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Health care has always been a field that interested Melody Shellman, so she applied to be a research assistant in the ISyE Health Analytics group. She's working with Professor Nicoleta Serban to investigate treatment engagement in underserved Georgia youth with mental health disorders. Her primary role is to query Medicaid Analytic eXtract (MAX) data, using Python and SQL skills learned through the ISyE curriculum.
MAX datasets are massive, sometimes inconsistent, and contain... sensitive patient information. Queries on the dataset are completed in a data review room that prohibits all access to the internet to protect the patient data. This adds an additional challenge in extracting productive information from an already large and complex dataset.
Now in her second semester, Melody has helped determine the project’s focus population, designed data processing algorithms, and developed metrics to capture patient and population information. She looks forward to moving on to the model design and implementation stages of the project to incorporate knowledge from her upper-level classes.
When asked how her research has shaped her thinking about the coronavirus pandemic, Melody says, "The state of our world right now shows the power and need of understanding data. Data drives decisions and, consequently, outcome. IEs make a difference in the health community by providing this understanding. Being part of research during this time has made me realize the important role we play and how quick, effective analysis can provide guidance to government and communities that saves lives."
Ruizhi Zhang, assistant professor in the Department of Statistics at the University of Nebraska, has been awarded the first-place IISE Pritsker Doctoral Dissertation Award. He earned his Ph.D. from ISyE in August 2019.
Zhang was advised by Associate Professor Yajun Mei and Carolyn J. Stewart Chair and Professor Jan Shi.
Congratulations!...
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