INFORMS Releases

BALTIMORE, MD, October 4, 2023 – INFORMS, the largest association for the decision and data sciences, has officially named 12 outstanding members as Fellows, one of the highest honors in the operations research (O.R.) profession. The 2023 INFORMS Fellows will be inducted during the 2023 INFORMS Annual Meeting, Oct. 15-18, which will be held in Phoenix, Arizona. INFORMS Fellows are honored for their outstanding lifetime accomplishments and contributions in O.R. and analytics.

BALTIMORE, MD, September 13, 2023 – Using data from pre- and post-hurricane purchasing of consumer-packaged goods (CPG), new research has found that while consumers may switch brands in the lead-up to a natural disaster, they will likely switch back to their previously purchased brands when the crisis has passed. This has implications for the extent to which companies can expect to capture consumers using temporary price promotions.

BALTIMORE, MD, September 12, 2023 – Finding the right medication regimen to treat Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a complex healthcare challenge. Wearable health trackers provide physicians with a detailed window into patients’ symptoms, but translating this complex data into useful treatment insights can be difficult. New research in the INFORMS journal Management Science accomplishes just that. Researchers found that combining wearable health tracker data with state-of-the-art algorithms results in promising treatment strategies that could improve PD patients’ outcomes.

BALTIMORE, MD, August 31, 2023 – It’s been adopted more regularly across U.S. healthcare systems – vertical integration is when physicians work directly for hospitals rather than independent practices. The intention is to have positive outcomes for patients, but new research forthcoming in the INFORMS journal Management Science finds that vertical integration is leading to higher costs and worse health outcomes, thanks to improperly aligned financial incentives.

BALTIMORE, MD, August 23, 2023 – Fashion and social media are both ever evolving. So why not put the two together? New research in the INFORMS journal Manufacturing & Service Operations Management says utilizing social media to predict sales of apparel and footwear items based on social media posts and interactions about color is possible and successful.