Maryam Karimi Mamaghan, Assistant Professor in Operations Analytics, has been awarded a Veni grant from the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO). With this funding, Karimi Mamaghan will study new methods for personalized healthcare resource allocation.
Healthcare systems worldwide are under increasing pressure to meet growing and diverse demand, with limited resources. With her research project, Maryam Karimi Mamaghan aims to improve the allocation of resources to patients using techniques from Operations Research and Artificial Intelligence. “Traditional resource allocation methods often rely on standardized, one-size-fits-all approaches that remain focused on diseases rather than people. This research proposes a shift from disease-centered to patient-centered resource allocation by introducing personalized healthcare resource allocation. Personalized allocation tailors resources to patients’ individual needs, preferences, and values”, according to Karimi Mamaghan.
A key component of the developed methods is the integration of human into decision-making to enhance the likelihood of acceptance and adoption in real-world healthcare settings. Karimi Mamaghan's research has the potential to benefit both healthcare systems and patients. “My research aims to make healthcare systems more adaptive and patient-centered, which ultimately improves health outcomes, increases patient satisfaction, and reduces unnecessary delays and misallocations. At the system level, it helps improve overall efficiency, reduce waste, and promote more effective use of available resources.”
With the Veni grant, the Operations Analyst will dedicate the next three years to advancing research in healthcare operations management, developing advanced data-driven optimization methods, from Operations Research and Artificial Intelligence. Karimi Mamaghan: “Given that resource allocation is a universal challenge, I expect the methods developed through this project to have broader applicability, offering valuable solutions for resource allocation problems in areas such as manufacturing, logistics, and public services.”
About the Veni research grant
Veni, along with Vidi and Vici, is part of the NWO Talent Programme. Veni is aimed at researchers who have recently obtained their doctorates. Within the Talent Programme, researchers are free to submit their own subject for funding. In this way, NWO encourages curiosity-driven and innovative research.