Modelling for Improving Tuberculosis Control

Date:

Monday, 16 December 2019

Time:

2.30pm – 3.30pm

Venue:

Seminar Room 2, Level 8
Tahir Foundation Building (MD1)
Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health
National University of Singapore
12 Science Drive 2, S(117549)

Synopsis:

While antibiotics to treat tuberculosis are now widespread, challenges to effectively control the disease remain. Treatment non-adherence and drug resistance complicate effective treatment, particularly in resource constrained settings. In this talk, Dr Suen discusses how simulation, optimisation, and epidemic modelling can help inform disease control policy to address these challenges in the context of complex patient behavior and population dynamics. Her models showcase how disease natural history and health system constraints can be incorporated into optimisation frameworks for resource allocation problems in infectious disease control.

About the speaker:

Sze-chuan Suen is an assistant professor in the Daniel J. Epstein Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at the University of Southern California. She received her PhD in the department of Management Science and Engineering from Stanford University in 2016. Her research interests include developing applied mathematical models to identify epidemiological trends and evaluate health policies to support informed decision-making. Her work in health policy modelling draws from a variety of techniques, including simulation, dynamic systems modelling, Markov decision processes, cost-effectiveness analysis, and decision analysis. Her previous work has examined the optimal management of tuberculosis, HIV, as well as chronic diseases. She was a recipient of the INFORMS Pierskalla Best Paper Award in 2017, a finalist in 2019, and a finalist in the Junior Faculty Forum Paper Competition in 2019.