Hoodbhoy focused his research career extensively on quantum field theory, particle phenomenology, and supersymmetry in the area of particle physics. After receiving PhD from MIT, Hoodbhoy met Riazuddin and Abdus Salam– the prominent Pakistani physicists who were visiting the MIT to give lectures on particle physics. Subsequently, he joined the group of Pakistani physicists at the International Centre for Theoretical Physics in Trieste, Italy. At ICTP, Hoodbhoy collaborated with Pakistan's leading theoretical physicists who worked under Abdus Salam in the 1970s.