Operations Research

A distinctive feature of Vanderbilt's Department of Anesthesiology is its employment of full time non-medical faculty that perform research in the engineering and business domains, using management sciences to devise better healthcare delivery systems and operations management strategies. The Department of Anesthesiology's Operations Research group exemplifies the department’s stated goal of fostering innovation in all aspects of the delivery of excellent clinical care.

Members of the Operations Research group have a three-fold objective:

  1. Undertake scientific research using engineering and business principles to advance the theory and practice of the delivery of care.
  2. Collaborate and support faculty across the Vanderbilt University Medical Center by performing multi-disciplinary research.
  3. Promote analytical-based education and training of medical residents, fellows, post-graduate fellows, junior medical faculty and business school students.

The group works closely with the department’s Informatics research division, as well as with the various analytics-oriented departments in the Vanderbilt University Medical Center and School of Medicine.

Vikram Tiwari, PhD, leads the Operations Research group and holds faculty appointments in the Department of Anesthesiology, Department of Biomedical Informatics, Department of Biostatistics, and Owen Graduate School of Management.

The group has an active post-doctoral fellowship program. Incoming fellows have either M.D. or Ph.D. degrees with an interest in pursuing analytical-based research. The fellowship program duration is up to two years. To date, the group has guided the following post-doctoral research fellows:

  1. Teus Kappen, MD, PhD (2015-2016) dr. T.H. Kappen - UMC Utrecht  
  2. Joonyup Eun, PhD (2016 – 2018) Joonyup Eun's Homepage (google.com)
  3. Seung Yup Lee, PhD (2020-2022) Seung Yup Lee (uab.edu)

Investigators in Operations Research use diverse research methodologies – linear and non-linear optimization, simulation and systems dynamics modeling, econometric and statistical modeling. Applied research methods include predicting day-of-surgery case volume, perioperative capacity planning, provider scheduling and innovative efficiency metrics.  

Apply for Post-Doc Fellowship