Back to Department Colloquium: Fall 2026
Department Colloquium
Date: Thursday, Sep 24, 2026
Time: 4:00PM - 5:00PM
Location: LCB 115
Helen Moore
University of Florida
Title |
Counterintuitive Optimization for Airplanes and Medicines: How to Improve Patient Outcomes Using Mathematics |
Abstract |
Finding a treatment regimen that increases median patient survival time by 5% means extra time with loved ones for patients. It can also mean the difference between clinical trial success and failure for a new therapy. In the past, trial and error was used to find treatment regimens that yield better patient outcomes. Now we have mechanistic mathematical models of disease-therapy dynamics that can help. Optimization methods can predict regimens expected to achieve the best outcomes; these regimens can then be tested experimentally and clinically. This can be especially helpful when there are many possible different combinations to consider, or when optimal regimens are counterintuitive. I will make the case that counterintuitive solutions can be best in the real world, for both airplanes and treatment regimens, and that we may be missing out on substantial patient benefit when we don’t calculate optimal regimens for our disease models. |
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