Title: Public Health Screening: Challenges and Opportunities

Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic continues to demonstrate the importance of public health screening. My talk will draw upon the body of research that my collaborators and I have conducted in a variety of screening contexts, ranging from newborn screening for genetic disorders to population-level infectious disease screening, including COVID-19. I will discuss the challenges and opportunities for operations researchers and data scientists.

Bio: My research focus is on stochastic modeling, optimization, and decision making under uncertainty, with applications to public health policy and health implementation science. My research has been recognized through various awards, including the INFORMS Pierskalla Award for the Best Paper in Healthcare (winner in 2011, runner-up in 2017 and 2021, finalist in 2015), INFORMS JFIG Best Paper Award, and multiple IISE Transactions Best Applications Paper Awards;  my PhD students have received the INFORMS Bonder Scholarship, IISE Pritsker Doctoral Dissertation Award, and INFORMS Health Applications Society Student Paper Award, among others. I have published in leading operations research, biostatistics, and medical journals, and have graduated fourteen PhD students, many of whom hold academic positions. I have served as the 2019 President of the INFORMS Health Applications Society.