician Group in March 2013 as its president and chief executive officer. Prior to that, he served as vice president of network performance for Baylor Quality Alliance (BQA). Walton joined Baylor in 1996 as medical director of the Office of Community Health Improvement. From 2006 to 2011 he served as Baylor’s chief health equity officer, developing quality improvement strategies to eliminate health disparities in Baylor’s inpatient and ambulatory care settings. Additionally, since 2000, he has served as the Dallas County Medical Society’s medical director for Project Access Dallas. Walton earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of North Texas and his doctor of osteopathic medicine degree from the University of North Texas Health Science Center. He earned his MBA at the University of Michigan. He is board-certified in internal medicine.

Courses Taught:

• HMGT 3301 – Introduction to Healthcare Management
• HMGT 6320 – American Healthcare System

Biography

Guihua is an Assistant Professor of Operations Management and a Sydney Smith Hicks Faculty Fellow at the Naveen Jindal School of Management, University of Texas at Dallas. He obtained his PhD from the University of Michigan, MSc from the Georgia Institute of Technology, MSc and BEng from the National University of Singapore. Prior to his PhD study, Guihua worked as a supervisor of the industrial engineering department at UPS Asia headquartered in Singapore. Guihua’s research focuses on the intersection of empirical econometrics and machine learning with application to personalized healthcare. More specifically, Guihua has developed new empirical machine learning techniques such as the instrumental variable forest, the first-difference causal tree, and the multi-treatment forest for heterogeneous treatment effect analysis using observational healthcare data.

Guihua has published numerous peer-reviewed articles in Management Science, Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, Production and Operations Management, Advances in Applied Probability, Transportation Research Part C, Surgery, Annals of Thoracic Surgery, Management and Business Review, and International Journal of Logistics Systems and Management. His research has been covered by many media outlets, which include Associated Press, Austin’ NPR Station – KUT, Crain’s Detroit, Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star, Go Dan River, Hickory Daily Record, Houston Chronicle, INFORMS Newsroom, JSOM Management Magazine, KULR 8, Lynchburg News and Advance, McDowell News, Medical Xpress, Medium, Michigan News, Montana Standard, National Affair, National Interest, North Platte, Opelika-Auburn News, Patch, Public Radio International, Quad-Cities Online, Roanoke Times, Science Daily, Simply Flying, Statesville Record & Landmark, Texas McCombs, The Conversation, UTD News Center, Yahoo! News. Notably, his research on organ transplants was named a runner-up for the Responsible Business Education Award by the Financial Times.

Guihua’s research has received many recognition awards, which include the winner of the Conference on Health IT and Analytics (CHITA) Best Paper Award, the winner (twice) of the INFORMS Health Applications Society Student Paper Competition, a runner-up of the INFORMS Service Section Best Cluster Paper Competition, a runner-up of the POMS College of Healthcare Operations Management Best Paper Award, a runner-up of the POMS College of Service Operations Management Best Student Paper Award, a finalist of the INFORMS Health Applications Society Pierskalla Best Paper Award, a finalist of the INFORMS Service Science Best Cluster Paper Award Competition, a finalist (three times) of the INFORMS Service Science Best Student Paper Award Competition, a finalist of the MSOM Service Management SIG Best Paper Award, a finalist (twice) of the MSOM Student Paper Competition, and a finalist of the POMS College of Operational Excellence Junior Scholar Best Paper Competition.

Courses Taught:

• HMGT 6325 – Healthcare Operations Management
• OPRE 6325 – Healthcare Operations Management
• SYSM 6334 – Systems Operations Management

Biography

Since 1993, Dr. Ziegler has been a witness of and participant in the growth of UT Dallas through her activities as a faculty member and former Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education. Dr. Ziegler has led a variety of human behavior courses throughout the years specializing in negotiation across the Jindal School of Management’s MBA, Healthcare Management, Finance, Operations Management and Systems Engineering departments. Dr. Ziegler’s clinical work at UT Dallas is further defined through her consulting company that specializes in human work behavior.

Laurie Ziegler began her education at Texas State University in San Marcos studying Psychology with a minor in English. She moved to the University of Texas at Arlington where she continued with an M.S. in Human Resource Management and a Ph.D. in Business Administration. Dr. Ziegler become a three-time recipient of the School of Management’s Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award as well as of the Diversity Awareness Award, a finalist in the Teaching Award for Inclusive Excellence and indisputably listed in Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers and Who’s Who in Business Higher Education.

Dr. Ziegler is most proud of pioneering the establishment of The JSOM Honors Program and The Negotiation Club at UT Dallas. Her personal award for her work has been through letters of recommendation written to help students gain admittance to prestigious medical schools, law schools, Ph. D. programs and corporate positions.

Courses Taught:

• HMGT 6324 – Healthcare Negotiation and Dispute Resolution