Melissa Zeynep Ertem

Melissa Zeynep Ertem is an Assistant Professor at the School of Systems Science and Industrial Engineering, Binghamton University. Her work focuses on data analytics in healthcare systems, epidemic disease modeling, network optimization, and public health optimization. Prior roles include Adjunct Professor at the University of Southern California's Marshall School of Business and a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Texas at Austin.

She holds a PhD in Industrial and Systems Engineering from Texas A&M University and a BS in Industrial Engineering from Middle East Technical University, Turkey, with a minor in Mathematics. Her research bridges systems science and public health, addressing challenges in pandemic policy analysis, healthcare resource allocation, and disease spread modeling.

Key research interests include optimizing healthcare systems through data-driven decision support, modeling infectious disease transmission dynamics, and leveraging social network analysis for public health interventions. Her recent work examines school reopening policies' impacts on SARS-CoV-2 spread, climate-driven influenza patterns, and misinformation effects on youth health.

Publications span journals like Nature Medicine, PLOS Computational Biology, and Journal of Global Optimization, with a focus on practical solutions for complex health crises. Ongoing projects explore pandemic virtue signaling in healthcare cultures and machine learning applications for long-COVID prediction.

Her interdisciplinary background enables collaborations across engineering, public health, and data sciences. Lab activities focus on developing computational tools for real-world health system challenges, emphasizing equity and scalability.