Education
- Doctoral Degree, Industrial and Systems Engineering, University of Southern California
- Master's Degree, Industrial Engineering , University of Texas - Arlington
Biography
Dr. Yalda Khashe is the Director of the Master of Science in Health Systems Management Engineering (HSME) program in the Daniel J. Epstein Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering. Her work focuses on the design and improvement of complex sociotechnical systems, with particular emphasis on healthcare systems, human factors, patient safety, high-reliability organizations, and the integration of emerging technologies and artificial intelligence in safety-critical environments.
At USC, Dr. Khashe teaches and leads initiatives spanning healthcare operations, human factors, systems design, and data-driven decision-making. Her work brings together engineering, clinical, and organizational perspectives to improve the safety, quality, efficiency, and reliability of healthcare delivery. She is actively engaged in interdisciplinary collaborations across USC and with healthcare organizations, including work on patient safety, quality improvement, and emerging healthcare technologies.
Dr. Khashe received her Ph.D. in Industrial and Systems Engineering from USC and subsequently served as a Postdoctoral Research Associate with the Viterbi Technology Innovation and Entrepreneurship program. She has also held faculty appointments at California State University, Dominguez Hills, and Pepperdine University.
Research Summary
Dr. Yalda Khashe’s research focuses on the integration of people, technology, and organizations within complex sociotechnical systems. Her work examines how emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, can be designed and implemented to improve safety, reliability, decision-making, and system performance, particularly in safety-critical environments.
Her research spans healthcare, transportation, and aviation, with particular emphasis on human-systems integration, human-technology interaction, patient safety, high-reliability organizations, and the human and organizational factors that shape the successful adoption of new technologies. In healthcare, her work explores the application of human factors, systems engineering, and data-driven approaches to improve the quality of care, patient safety, digital health, and healthcare delivery. She also studies the role of organizational resilience, safety culture, and human-computer interaction in the performance of complex systems. These areas are reflected in her current research agenda at USC.
Dr. Khashe received USC’s Best Dissertation Award in Industrial and Systems Engineering for her doctoral research examining the human and organizational integration of Positive Train Control in railroad operations and developing a High Reliability Organization–centric methodology for aligning technological and organizational change. She also earned USC’s Diploma in Innovation for developing an executive decision-support dashboard for assessing reliability in high-risk organizations, with applications across healthcare, transportation, and energy systems.
