I was drawn to Operations Research from early on, starting with my undergraduate studies at Cornell University. While working at a healthcare technology company for a year post-grad, I developed a passion for healthcare and decided to go back to school with a goal of applying Operations Research to this area. When applying to schools, I was excited by the ORC’s breadth of healthcare work, from personalized medicine to operational challenges. The ORC, and MIT more broadly, turned out to be the perfect place for me to pursue these interests.
I worked with Prof. Dimitris Bertsimas, and my research focused on the intersection of optimization, machine learning, and healthcare. I enjoyed the opportunity to get involved in research from day one at the ORC: from my first year, I had the opportunity to interact with clinicians and healthcare researchers which has given me an interdisciplinary perspective. MIT also has an ideal location for medical work due to its proximity to major hospital systems and the biotech community.
Beyond research, the vibrant community and research opportunities sold me on attending the Operations Research Center for my PhD. From my first visit to the ORC as a prospective student, I was impressed by the camaraderie and mentorship found throughout the center. This was consistent through my five years at the ORC, even with 2 years spent in COVID. There are always other students eager to give advice on courses, study together for midterms, or just catch up over lunch or a coffee break (or Zoom!). Students come from diverse nationalities, academic backgrounds, and industry experiences, but there is a shared passion for learning and tackling challenging problems. This fosters a dynamic and hard-working environment that made me excited to go into the ORC every morning.
After graduation, I am joining Carnegie Mellon University as an Assistant Professor of Operations Research and Public Policy. My years at the ORC both deepened and broadened my interest in healthcare research, and I am excited to continue this thread as a faculty member. The ORC’s unique position between Sloan and Engineering also offers the opportunity to experience different research environments and to teach across different levels (PhD, MBA, undergrad, etc.), which was hugely helpful in nailing down my post-grad interests.
Between the student community, academic environment, and impactful research, I could not be happier to have ended up in the Operations Research Center at MIT.
