Tyler Prize recipient Mohammad Pirouzan, an MHA student and dentist, says sustainability isn’t just a concept.
Mohammad Pirouzan grew up between Yazd, a historic city in central Iran, and Tehran, the capital. Coming of age in these very different cities helped him appreciate both tradition and ambition.
A Master of Health Administration student at USC Price’s School of Public Policy, Pirouzan, who ran a successful dental practice in his home country before arriving in Southern California for his advanced degree studies in 2024, applied that perspective to his career.
“I never saw the mouth as separate from the rest of the body; I see it as a gateway to the body and also as a kind of diagnostic signpost,” Pirouzan explains. “Over time as I practiced dentistry, I became more interested in how oral health connects to prevention, early diagnosis, public health, access to care, and the design of better healthcare systems.”
Pirouzan has taken that same mindset to USC, where he recently was accepted into a prestigious program, the 2026 Tyler Prize Student Ambassador Program. The program offers students the chance to engage with global environmental leaders and contribute to advancing environmental awareness and leadership.
The program is administered by the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement, the world’s oldest and most prestigious annual environmental science award that is often referred to as the “green Nobel Prize.” The Tyler Prize is housed at USC and administered by the university.
“For me, the Tyler Prize Student Ambassador Program feels like a natural extension of my background,” Pirouzan says. “It gives me a platform to better understand the connection between environmental health and human health, and to communicate that connection to students, healthcare professionals, and broader communities.”
Not an abstract concept
Pirouzan’s interest in sustainability did not start in the classroom alone. It also came from real healthcare management experiences.
In Iran, while working in dental and healthcare settings, he saw how daily operational decisions can affect patient care, infection control, resource use, and the environment.
“Being selected into the Tyler Prize Student Ambassador Program will help me grow as a communicator and leader,” he says. “Professionally, I see it strengthening my path as someone who wants to work at the intersection of clinical care, healthcare administration, research, public health, and sustainability.”
A respectful listener
LaVonna B. Lewis, PhD, MPH, Vice Dean of Student Success and Professor of Public Policy (teaching), met Pirouzan in September 2024 when he enrolled in her intensive course, “Problems and Issues in the Health Field.”
The two also connected outside the classroom. Pirouzan has been a regular in Lewis’ Wisdom Wednesday sessions, where members build community and explore ways to address differences more effectively.
“In class and in these other spaces,” Lewis says, “Mohammed was curious, thoughtful, and always willing to share his ideas and listen respectfully to those of others.”
Supportive family
Pirouzan grew up in a family that valued education, thoughtful work, resilience, and responsibility. He says his family’s support played a major role in his path toward dentistry and research.
In 2020, he earned a Doctor of Dental Surgery degree from Alborz University of Medical Sciences in Iran’s Alborz Province and ran a dental clinic for nearly four years.
Pirouzan describes his life in Iran as “comfortable, meaningful, and fulfilling,” with a close family and a career in dentistry in which he was involved in clinical management as well as consulting in healthcare.
He says he came to the U.S. to fulfill his larger professional vision of building a network of dental clinics with a model that connects clinical excellence, healthcare management, prevention, technology, research, sustainability, and patient-centered service.
“Coming here was not a decision to disconnect from Iran,” Pirouzan says. “It was a decision to expand my knowledge, my perspective, and my ability to create an impact.”
Los Angeles, he says, was the right place for several reasons. Beyond USC’s global reputation, he says the large Iranian community here also influenced his decision, as did a lifestyle that fits him: access to the ocean, beaches, mountains, and nature within a short distance.
Pirouzan is currently completing his MHA degree and this August, he will begin his PhD in craniofacial biology at the Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry of USC.
Pirouzan says his experience at USC has been transformative.
“USC challenged me academically, professionally, and personally,” he says. “I had to adapt to a new educational system, a new country, and a broader way of thinking about healthcare. I also really appreciated the diversity of perspectives at USC Price.”
The human side of war
Pirouzan says he plans to return to his homeland.
“You can grow, move forward, and build new opportunities elsewhere, but you do not erase the place where your story began,” he says. “Iran is part of my personal and professional foundation, and I will always stay connected to it.”
He calls the current turmoil in Iran a painful and sensitive subject, “especially when you have family, memories, and emotional ties connected to the region.”
“I hope for peace, safety, dignity, and a future where talented young people are not limited by geography, conflict, or uncertainty.”
