{"688040":{"#nid":"688040","#data":{"type":"event","title":"ISyE Seminar - Soroush Saghafian","body":[{"value":"\u003Ch3\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETitle:\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMaking\u0026nbsp;AI\u0026nbsp;Impactful\u0026nbsp;in Healthcare\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch3\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAbstract:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThere\u0026nbsp;is\u0026nbsp;increasing\u0026nbsp;evidence\u0026nbsp;that\u0026nbsp;Machine\u0026nbsp;Learning\u0026nbsp;and\u0026nbsp;Artificial\u0026nbsp;intelligence\u0026nbsp;algorithms\u0026nbsp;can\u0026nbsp;be used to enhance clinical care. In this talk, I address two critical aspects that can significantly improve the impact\u0026nbsp;of\u0026nbsp;such\u0026nbsp;algorithms\u0026nbsp;in\u0026nbsp;healthcare\u0026nbsp;practices:\u0026nbsp;(1)\u0026nbsp;moving\u0026nbsp;beyond\u0026nbsp;associations\u0026nbsp;and\u0026nbsp;creating\u0026nbsp;algorithms capable of causal reasoning under ambiguity, and (2) a human-algorithm \u201ccentaur\u201d model of care and decision-making, in which the power of human intuition is combined with the outstanding capabilities of algorithms. I describe our latest research on these subjects at the Public Impact Analytics Science Lab (PIAS-Lab)\u0026nbsp;at Harvard, and discuss findings based on our various collaborations with the Mayo Clinic, Mass General Hospital, and some other public and private organizations.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch3\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBio:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/scholar.harvard.edu\/saghafian\u0022\u003ESoroush\u0026nbsp;Saghafian\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;(\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Soroush_Saghafian\u0022\u003EWikipedia\u003C\/a\u003E)\u0026nbsp;is\u0026nbsp;an\u0026nbsp;Associate\u0026nbsp;Professor\u0026nbsp;at\u0026nbsp;Harvard\u0026nbsp;University\u0026nbsp;and\u0026nbsp;is\u0026nbsp;the\u0026nbsp;founder\u0026nbsp;and director\u0026nbsp;of\u0026nbsp;Harvard\u2019s\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/scholar.harvard.edu\/saghafian\/public-impact-analytics-science-lab-pias-lab-harvard\u0022\u003EPublic\u0026nbsp;Impact\u0026nbsp;Analytics\u0026nbsp;Science\u0026nbsp;Lab\u0026nbsp;(PIAS-Lab).\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;He\u0026nbsp;also\u0026nbsp;serves\u0026nbsp;as\u0026nbsp;a\u0026nbsp;core\u0026nbsp;faculty\u0026nbsp;or a faculty affiliate for (a) Harvard Data Science Initiative, (b) Harvard Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business\u0026nbsp;and\u0026nbsp;Government,\u0026nbsp;(c)\u0026nbsp;Harvard\u0026nbsp;Center\u0026nbsp;for\u0026nbsp;Health\u0026nbsp;Decision\u0026nbsp;Science,\u0026nbsp;(d)\u0026nbsp;Harvard\u0026nbsp;Ph.D.\u0026nbsp;Program\u0026nbsp;in Health\u0026nbsp;Policy,\u0026nbsp;(e)\u0026nbsp;Harvard\u0026nbsp;Belfer\u0026nbsp;Center\u0026nbsp;for\u0026nbsp;Science\u0026nbsp;and\u0026nbsp;International\u0026nbsp;Affairs,\u0026nbsp;(f)\u0026nbsp;Harvard\u0026nbsp;Center\u0026nbsp;for\u0026nbsp;Public Leadership, and (g) Harvard Ariadne Labs (a pioneer lab in health systems innovation), and holds appointments\u0026nbsp;at\u0026nbsp;Massachusetts\u0026nbsp;General\u0026nbsp;Hospital\u0026nbsp;(MGH),\u0026nbsp;Beth\u0026nbsp;Israel\u0026nbsp;Deaconess\u0026nbsp;Medical\u0026nbsp;Center\u0026nbsp;(BIDMC), and Mayo Clinic.\u0026nbsp;He is an expert in healthcare AI, analytics, and operations management, and has collaborated\u0026nbsp;with\u0026nbsp;a\u0026nbsp;variety\u0026nbsp;of\u0026nbsp;hospitals.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDr.\u0026nbsp;Saghafian\u0027s\u0026nbsp;research\u0026nbsp;has\u0026nbsp;appeared\u0026nbsp;numerous\u0026nbsp;times\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/scholar.harvard.edu\/saghafian\/news-1\u0022\u003Ein\u0026nbsp;the\u0026nbsp;news\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;including\u0026nbsp;in\u0026nbsp;top\u0026nbsp;national\u0026nbsp;and\u0026nbsp;international\u0026nbsp;media\u0026nbsp;outlets,\u0026nbsp;and\u0026nbsp;has\u0026nbsp;been\u0026nbsp;recognized\u0026nbsp;through\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/scholar.harvard.edu\/saghafian\/honors-awards\u0022\u003Evarious\u0026nbsp;awards,\u003C\/a\u003E including the\u0026nbsp;I\u003Cstrong\u003ENFORMS MSOM Young Scholar Prize\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003Efor \u201coutstanding contributions to scholarship in operations management,\u201d \u003Cstrong\u003EINFORMS MSOM Responsible Research Award\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E(second place) for \u201ccontributing knowledge that may have implications for making the world a better place,\u201d the Inaugural \u003Cstrong\u003EINFORMS\u0026nbsp;Mehrotra\u0026nbsp;Research\u0026nbsp;Excellence\u0026nbsp;Award\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u201cfor\u0026nbsp;significant\u0026nbsp;contributions\u0026nbsp;to\u0026nbsp;the\u0026nbsp;practice\u0026nbsp;of\u0026nbsp;health applications through operations research and management science modeling and methodologies,\u201d \u003Cstrong\u003EINFORMS\u0026nbsp;Computing\u0026nbsp;Society\u0026nbsp;Harvey\u0026nbsp;Greenberg\u0026nbsp;Award\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E(honorable\u0026nbsp;mention)\u0026nbsp;\u201cfor\u0026nbsp;research\u0026nbsp;excellence in the field of computation and operations research applications, especially those in emerging application fields,\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003Cstrong\u003EINFORMS Pierskalla Award\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u201cfor the best research paper in healthcare,\u201d \u003Cstrong\u003EINFORMS Franz Edelman Award \u003C\/strong\u003E(semi-finalist) \u201cfor achievement in advanced analytics, operations research, and management\u0026nbsp;science,\u201d\u0026nbsp;and\u0026nbsp;\u003Cstrong\u003EPOMS\u0026nbsp;College\u0026nbsp;of\u0026nbsp;Healthcare\u0026nbsp;Best\u0026nbsp;Paper\u0026nbsp;Award\u003C\/strong\u003E.\u0026nbsp;His\u0026nbsp;forthcoming\u0026nbsp;book\u0026nbsp;with Cambridge University\u0026nbsp;Press,\u0026nbsp;\u201cInsight-Driven\u0026nbsp;Problem\u0026nbsp;Solving:\u0026nbsp;Analytics\u0026nbsp;Science\u0026nbsp;to\u0026nbsp;Improve the\u0026nbsp;World,\u201d has been endorsed\u0026nbsp;by top academic and industry figures [Full CV \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/apps.hks.harvard.edu\/faculty\/cv\/SoroushSaghafian.pdf\u0022\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E].\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Ch3\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAbstract:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThere\u0026nbsp;is\u0026nbsp;increasing\u0026nbsp;evidence\u0026nbsp;that\u0026nbsp;Machine\u0026nbsp;Learning\u0026nbsp;and\u0026nbsp;Artificial\u0026nbsp;intelligence\u0026nbsp;algorithms\u0026nbsp;can\u0026nbsp;be used to enhance clinical care. In this talk, I address two critical aspects that can significantly improve the impact\u0026nbsp;of\u0026nbsp;such\u0026nbsp;algorithms\u0026nbsp;in\u0026nbsp;healthcare\u0026nbsp;practices:\u0026nbsp;(1)\u0026nbsp;moving\u0026nbsp;beyond\u0026nbsp;associations\u0026nbsp;and\u0026nbsp;creating\u0026nbsp;algorithms capable of causal reasoning under ambiguity, and (2) a human-algorithm \u201ccentaur\u201d model of care and decision-making, in which the power of human intuition is combined with the outstanding capabilities of algorithms. I describe our latest research on these subjects at the Public Impact Analytics Science Lab (PIAS-Lab)\u0026nbsp;at Harvard, and discuss findings based on our various collaborations with the Mayo Clinic, Mass General Hospital, and some other public and private organizations.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Making AI Impactful in Healthcare"}],"uid":"34977","created_gmt":"2026-02-05 15:16:26","changed_gmt":"2026-03-02 12:51:10","author":"Julie Smith","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","field_event_time":{"event_time_start":"2026-03-03T11:00:00-05:00","event_time_end":"2026-03-03T12:00:00-05:00","event_time_end_last":"2026-03-03T12:00:00-05:00","gmt_time_start":"2026-03-03 16:00:00","gmt_time_end":"2026-03-03 17:00:00","gmt_time_end_last":"2026-03-03 17:00:00","rrule":null,"timezone":"America\/New_York"},"location":"ISyE Main 228","extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"1250","name":"Center for Health and Humanitarian Systems (CHHS)"},{"id":"1242","name":"School of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISYE)"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[{"id":"1795","name":"Seminar\/Lecture\/Colloquium"}],"invited_audience":[{"id":"78761","name":"Faculty\/Staff"},{"id":"177814","name":"Postdoc"},{"id":"174045","name":"Graduate students"},{"id":"78751","name":"Undergraduate students"}],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}