Jennifer Mason Lobo, an assistant professor in the Department of Public Health Sciences in the School of Medicine at the University of Virginia, will present a Suter Science Seminar at Eastern Mennonite University Wednesday, Nov. 29, at 4 p.m.
The topic of her lecture will be “An Engineering Perspective in Public Health: A Model to Guide Treatment Decisions for Patients with Small Renal Masses.”
The lecture in Science Center Room 104 is free and open to the public.
Chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and cancer are leading causes of death in the United States. Optimal control of treatment for chronic diseases can prolong lives, improve quality of life, and reduce costs. Engineering methods can be used to quantify tradeoffs and inform screening and treatment decisions.
This seminar will present a model to guide treatment decision making for patients with small renal masses. Numerical results will demonstrate the importance of tailoring treatment to patient characteristics and treatment objectives. The presentation will conclude with discussion of how models such as these can influence real-world healthcare decision making.
Lobo earned her bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the University of South Carolina in 2007. She completed a master’s degree in operations research in 2009 and her PhD in industrial engineering in 2012 from North Carolina State University. Her research interests include building models of the natural course of disease for patients with chronic conditions in order to optimize treatment and screening decisions.
This is the sixth of seven Suter Science Seminars this fall, made possible by the sponsorship of the Daniel B. Suter Endowment in Biology and the co-sponsorship of supporting programs.