Hamsa Bastani is an Associate Professor of Operations, Information and Decisions as well as Statistics and Data Science at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Her research primarily focuses on developing novel machine learning algorithms for dynamic learning and optimization in healthcare. Specifically, she has designed methods for sequential decision-making (bandits, reinforcement learning, active learning) and leveraging auxiliary data sources (transfer learning, meta-learning). She has worked closely with national governments, including Greece and Sierra Leone, to deploy algorithms at the country-scale to improve public health outcomes.

Her work has received several recognitions, including the Wagner Prize for Excellence in Practice, the Pierskalla Award for the best paper in healthcare, and the Behavioral OM Best Paper Award. Her research has been published in leading outlets including Nature, Management Science, and Operations Research. Prior to Wharton, Hamsa completed her PhD at Stanford University and graduated summa cum laude from Harvard College.

Marissa King is the Alice Y. Hung President’s Distinguished Professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Professor King’s research has significantly contributed to our understanding of a wide range of pressing health care issues ranging from the opioid epidemic to clinician burnout. Her current work focuses on increasing access to high quality behavioral health care and improving the well-being of the health care workforce.

As a passionate teacher and speaker, she is committed to translating her academic expertise into practice. She is the author of the book, Social Chemistry: Decoding the Elements of Human Connection. Her research, writing, and book have been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, Harvard Business Review, and National Public Radio, among other outlets.

King’s award-winning research has been published in academic outlets including, JAMA, Health Affairs, BMJ, as well as leading management journals. She has been the Principal Investigator on multiple projects funded by the National Institutes of Health. Prior to joining the faculty at Wharton, she was a professor at the Yale School of Management. She received her PhD from Columbia University.

Bryce McLaughlin is a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Wharton Healthcare Analytics Lab. His research focuses on developing statistical tools that assist human decision-making. Specifically, his work discusses the design and implementation of prediction algorithms in high-stakes decision systems using a combination of stochastic and economic modeling techniques, reinforced by experimental evidence.

He joins the lab to apply this research to the design of clinical decision support tools and behavioral health interventions. Prior to his time at Wharton, Bryce completed a PhD with the Operations, Information, & Technology group at the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Laura Zarrow serves as the Executive Director of Strategic Initiatives and Innovation at the Wharton AI & Analytics Initiative, the Executive Director of Wharton People Analytics, and is the host of the Gracie Award winning Women@Work on SiriusXM 132. Her work centers on developing new initiatives to further the strategic goals of organizations, and advancing the success of diverse communities of faculty, students, and lifelong learners.  

Laura built Wharton’s Lifelong Learning program as a member of Wharton’s Innovation Group. Prior to that, she served as the Dean of the Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts, and as the Associate Provost at The University of the Arts. She  holds a BFA from the University of the Arts and an MSEd in Higher Education from the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania.