Healthcare

University of Tennessee-Knoxville

Anahita Khojandi is an associate professor in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering and the director for the Reliability and Maintainability Engineering program at University of Tennessee-Knoxville. Her research interests include decision making under uncertainty and partial information, machine learning, and reinforcement learning, with applications in healthcare, environmental engineering and sustainability, intelligent transportation systems, manufacturing, and maintenance optimization. She received her Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering from University of Pittsburgh. She has served as the President of INFORMS Junior Faculty Interest Group and the Vice Chair of INFORMS Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee. She is also a member of INFORMS.

Highlights

• Areas of Expertise: Healthcare applications, Environmental engineering and sustainability, Intelligent transportation systems
• Chaired the INFORMS Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committee

University of Michigan

Brian Denton is the Chair of the Department of Industrial and Operations Engineering at the University of Michigan. His research interests are in data-driven sequential decision making and optimization under uncertainty with applications to healthcare delivery, public health, medicine, and scheduled systems. He has a cross-appointment in the School of Medicine, and he is a member of the Cancer Center and the Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation (IHPI) at the University of Michigan. He holds a B.S. in Chemistry and Physics and Ph.D. in Management Science from McMaster University, and a M.S. in Physics from York University.

He is an elected Fellow of INFORMS, was the past Chair of the INFORMS Health Applications Section, Secretary of INFORMS, and President of INFORMS. He also received the INFORMS Service Section Best Paper Prize and the INFORMS Daniel H. Wagner Prize.

Highlights

• Areas of Expertise: Data-driven sequential decision making and optimization under certainty
• His research is applicable to: healthcare delivery, public health, medicine, scheduled systems

Yale University School of Management

Ed Kaplan is the William N. and Marie A. Beach Professor of Operations Research, Professor of Public Health and Professor of Engineering at Yale University School of Management. His research focuses on analytics, counter-terrorism, decision-making, operations research, policy modeling, public health and sports analytics. In 2014 and 2016, Kaplan served as the president of INFORMS.

He holds a B.A. from McGill University, an M.C.P., M.S. in statistics, M.S. in operations research, and Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Highlights

• Areas of Expertise: Counter-terrorism, Policy modeling, Public health, Sports analytics

North Carolina State University

Julie Ivy is a professor in the Edward P. Fitts Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at the North Carolina State University. Her research interests are mathematical modeling and decision analysis, which has allowed researchers and practitioners address complex societal issues, such as health disparities, public health preparedness and hunger relief. Ivy received her B.S. and Ph.D. in Industrial and Operations Engineering at the University of Michigan.

She is an active member of INFORMS. Dr. Ivy also served as the 2007 Chair of the INFORMS Health Applications Society and the 2012–13 President for the INFORMS Minority Issues Forum.

Highlights

• Areas of Expertise: Mathematical modeling and decision analysis
• Her research has helped address health disparities, public health preparedness, and hunger relief

North Carolina State University

Julie Swann is the department head and A. Doug Allison Distinguished Professor of the Fitts Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering. She is an affiliate faculty in the Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering at both NC State and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Before joining NC State, Swann was the Harold R. and Mary Anne Nash Professor in the Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. There she co-founded and co-directed the Center for Health and Humanitarian Systems (CHHS), one of the first interdisciplinary research centers on the Georgia Tech campus. Starting with her work with CHHS, Swann has conducted research, outreach, and education to improve how health and humanitarian systems operate worldwide.

Swann is a Fellow of IISE and a member of INFORMS as well as a research leader in using analytics and system approaches to enable health care and supply chains to become more efficient, effective, or equitable. Her work as a systems engineer with analytics skills relates to areas of public health, public policy, epidemiology, infectious disease, supply chain management, and disaster response.

Highlights

• Areas of Expertise: Planning for infectious disease outbreaks, Medicaid administrative claims, Supply chain management, Disaster response
• Worked with CDC during the H1N1 pandemic

University of Wisconsin-Madison

Laura Albert is a professor and Harvey D. Spangler Faculty Scholar in Industrial and Systems Engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her research applies operations research methodologies to important societal applications.  Her primary methodological base is discrete optimization, including integer programming and Markov decision processes. Her research also focuses on modeling and solving real-world discrete optimization problems with application to homeland security, public services, healthcare, emergency medical services, critical infrastructure protection, public safety, and disaster response and recovery.

She is the former president of INFORMS Women in OR/MS (2012-2014) and INFORMS Section on Public Programs, Services and Needs (2013-2015). She has a B.S. and M.S. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in General Engineering and a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in Industrial Engineering.

Highlights

• Areas of Expertise: Discrete optimization problems with application to homeland security, public services, healthcare, emergency medical services, critical infrastructure protection, public safety, disaster response and recovery
• 2023 INFORMS President
• Publishes popular blog Punk Rock O.R.

Stanford University

Lawrence Wein is the Jeffrey S. Skoll Professor of Management Science and Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University. His research focuses on manufacturing, health care and homeland security. He has used mathematics to analyze treatment protocols for patients with HIV, cancer, and Alzheimer’s disease; the national transplant waiting list for kidneys; the selection of strains to include in the annual influenza vaccine and the design of proteins. His HIV work on drug-switching policies led to a successful multicenter clinical trial. His smallpox work influenced the George W. Bush administration’s post-attack vaccination policy; his anthrax work led to plans in Washington, D.C., to use postal workers to distribute antibiotics after a large attack; and his testimony before a congressional committee on his biometric analysis of the US-VISIT Program was instrumental in the switch from a two-finger to a ten-finger system.

Highlights

• Areas of Expertise: Treatment protocols for patients with HIVm cancer, and Alzheimer's disease, National transplant waiting list for kidneys, Selection of strains to include in the annual influenza vaccine
• HIV work on drug-switching policies has led to a successful multicenter clinical trial
• His smallpox work influenced the George W. Bush administration’s post-attack vaccination policy

Stanford University

Margaret Brandeau is the Coleman F. Fung Professor in the School of Engineering and a Professor of Medicine at Stanford University. Her research focuses on the development of applied mathematical and economic models to support health policy decisions. Her recent work has focused on HIV prevention and treatment programs, programs to control the U.S. opioid epidemic, and policies for minimizing the spread of infectious diseases, including COVID-19. She holds a B.S. in Mathematics and M.S. in Operations Research from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a Ph.D. in Engineering-Economic Systems from Stanford University. She is an INFORMS fellow and has received the INFORMS President’s Award.

Highlights

• Area of Expertise: Applied mathematics and economic models to support health policy decisions, 
• Recent work on: HIV treatment and prevention programs, U.S. opioid epidemic, Minimizing the spread of infectious disease

Pinar Keskinocak is the William W. George Chair and Professor in the H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering at Georgia Tech. She is also co-founder and director of the Center for Health and Humanitarian Systems. Previously, she served as the College of Engineering ADVANCE Professor and as interim associate dean for faculty development and scholarship. She received her Ph.D. in Operations Research from Carnegie Mellon University, and her M.S. and B.S. in Industrial Engineering from Bilkent University. Keskinocak's research focuses on health and humanitarian applications, supply chain management, and logistics/transportation. Her recent work has addressed infectious disease modeling, evaluating intervention strategies, and resource allocation, catch-up scheduling for vaccinations, hospital operations management, and disaster preparedness and response.

She is an INFORMS Fellow and she served as the Secretary of INFORMS, President of INFORMS, department editor for Operations Research, associate editor for Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, and INFORMS Vice President of Membership and Professional Recognition. She is the co-founder and past-president of INFORMS Section on Public Programs, Service, and Needs.

Highlights

• Areas of Expertise: Infectious disease modeling, Intervention strategy evaluation, Hospital operations management, Disaster preparedness and response
• Worked with the American Red Cross and the CDC
• Served on editorial board of two science journals

Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital

Pooyan Kazemian is an Instructor of Medicine in the Department of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and a Research Scientist in the Division of General Internal Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital. His research focuses on cost-effectiveness analysis of HIV prevention and treatment interventions, and developing a novel mathematical optimization model for HIV resource allocation in resource-limited countries. He is developing a microsimulation model of type 2 diabetes to evaluate clinical outcomes, lifetime costs of care, and the incremental cost-effectiveness of strategies for diabetes prevention and treatment. Kazemian previously worked at the Center for the Science of Health Care Delivery at the Mayo Clinic.

He holds a M.Sc. in industrial and systems engineering from Rutgers University, and a Ph.D. in operations research from the Department of Industrial and Operations Engineering at the University of Michigan.

Highlights

• Areas of Expertise: Cost-effectiveness analysis of HIV prevention and treatment interventions, HIV resource allocation in resource-limited countries
• Developing a microsimulation model of type 2 diabetes to evaluate clinical outcomes, lifetime costs of care, and the incremental cost-effectiveness of strategies for diabetes prevention and treatment
• Previously worked at the Mayo Clinic

W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University

Scott Webster is professor and Bob Herberger Arizona Heritage Chair in supply chain management at the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University. He previously worked at Syracuse University and University of Wisconsin-Madison, and held visiting positions at Queen’s University in Canada and Zaragoza Logistics Center. Prior to academia, he worked in industry in the areas of consulting and finance. His recent research includes projects on health product and agricultural supply chains, humanitarian disaster relief, pricing and inventory optimization. His research has received best paper awards from INFORMS and the Production and Operations Management Society. At ASU, he teaches courses on business analytics and coordinates the department’s Ph.D. program. His Ph.D. is in operations management and decision sciences from Indiana University.

Highlights

• Areas of Expertise: Agriculture Supply Chains, Healthcare Supply Chains, Disaster Relief, Pricing and Inventory Optimization
• Worked with Biden administration

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Sheldon H. Jacobson is a Founder Professor of Computer Science, Director of the Simulation and Optimization Laboratory, and Founding Director of the Bed Time Research Institute at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He has a B.S. and M.S. in mathematics from McGill University and a Ph.D. in operations research from Cornell University.

Over the decades, Professor Jacobson has dedicated his effort to draw the attention of the public to the power of operations research and analytics for informed policy and decision making. He has made research contributions to operations research and optimization-based artificial intelligence. Additionally, he has written on a broad range of subjects: aviation security, healthcare, transportation, political redistricting and elections, etc. He is an INFORMS Fellow and has received the INFORMS Impact Prize.

Highlights

• Areas of Expertise: Informed policy and decision making, Aviation security, Healthcare, Transportation, Political redistricting, Elections

United States Naval Academy, John Hopkins University School of Medicine

Sommer Gentry is a Professor of Mathematics at the United States Naval Academy and a research associate in the Department of Medicine at the John Hopkins University School of Medicine. Her research includes operations research for organ transplantation and healthcare, redistricting, linear and integer programming, simulation, graph theory and maximum edge weight matching for kidney paired donation, optimizing organ allocation.

Gentry holds a B.S. in mathematical and computational sciences and M.S. in engineering-economic systems and operations research from Stanford University, and a Ph.D. in electrical engineering and computer science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Highlights

• Areas of Expertise: Operations research for organ transplantation and healthcare, Redistricting, Optimizing organ allocation

Harvard University

Soroush Saghafian is an associate professor at Harvard University. He is interested in using and developing operations research and management science techniques that can have significant public benefits. His current research focuses on the application and development of operations research methods in studying stochastic systems with specific applications in healthcare and operations management. He has been collaborating with a variety of hospitals in improving their operational efficiency, patient flow, medical decision-making, and more broadly, healthcare delivery policies. 

He serves on the editorial board of journals including Operations Research, Production and Operations Management, INFORMS Service Science, and IISE Transactions. Dr. Saghafian has also served as a chair/co-chair or a review panel member in various committees including INFORMS Pierskalla Award for the Best Paper in Healthcare, INFORMS Healthcare Applications Society Best Student Paper Award, INFORMS MSOM Healthcare Special Interest Group, INFORMS MSOM Best Student Paper review panel, among others.

Highlights

• Areas of Expertise: Stochastic systems with applications in healthcare and operations management
• Has collaborated with a variety of hospitals in improving their operational efficiency, patient flow, medical decision-making, and more broadly, healthcare delivery policies
• Serves on the editorial board of five science journals

Oklahoma State University

Sunderesh S. Heragu is the Head and Donald and Cathey Humphreys Chair of the School of Industrial Engineering and Management at Oklahoma State University. Previously he was Professor, Duthie Chair in Engineering Logistics and Director of the Logistics and Distribution Institute (LoDI) at the University of Louisville. He has developed deterministic as well as stochastic models for important design and operational problems arising in logistics and distribution, healthcare logistics, emergency preparedness, applied operations research, warehousing, material handling, facilities design.

Highlights

• Areas of Expertise: Healthcare logistics, Emergency preparedness, Warehousing

Harvey Mudd College

Susan Martonosi is an associate professor of mathematics at Harvey Mudd College in Claremont, California where she focuses her research on the application of operations research and analytics methodology. Her research uses mathematical modeling to address problems in homeland security, humanitarian logistics, and public policy. Her work has included probabilistic models to guide aviation security policy related to passenger and cargo screening and shipping container screening policy; game theory, social networks analysis and graph theory to solve problems in resource allocation and terrorist network disruption; epidemiological techniques coupled with optimization models for the efficient allocation of interventions against malaria; and game theory models for negotiating pediatric vaccine prices in the public sector. 

She holds a B.S. Operations Research and Industrial Engineering from Cornell University and a Ph.D. in Operations Research from MIT. She is on the Board of INFORMS, currently serving as Vice President for Membership and Professional Recognition, a position elected by the membership.

Highlights

• Areas of Expertise: Homeland security, Humanitarian logistics, Public policy
• has created models and theories for solving problems in terrorist network disruption, aviation security screening, and negotiating pediatric vaccine prices in the public sector

Johns Hopkins University

Tinglong Dai is a professor in the Carey Business School at Johns Hopkins University. His research interests span across healthcare, marketing-operations interfaces, and human-AI interaction. He can speak to supply chain angles to the COVID pandemic as far as resource allocation, food supply, vaccine allocation and creation among other things.

Dai has an M.Phil in Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management from Hong Kong University of Science & Technology, a M.S. in Industrial Administration and a Ph.D. in Operations Management/Robotics from Carnegie Mellon University. Dai's work has been published in leading journals such INFORMS Journal on Computing and has been recognized by INFORMS Public Sector Operations Research Best Paper Award.  

Highlights

• Areas of Expertise: Healthcare, Marketing-operations interfaces, Human-AI interaction
• Can speak to COVID-19 and supply chains with food supply, vaccine allocation, and resource allocation

Georgia Institute of Technology

Turgay Ayer is the George Family Foundation Early Career professor and an associate professor of Industrial and Systems Engineering at the H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He also serves as the research director for healthcare analytics and business intelligence in the Center for Health & Humanitarian Systems at Georgia Tech and holds a courtesy appointment at Emory Medical School. His research focuses on healthcare analytics and socially responsible business analytics. He holds a B.S. in Industrial Engineering from Sabanci University in Istanbul, Turkey, and an M.S. and Ph.D. in Industrial and Systems Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

He received INFORMS Franz Edelman Laureate Award, and Society for Medical Decision Making Lee Lusted Award. Ayer serves an associate editor for Operations Research, Management Science, and MSOM, and is a past president of the INFORMS Health Application Society.

Highlights

• Areas of Expertise: Healthcare analytics, Socially-responsible business analytics
• Serves as research director for healthcare analytics and business intelligence in the Center for Health & Humanitarian Systems at Georgia Tech
• Holds a courtesy appointment at Emory Medical School
• Serves as associate editor of three science journals