Team
Members of the Health Systems Engineering Laboratory (HSE Lab).
Faculty
Jorge Acuña, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor - Operations Research & Industrial Engineering UAI
Jorge Acuña is an Assistant Professor of Industrial Engineering and the founding director of the Health Systems Engineering Laboratory (HSE Lab) at Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez. He also holds a Courtesy Professor position at the University of South Florida (USF). His research focuses on developing and applying operations research and data science techniques to healthcare systems, seeking to improve patient outcomes, efficiency, fairness, and access. Throughout his career, he has developed mathematical models grounded in optimization, game theory, and stochastic programming to address challenges such as emergency department overcrowding, waiting lists, kidney transplants, food waste, surgery scheduling, and emergency medical services. Professor Acuña earned his Ph.D. (2021) and MSc. (2018) in Industrial Engineering from USF, and a B.S. in Industrial Engineering from Universidad de La Frontera (2015).
Faculty of Engineering and Sciences - UAI, Av. Padre Hurtado 750., Viña del Mar, Chile
Tamara Fernández, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor - Data Science UAI
Tamara Fernández received her DPhil in Statistics from the University of Oxford in 2018. After that, she joined the Gatsby Unit at University College London as a Biometrika Postdoctoral Fellow. Since October 2020, she has been an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Engineering and Sciences of Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez in Viña del Mar, Chile. Her research focuses on the intersection of statistics and machine learning, with an emphasis on developing statistical methodology and kernel methods. She is interested in both the theoretical foundations and applications of these methods in data science.
Faculty of Engineering and Sciences - UAI, Av. Padre Hurtado 750., Viña del Mar, Chile
Sebastián Moreno, Ph.D.
Associate Professor - Data Science UAI
Sebastián Moreno received his PhD in Computer Science from Purdue University in 2014. Then, he moved to Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, where he is an Associate professor. His research field is data science. Currently, he is developing and applying machine and deep learning models on transportation, psychological, and remote sensing data. He is also studying the theoretical capacity of deep learning models to transfer learned patterns over different domains. Sebastián has graduated more than 15 master's students, published more than 40 papers, worked on more than 18 projects, and been on the program committee of more than 50 conferences in the machine learning area, including NeurIPS, WWW, ICDM, AAAI, and others.
Faculty of Engineering and Sciences - UAI, Av. Padre Hurtado 750., Viña del Mar, Chile
Joris van de Klundert, Ph.D.
Full Professor - Operations Research & School of Business UAI
Joris van de Klundert is full professor and department chair of Operations and Analytics at the Business School of Universidad Adolfo Ibanez School of Business. His academic track record includes over a hundred scientific publications and three books, with contributions ranging from theoretical work in computer science to empirical work in healthcare innovation and improvement. He has started and co-owned university spin off company Mateum, and has worked with businesses, NGOs and government in Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America, among which the World Bank and the WHO. Joris is a former president of the Dutch OR Society, former Vice Dean of the Institute of Health Policy & Management of Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands, and of MBS College of Entrepreneurship in KAEC, Saudi Arabia. He was the founding chair of the European Network on Collaboration in Kidney Exchange Networks and conference Chair for INFORMS Healthcare 2017. His teams have won awards from ERIM, INFORMS and POMS. His current research focuses on sustainable operations and healthcare improvement in Chile and abroad.
School of Business - UAI, Av. Padre Hurtado 750., Viña del Mar, Chile
Stefano Novellani, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor - Dipartimento di Informatica - Università di Pisa
Stefano Novellani is an Assistant Professor of Operations Research at the University of Pisa. He holds a Ph.D. in Automatic Control Systems and Operations Research from the University of Bologna and a degree in Industrial Engineering from the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia. His research focuses on combinatorial optimization, exact and approximate algorithms (including matheuristics and metaheuristics), stochastic programming, and their application to real-world problems such as vehicle routing, last-mile delivery, drone optimization, shared mobility, and sustainable logistics.
Università di Pisa, Largo Bruno Pontecorvo, 3, 56127., Pisa, Italy
José L. Zayas-Castro, Ph.D.
Professor - IMSE USF
Dr. José L. Zayas-Castro is Professor of Industrial Engineering (IMSE) at the University of South Florida (USF). He joined USF in 2002 as Chair of the Department of IMSE. In 2011, he was appointed Associate for Research, and in 2014 Executive Associate Dean and Associate for International Affairs of the College of Engineering at USF. Between August of 2021 and August of 2024, he was Division Director for the Division of Engineering Education and Centers in the Directorate of Engineering at the National Science Foundation. Before joining USF, he was a Professor and Graduate Coordinator in the Department of Industrial & Manufacturing Systems Engineering at the University of Missouri-Columbia. From 1983 to 1999, he was a professor of Industrial Engineering at the University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez. During that time, he was department Head and Associate Dean of Engineering. Currently, he directs the University Center for Exemplary Mentoring, which the Sloan Foundation sponsors. Throughout his career, he has mentored more than 50 graduate students and dozens of undergraduates doing research. His work focuses on healthcare systems engineering and improving the delivery of care, engineering entrepreneurship and innovation, economic and cost analysis, and improving engineering education. He is a member of IISE, INFORMS, IEEE, NSBE, SHPE, and Tau Beta PI.
Industrial and Management Systems Engineering - USF, 4202 E Fowler Ave., Tampa FL, United States
Doctoral Students
Daniela Cantariño
Ph.D. Student in Industrial Engineering
Daniela Cantarino is a PhD student in the Industrial and Management Systems Engineering department at the University of South Florida, where she also received her BS in 2021. Her research interests include stochastic programming and optimization for large-scale modeling, with a focus on healthcare applications. Currently, she is optimizing kidney transplant allocation systems to improve efficiency and equity in national policies. Her primary advisor is Dr. Jose L. Zayas-Castro, with co-advisor Dr. Jorge Acuna.
Industrial and Management Systems Engineering, 4202 E Fowler Ave., Tampa, Florida, USA
Scarlett Lever
Ph.D. Student in Operations Research - UAI
Scarlett Lever is an Adjunct Professor at the School of Biomedical Engineering, Universidad de Valparaíso, and a Ph.D. student in Operations Research at Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez. She holds master’s degrees in International Healthcare Technologies (Universitat de Barcelona) and Public Health (Universidad de Valparaíso). With over 15 years of experience in the healthcare industry as a biomedical engineer, she has specialized in clinical engineering, healthcare technology assessment, and hospital investment planning. Her academic work includes leading projects on medical equipment management and developing AI-based tools for mammography screening. Under the supervision of Dr. Acuña, her current research focuses on stochastic optimization, healthcare systems operations, and health policy, aiming to improve hospital capacity, continuity of care, and patient access in the Chilean public health system.
Faculty of Engineering and Sciences, Av. Padre Hurtado 750, Viña del Mar, Chile
Mariana Arriz-Jorquiera
Ph.D. Student in Industrial Engineering
Mariana Arriz Jorquiera is a Ph.D. student in Industrial Engineering at the University of South Florida. She received her B.S. in Industrial Engineering from the University of Engineering and Technology in Lima, Peru. Her research combines deep learning, multi-objective optimization, and stochastic programming to address complex healthcare challenges, with a focus on cancer data and imaging. She aims to improve patient outcomes by generating contributions in cancer diagnosis and treatment planning, and is currently supervised by Dr. Jose L. Zayas-Castro.
Industrial and Management Systems Engineering, 4202 E Fowler Ave., Tampa, Florida, USA
Master Students
Josefa Bravo
Master Student in Data Science
Josefa Bravo Parra is a student of the Master of Science in Data Science at the Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Chile. Her academic interests are focused on Machine Learning and Deep Learning models. Currently, under the supervision of Prof. Jorge Acuña, PhD, she is involved in developing predictive models to estimate surgery duration for cancer patients.
Faculty of Engineering and Sciences, Av. Padre Hurtado 750, Viña del Mar, Chile
Sofía Zúñiga
Master Student in Engineering Sciences
Sofía Zúñiga Ayala is a Master's student in Industrial Engineering at Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez. Her research focuses on resource management and optimization, with a specific interest in public health systems in Chile. She is currently working under the supervision of Jorge Acuña, PhD. Her investigations include multi-objective and robust optimization applied to healthcare resource allocation and hospital waitlist management, aiming to improve the efficiency and resilience of public healthcare services.
Faculty of Engineering and Sciences, Av. Padre Hurtado 750, Viña del Mar, Chile
Enzo Escuti
Master Student in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research
Enzo Escuti is a graduate student in the Master's program in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research at Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, where he is also pursuing his degree in Civil Industrial Engineering. Supervised by Jorge Acuña, his thesis focuses on the study and prediction of time series of non-GES surgical waitlists in Chile. His research interests are centered on using predictive models to provide information to hospitals and improve decision-making.
Faculty of Engineering and Sciences, Av. Padre Hurtado 750, Viña del Mar, Chile
Agostino Ansaldo
Master Student in Engineering Sciences
Agostino Ansaldo is a Master's student in Industrial Engineering at Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez in Chile. His research focuses on public health logistics, particularly in the operating room resource utilization. Under the direction of Prof. Jorge Acuña, he is currently optimizing the assignment and scheduling of surgical services to improve efficiency and patient outcomes. The project is being carried out in collaboration with private and public institutions in Chile.
Faculty of Engineering and Sciences, Av. Padre Hurtado 750, Viña del Mar, Chile
Álvaro Palma
Master Student in Engineering Sciences
Alvaro Palma Mejías is a Master's student in Engineering Sciences with a specialization in Industrial Engineering at Adolfo Ibáñez University. His research interests focus on operations management. His thesis explores discrete event simulation using Rockwell Arena software to propose improvements for a homecare service at a primary healthcare center (CESFAM) in Santiago. He is supervised by Professors Ruth Murrugarra and Jorge Acuña.
Faculty of Engineering and Sciences, Av. Padre Hurtado 750, Viña del Mar, Chile
Bárbara Guichaquelen
Master Student in Engineering Sciences
Bárbara Güichaquelén Leviñanco is a Master's student in Industrial Engineering at the Adolfo Ibáñez University. His research focuses on the estimation of surgical times in the traumatology and orthopaedic area of a hospital in Chile. She currently works under the supervision of Dr. Jorge Acuña. The main objective is to obtain a better estimate of the time of surgeries to facilitate planning, better use of resources and reduce postponements in operating rooms.
Faculty of Engineering and Sciences, Av. Padre Hurtado 750, Viña del Mar, Chile
Tomás Garnham
Master Student in Engineering Sciences
Tomás Garnham is a Master's student in Industrial Engineering at Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez in Chile. His research interests focus on optimizing healthcare systems, specifically scheduling and routing for home healthcare services. Under the guidance of Dr. Jorge Acuña, he is currently dedicated to improving logistical processes in home healthcare to enhance patient care outcomes and optimize resource utilization.
Faculty of Engineering and Sciences, Av. Padre Hurtado 750, Viña del Mar, Chile
Undergraduate Students
Matías Palma
Undergraduate Directed Research Student
Matías Palma Escobar is a fourth-year Civil Industrial Engineering student at Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez in Chile. He is passionate about applied mathematics and decision sciences, with a strong interest in robust optimization and its real-world applications. His current work develops models to handle uncertainty in complex systems, improving efficiency and reliability in resource allocation. Working alongside Agostino Ansaldo (Master’s student in Industrial Engineering) and under the supervision of Prof. Jorge Acuña, he focuses on the assignment and scheduling of surgical services to enhance efficiency and patient outcomes, exploring advanced optimization methods for better, data-driven decisions.
Faculty of Engineering and Sciences, Av. Padre Hurtado 750, Viña del Mar, Chile