Born, raised, and educated in France, Dr. Sainfort earned an Engineer Diploma in Nuclear Engineering, a Master of Science Degree in Industrial Engineering and a Doctorate in Industrial Engineering and Management, all from the prestigious Ecole Centrale in Paris, France. Dr. Sainfort currently serves as the Chair of the Department of Management and Entrepreneurship in the Huizenga College of Business and Entrepreneurship at Nova Southeastern University (NSU), as well as Professor and Director of the Complex Health Systems MBA program. He is also a Professor of Population Health Sciences in the Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Allopathic Medicine at NSU. Dr. Sainfort is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives (FACHE).

Dr. Sainfort is an accomplished, internationally known expert in decision sciences, medical decision making, healthcare quality management and measurement, health outcomes research, cost-effectiveness research, and evidence-based medicine. Prior to joining Nova, he was a tenured full professor at the University of Wisconsin (joint appointments in Industrial Engineering and Population Health), a distinguished professor and associate dean at Georgia Tech (appointments in Industrial and Systems Engineering and in Biomedical Engineering) and a distinguished full professor and division head at the University of Minnesota (Health Policy and Management).

Dr. Sainfort has tremendous academic leadership experience, having served in different roles over the course of his career, including, but not limited to: Division Head in a School of Public Health, Director of a large joint health research institute between two universities (Emory University and Georgia Tech), and Associate Dean for interdisciplinary research programs in the largest College of Engineering in the United States, Georgia Tech, with a focus on health-related initiatives.

Throughout his career, Dr. Sainfort’s research goals have been to understand individuals and organizations confronted with challenging health issues and utilize decision theories to develop and design tools, information and decision support systems, and other interventions that can empower and assist individuals and/or organizations in making better decisions, managing health and healthcare issues and conditions, modifying health behaviors, and, ultimately, improving health-related quality of life and quality of care.

To date, he has received $57.1 million in extramural research contracts and grants, as principal or co-principal investigator, from Federal Agencies, Foundations, State Agencies, and the private sector including the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health (including three RO1 grants), the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (including two RO1 grants), the Centers for Disease Control, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, and the Department of Defense.

Dr. Sainfort has published 196 refereed scientific publications that have appeared in top-rated health care journals such as Health Services Research, Medical Care, Medical Decision Making, Medical Care Research and Review, Health Care Financing Review, Gynecologic Oncology, Psycho-Oncology, American Journal of Psychiatry, The Gerontologist, Diabetes Care, and Quality of Life Research. His research has also appeared in top decision sciences and management journals such as Operations Research, Journal of Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Production and Operations Management, International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction, Journal of Society for Health Systems, and Applied Ergonomics.

Dr. Sainfort is a successful entrepreneur and holds several patents. He launched five start-ups, won business plan competitions, successfully secured angel investor capital as well as Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) funding. He regularly consults for the healthcare industry, biomedical devices industry, pharmaceutical industry, and government agencies. Dr. Sainfort is of Basque, French, and Hispanic origins and is fluent in English and French and proficient in Spanish and German.

Dr. Sainfort has received numerous awards from various professional societies, including being named a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives (FACHE®), the nation’s leading professional society for healthcare leaders.