Current News


September 19, 2023

CHEPS Fall 2023 Seminar Series: Max Li and Dana Habers


This week at the Providing Better Healthcare Through Systems Engineering Seminar Series, students, staff, faculty, clinicians, and community members had the opportunity to discuss the intersection of two distinct industries: pharmaceuticals and aerospace.


September 14, 2023

CHEPS Fall 2023 Seminar Series: Alexander T. Janke, MD, MHS, MSc


This week we spoke with Dr. Alexander T. Janke, Emergency Physician, during a session titled Reducing Emergency Department ‘Left-Without-Being-Seen’ Rates.”


September 13, 2023

Cole Weber, Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate


“I’m always amazed at our progression in health and medicine and how many lives it has saved. This interest and amazement only furthered as years progressed, and my sisters, mother, and I had different health issues that were all managed and aided by medicine and the research behind it.”


September 7, 2023

Summer Moments at CHEPS


“Looking back at my time at CHEPS this past summer, all of the memories swirl in my head: my handwriting on the whiteboards for the optimization model, meetings with collaborators, lunch and learns…but there are a few special moments that I’ll cherish most of all…”


August 22, 2023

University of Michigan’s Amy Cohn identified as top Chief Transformation Officer


According to Becker’s Hospital Review, Center for Healthcare Engineering & Patient Safety (CHEPS) Faculty Director Amy Cohn is one of 49 chief transformation officers to know in 2023.


August 8, 2023

CHEPS Takes Toronto: Aparna Reddy’s Experience at the 2023 INFORMS Healthcare Conference


“As an aspiring physician, this conference was an incredible opportunity to learn about the different initiatives to improve the efficiency of our healthcare system.”


August 4, 2023

From Healthcare Novice to Healthcare Innovator

“Beyond my passion for coding, it was important for me to find a way to create a meaningful impact. And what better way to do that than to harness my engineering skills to make improvements in healthcare?” Maddy Heyer, a Computer Science and Engineering student at U-M, shares what she’s learned from her summer at CHEPS.


August 1, 2023

CHEPS alumnus publishes ureteroscopy irrigation research

Bassel Salka

CHEPS alumus and fourth-year medical school student Bassel Salka recently published a research article on irrigation practices during ureteroscopy (the process of looking into the ureters and kidneys using a camera) in Thereapeutic Advances in Urology.


July 18, 2023

Shun Akiyama, Computer Science Undergraduate

“My experience at CHEPS gives me context for how computer science skills are applied in the real world.”


July 12, 2023

A Personal Connection Between Engineering Mindsets and the Work Done at CHEPS

A young Hannah getting a cast removed while wearing over-ear headphones and being held by her mother.

Hannah Eller, a Biomedical Engineering student at U-M, shares her experiences working to improve healthcare quality as a CHEPS researcher.


July 5, 2023

CHEPS: Where Engineering and Healthcare Overlap

Josh holding a peace sign to the camera while wearing a paper mask and scrubs.

Josh Tran, a pre-med student at U-M, shares his experiences as a transfer student, healthcare worker, and CHEPS researcher.


June 23, 2023

More Than Patient Care: Engineering’s Role in Medicine

Headshot of Arman Getzen.

“Working at CHEPS has given me a clearer understanding of how the needs of patients extend beyond the care of a provider or a biomedical device.”


June 13, 2023

Setting the Stage: A Different Approach to Healthcare

On the left, Chidimma wearing scrubs. On the right, Chidimma sitting at a laptop with another CHEPS student.


Chidimma Udegbunam, a pre-med student at U-M, shares her experience working both as a Certified Nurse Assistant and a healthcare researcher.


June 7, 2023

Leena Ghrayeb receives Fulbright U.S. Student Award for 2023-2024


The Center for Healthcare Engineering & Patient Safety (CHEPS) is excited to share that University of Michigan Industrial and Operations Engineering PhD student Leena Ghrayeb has received a Fulbright U.S. Student Program award in Engineering to Jordan for the 2023-2024 academic year from the U.S. Department of State and the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board.


May 19, 2023

Small World After All

Sogand Soghrati and Hooman Niktafar smiling at the camera while standing in front of a whiteboard with writing on it.

“Maybe I met him when I was a kid and we’ve known each other all along,” shares PhD student Sogand Soghrati, having learned that she and Software Manager Hooman Niktafar come from not only the same town in Iran, but the same neighborhood!


April 20, 2023

A Culture of Support: Interviewing CHEPSter TJ Bryan

IOE senior TJ Bryan reflects on his meaningful time at CHEPS.


April 7, 2023

New Buddy? No Problem!

Statistics graduate student Yuanbo (left) smiles at Starbucks with Public Health undergraduate students Aparna (middle) and Andrea.

“Being a newbie in a research group of a couple dozen, it was definitely intimidating—especially feeling like I wasn’t smart enough or that I wouldn’t be able to contribute in a meaningful way,” staff member Fumiya Abe-Nornes shared. “But having my buddy, Justin, helped a lot.”


February 20, 2023

CHEPSters raise funds for Turkish and Syrian earthquake disaster relief

On February 6, 2023, Turkey and Syria were struck with a 7.8 earthquake taking tens of thousands of lives and causing over US$84.1 billion in damage. As a contribution to the disaster relief, the Cohn family quickly took action to collect donations from the CHEPS community, matching each donation times 5. Thanks to the amazing generosity of the community, and a few of Dr. Cohn’s IOE310 students, CHEPS was able to raise a $3,000 donation by February 11th!


Fumiya Abe-Nornes, Nathan Smith, and Rachel Zhang standing on a bridge next to a statue of a sea lion spouting water

In December of 2022, Center for Healthcare Engineering and Patient Safety (CHEPS) staff member Fumiya Abe-Nornes and students Rachel Zhang and Nathan Smith got to experience their dream as research assistants: Presenting at an international conference on their work.