Online Transportation Problems, Machine learning combined with optimization, Humanitarian Logistics, Vehicle Sharing Systems, Supply Chain Management, Inventory Management
Online Transportation Problems, Machine learning combined with optimization, Humanitarian Logistics, Vehicle Sharing Systems, Supply Chain Management, Inventory Management
Prof. Michal Tzur a faculty member at the Industrial Engineering Department at Tel Aviv University, where she served as the department chair from 2004-2006 and 2019-2021. She received her Ph.D. in Management Science from the Graduate School of Business at Columbia University in the city of New York. She was a faculty member in the business school of the University of Pennsylvania (Wharton School) and a visiting faculty member in the Department of Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences (IEMS) at Northwestern University. From 2015-2017 she was the president of the Operations Research Society of Israel (ORSIS).
Eisenhändler, O. and M. Tzur, “A Segment-Based Formulation and a Matheuristic for the Humanitarian Pickup and Distribution Problem”. Transportation Science, 53(5) (2019), 1213-1499 (link)
Noham, R. and M. Tzur, “Design and Incentive Decisions in Humanitarian Supply Chains”. IISE Transactions, 52(12) (2020), 1297-1311. (link).
Reut Noham, Michal Tzur and Dan Yamin An indirect prioritization approach to optimizing sample referral networks for HIV early infant diagnosis
IISE TRANSACTIONS 2022, VOL. 54, NO. 4, 405–420
Early diagnosis and treatment of newborns with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) can substantially
reduce mortality rates. Polymerase chain reduction technology is desirable for diagnosing
HIV-exposed infants and for monitoring the disease progression in older patients. In low- and middle-
income countries (LMICs), processing both types of tests requires the use of scarce resources.
In this article, we present a supply chain network model for referring/assigning HIV test samples
from clinics to labs. These assignments aim to minimize the expected infant mortality from AIDS
due to delays in the return of test results. Using queuing theory, we present an analytical framework
to evaluate the distribution of the sample waiting times at the testing labs and incorporate
it into a mathematical model. The suggested framework takes into consideration the non-stationarity
in the availability of reagents and technical staff. Hence, our model provides a method to
find an assignment strategy that involves an indirect prioritization of samples that are more likely
than others to be positive. We also develop a heuristic to simplify the implementation of an
assignment strategy and provide general managerial insights for operating sample referral networks
in LMICs with limited resources. Using a case study from Tanzania, we show that the potential
improvement is substantial, especially when some labs are utilized almost to their full capacity.
Our results apply to other settings in which expensive equipment with volatile availability is used
.to perform crucial operations, for example, the recent COVID-19 pandemic.
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