Mohammad Jalali

Mohammad Jalali, aka ‘MJ’, is a Senior Lecturer at the MIT Sloan’s System Dynamics Group, and an Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School.

He also serves as a member of the Board of Scientific Counselors at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Injury Center. Renowned for his expertise in systems thinking, MJ utilizes a blend of simulation, data science, and optimization techniques to assist policymakers in developing policies that are resilient to unforeseen consequences. Since 2019, he has led numerous extensive public health modeling initiatives, securing grants from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Additionally, MJ collaborates as a co-principal Investigator or co-investigator on various projects that apply systems thinking in health policy, funded by agencies such as the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, and the European Union. 

MJ’s contributions have garnered attention in major news outlets, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, and the Associated Press. He also contributes as an associate editor for the System Dynamics Review, a leading journal in the field. He is the recipient of awards such as the Dana Meadows Award and the Lupina Young Researcher Award.

At Harvard, MJ leads a lab where he regularly mentors over a dozen researchers. To learn more about his work, check out MJ LAB website at: mj-lab.mgh.harvard.edu