University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and Rice University Launch New Cancer Research Center

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and Rice University have announced “the launch of “the Center for Operations Research in Cancer, a joint initiative to solve complex challenges in cancer care using data to make better operational decisions.”

The new center will “harness mathematical modeling and data science to optimize treatment delivery, improve therapy outcomes and streamline operations at the nation’s leading cancer center and beyond.”

In addition to two co-leads – Jeffrey Siewardsen, professor of Imaging Physics, and Andrew Schaefer, professor of Computational Applied Mathematics and Operations Research – “center activities will rely on a steering group from each institution to help guide strategy, plan activities and measure outcomes. The joint center will serve as a hub, supporting collaborative research projects, pilot project seed funding and exchange of trainees, fellows and interns across various levels of undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate education.”

Some of the areas of application the center will tackle include “forecasting and scheduling for improved patient experience, health care workforce satisfaction and optimal equipment and facilities management,” “managing complex treatment regimens that evaluate an exponentially large number of options and incorporate patient response,” and “improving protocols for adaptive randomized clinical trials.”