Retsef Levi

Retsef Levi is the J. Spencer Standish (1945) Professor of Operations Management at the MIT Sloan School of Management, affiliated with the MIT Operations Research Center. He co-directs the Leaders for Global Operations (LGO) Program. His work focuses on data-driven decision models for healthcare systems, supply chain optimization, and risk management. Levi holds a PhD in Operations Research from Cornell University and has led industry collaborations with major hospitals and organizations like the FDA and Walmart Foundation.

Education:

• PhD in Operations Research, Cornell University, 2005
• Bachelor’s in Mathematics, Tel-Aviv University, 2001

Research Interests: Levi’s research addresses complex decision-making under uncertainty in healthcare, supply chains, and logistics. Key areas include food safety analytics, risk-based sampling, and predictive modeling for zoonotic diseases. He designs algorithms for inventory control, appointment scheduling, and healthcare resource allocation.

Articles Overview: Recent work spans AI-driven epidemiological models, supply chain cybersecurity, and agricultural market interventions. His articles emphasize practical applications of operations research in healthcare and public health.

Awards:

• NSF Career Grant
• INFORMS Optimization Prize (2008)
• Wagner Prize (2013)
• Harold W. Kuhn Award (2016)

Advising & Grants: Advised 10 PhD students and 34 master’s students. Led multi-million-dollar projects like the Walmart Foundation initiative for China’s food safety. Active in hospital process optimization and FDA risk management contracts.

Labs & Teams: Runs MIT’s Food Supply Chain Analytics and Sensing Initiative, collaborating with global partners on predictive risk tools and healthcare analytics.