Operations
A Better Algorithm Can Bring Volunteers to More Organizations
Yale SOM’s Vahideh Manshadi and her collaborators found that an online platform was steering volunteers toward a small group of opportunities. By building equity into the algorithm, they were able to help more organizations find the volunteers they need.
In Defense of (Mathematical) Models
Epidemiological models have played an influential role in governments’ responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. Yale SOM’s Edieal Pinker takes a look back at one of the most influential models and argues that such rigorous efforts at understanding the likely course of the disease, while imperfect, are critical to good decision making.
Design, Test, Spread
Nicolas Encina ’10 and his colleagues at Ariadne Labs have been demonstrating the potential of a collaborative, multidisciplinary process for designing and scaling simple improvements to healthcare—and also its limits.
In Estimating COVID-19 Infection Risk, Frequency of an Activity Is Key
With proper precautions, the risk of a day at work, a ride on the bus, or a workout at the gym may be acceptable, write Yale SOM’s Arthur J. Swersey and his co-authors. But that risk compounds dramatically when an activity is repeated day after day.
Study: Controlling COVID-19 Outbreaks in Residential Colleges Requires Frequent Testing
Using a computer model, the researchers found that weekly testing will keep outbreaks under control under relatively optimistic scenarios, but that testing every three days would be more reliable.
New Outbreaks of Coronavirus Can Be Halted with Isolation Measures, According to Study
Yale SOM’s Edward Kaplan used early reports out of Wuhan to evaluate the likely effectiveness of common tactics, such as isolation of patients and quarantine, in keeping the disease from spreading in new regions.
How Machine Learning Can Find Extremists on Social Media
Yale SOM's Tauhid Zaman investigated how artificial intelligence could assist efforts to detect and suspend extremist accounts, before they are used to recruit members and spread propaganda.
A Decision Analysis Approach Points to Better Diagnosis of Prostate Cancer
A new study led by Yale SOM’s Arthur J. Swersey, using decision analysis techniques, finds that increasing the number of biopsy needles and using probability modeling to analyze the results can help prevent unnecessary treatment while identifying dangerous cancers.
Three Questions: Prof. Vahideh Manshadi on Improving Kidney Donation
This month, the Trump administration announced a series of steps to overhaul the kidney transplant system. We asked operations expert Vahideh Manshadi if the changes could make a difference for patients.
Kidney Exchange Registries Should Collaborate to Save More Lives
Yale SOM’s Vahideh Manshadi and her co-authors examined the methodology of kidney exchange registries, and found that registries can find more matches if they collaborate to build a unified database.
Why Hidden Populations Are So Hard to Count
Yale researchers Edward Kaplan and Jonathan Feinstein explain how widely accepted estimates have greatly undercounted the number of undocumented immigrants in the United States.
