Visiting professor wins researcher of the year award
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In vitro fertilization (IVF) is among the most effective assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs). However, these processes remain trial and error for many patients.
Through ongoing research and precision medicine, Visiting Professor Urmila Diwekar of the Richard and Loan Hill Department of Biomedical Engineering has devised a superior method for personalizing and improving patient pregnancy outcomes. The Institute for Operations Research and Management Sciences Chicago Chapter recently awarded her the IMPACTful OR/Analytics Prize Researcher of the Year Award for her work on “IVF Stimulation: Personalized, Optimized, and Simplified with Opt-IVF.”
Opt-IVF is a tool that tailors superovulation models for IVF cycles. It eases decision-making by providing personalized insights. Superovulation is one of four stages of IVF treatment and is key to IVF success.
“In India, people are already using it in clinical practices,” Diwekar said. “In the U.S., we plan to do a clinical studies trial for FDA approval with the University of Chicago.”
They also recently completed a clinical trial in Malaysia.
Her own experiences during IVF and the severe side effects she faced during treatments in both India and the U.S. inspired this research. Many countries outside the U.S. offer a lower dosage, and the results are the same. The difference in dosage is due to cost.
Diwekar is a long-time INFORMS member and has also received the INFORMS 2023 Innovative Applications in Analytics Award. Her IVF research has been published in multiple international journals.