The Center for Healthcare Operations Improvement and Research (CHOIR) at the University of Twente announces the 33rd talk in the ORAHS International Seminar Series.
The ORAHS International Seminars are planned via MS Teams in the late afternoon (Europe), morning (US), or evening (Asia/Pacific) and are part of the EURO Online Seminar Series.
On 20 January 2026, at 16:00 (CEST), Dr. Sina Ansari (DePaul University -Chicago, USA) will talk about “Optimization Models for Patient and/or Technician Scheduling in Hemodialysis Centers”.
Please save the date and register for this seminar here:
https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/0e772ff2-8539-4c3e-8522-e20c4c6c14e3@723246a1-c3f5-43c5-acdc-43adb404ac4d
Abstract: Patient and technician scheduling problem in hemodialysis centers presents a unique setting in healthcare operations as (1) unlike other healthcare problems, dialysis appointments have a steady state and the treatment times are determined in advance of the appointments, and (2) once the appointments are set, technicians will have to be assigned to two types of jobs per appointment: putting on and taking off patients (connecting to and disconnecting from dialysis machines). We developed mathematical models to minimize the operating and patient-related costs at large-scale hemodialysis centers. We simulate instances based on the data from our collaborating hemodialysis center to evaluate the performance of our proposed models in practice. Our findings can help clinic managers at hemodialysis centers better manage their operations by accurately estimating staff requirements and scheduling patient appointments more effectively.
Bio: Sina Ansari is an assistant professor and co-director of the MS Business Analytics program at the Driehaus College of Business at DePaul University. He earned his Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences from Northwestern University and worked as a postdoctoral research fellow at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth. He serves as a board member and former president of the INFORMS Chicago chapter. His research focuses on applying advanced analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) to develop mathematical models and practical policies that optimize the operational performance of systems in service and healthcare. His work has been published in journals including the European Journal of Operational Research, Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Decision Analysis, Healthcare Management Science, and Naval Research Logistics.
More information about our speaker can be found here: https://business.depaul.edu/faculty/faculty-a-z/Pages/Sina-Ansari.aspx
For more information about our seminar presentations, please follow this link:
https://www.utwente.nl/en/choir/research/ORAHS-International-Seminar-Series/
We look forward to seeing you soon and often in the ORAHS International Seminar Series.
CHOIR Group
University of Twente