This event is open to all including U-M students, faculty, and staff.

Title:
Healthcare Engineering & COVID-19: Tales from the Trenches

Abstract:
At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, our healthcare system had to adjust to new circumstances quickly. The virus disrupted nearly every area of the health system and meant industrial engineers had the opportunity to use their unique skillset to address the many obstacles the pandemic introduced. In this talk, I will share several real-world instances of University of Michigan engineers working directly with Michigan Medicine to have an immediate impact during this difficult time. These efforts included N-95 mask reprocessing, virus aerosolization concerns, the search for personal protective equipment (PPE), addressing postponed and backlogged elective surgeries, campus COVID testing, and vaccine distribution. In addition to projects we could begin to address immediately, I’ll discuss the opportunities for industrial engineering research to help us be more prepared for future disruptions in the healthcare system.

Bio:
Amy Ellen Mainville Cohn is an Arthur F. Thurnau Professor in the Department of Industrial and Operations Engineering at the University of Michigan, where she also holds an appointment in the Department of Health Management and Policy in the School of Public Health. Dr. Cohn is the Faculty Director of the Center for Healthcare Engineering and Patient Safety (CHEPS). She holds an A.B. in applied mathematics, magna cum laude, from Harvard University and a PhD in operations research from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Her primary research interests are in applications of combinatorial optimization, particularly to healthcare and aviation, and to the challenges of optimization problems with multiple objective criteria. She values teaching, mentoring, having a positive impact on society through her work, and helping to foster a vibrant, diverse, nurturing community. She and her husband Jonathan are the proud parents of two sons, Tommy and Peter.