
Johns Hopkins Symposium on Healthcare Operations
The 3rd Johns Hopkins Symposium on Healthcare Operations: Building Resilient Healthcare Supply Chains for the Next Pandemic
Sponsored by Hopkins Business of Health Initiative
The Johns Hopkins Symposium on Healthcare Operations (JHSHO), started in 2016, features global thought leaders from both academia and practice. The third symposium, sponsored by the Hopkins Business of Health Initiative, focuses on supply chain resilience, an urgent mandate emerging from painful and teachable moments during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This symposium features pioneering supply chain scholars — including Willy Shih (Harvard), David Simchi-Levi (MIT), Christopher S. Tang (UCLA), and Sridhar Tayur (Carnegie Mellon) — and government speakers from CDC (Maryann D’Alessandro), FDA (Tammy R. Beckham), and HHS (John Fredenberg and Bryan Heartsfield) to spotlight cutting-edge research in supply chain resilience and develop pandemic-proof supply chain solutions.
Agenda
1–1:15 p.m. |
Welcome and IntroductionsDaniel Polsky (Johns Hopkins University), Bloomberg Distinguished Professor and Director of Hopkins Business of Health Initiative Tinglong Dai (Johns Hopkins University), Professor of Operations Management and Business Analytics |
1:15–1:45 p.m. |
Supply Chain Resiliency and the Need for Stress TestsDavid Simchi-Levi (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), Professor of Engineering Systems |
1:45-2:15 p.m. |
Supply Chain Resilience: More Than Just GeographyWilly Shih (Harvard University), Robert and Jane Cizik Professor of Management Practice Harvard Business School |
2:15-2:25 p.m. |
Policy Response to Profs. Shih and Simchi-Levi’s TalksMaryann D'Alessandro (CDC), Director, NIOSH National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory |
2:25–2:35 p.m. |
Policy Response to Profs. Shih and Simchi-Levi’s TalksBryan Heartsfield (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services), Lead Public Health Advisor |
2:35–2:40 p.m. |
Break |
2:40–3:10 p.m. |
Panel I: Impact of Policy and Healthcare Practice on Supply Chain ResilienceModerator: Tinglong Dai (Johns Hopkins University), Professor of Operations Management and Business Analytics Panelists: Maryann D'Alessandro (CDC), Director, NIOSH National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory Bryan Heartsfield (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services), Lead Public Health Advisor Willy Shih (Harvard University), Robert and Jane Cizik Professor of Management Practice Harvard Business School David Simchi-Levi (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), Professor of Engineering Systems |
3:10–3:15 p.m. |
Break |
3:15–3:45 p.m. |
Planned Spontaneity and the Next PandemicSridhar Tayur (Carnegie Mellon University), University Professor of Operations Management |
3:45–4:15 p.m. |
Proactive Resilient Healthcare Supply Chain DevelopmentChristopher S. Tang (UCLA), UCLA Distinguished Professor and Edward W. Carter Chair in Business Administration |
4:15-4:25 p.m. |
Policy Response to Profs. Tang and Tayur’s TalksTammy Beckham (U.S. Food and Drug Administration), Associate Director of the Resilient Supply Chain and Shortages Prevention Program |
4:25-4:35 p.m. |
Policy Response to Profs. Tang and Tayur’s TalksJohn Fredenberg (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services), Supervisor Emergency Management Specialist |
4:35–4:40 p.m. |
Break |
4:40–5:20 p.m. |
Panel II: Planning for the Future – Innovation and New Technology Implications for Supply ChainModerator: Goker Aydin (Johns Hopkins University), Professor of Operations Management and Business Analytics Panelists: Tammy Beckham (U.S. Food and Drug Administration), Associate Director of the Resilient Supply Chain and Shortages Prevention Program John Fredenberg (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services), Supervisor Emergency Management Specialist Christopher S. Tang (UCLA), UCLA Distinguished Professor and Edward W. Carter Chair in Business Administration Sridhar Tayur (Carnegie Mellon University), University Professor of Operations Management |
5:20–5:30 p.m. |
Concluding remarksGoker Aydin, Tinglong Dai, Jonathan Thornhill |
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Organizing Committee

Tinglong Dai (chair)


Ge Bai
Sheri Lewis

Daniel Polsky
Alan Ravitz, PhD
Jonathan Thornhill
Academic Speakers

Willy Shih (Harvard University)
Willy’s expertise is in manufacturing, supply chains, and product development. He has written or co-authored numerous cases and teaching materials in a wide range of industries. His paper, “Restoring American Competitiveness,” co-authored with Gary Pisano, won the 2009 McKinsey Award. His book, “Producing Prosperity – Why America Needs a Manufacturing Renaissance,” co-authored with Gary Pisano, has called attention to the link between manufacturing and innovation. His paper on the challenges of reshoring was featured in the Fall 2014 issue of the Sloan Management Review, and his Summer 2020 paper, “Is it time to Rethink Global Supply Chains” was the most popular article of the year.
Prior to coming to HBS in 2007, Willy spent 28 years in industry. Reporting to him have been manufacturing and distribution operations around the world, as well as global sales and marketing operations.

David Simchi-Levi (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
Professor Simchi-Levi is the current Editor-in-Chief of Management Science, one of the two flagship journals of INFORMS. He served as the Editor-in-Chief for Operations Research (2006-2012), the other flagship journal of INFORMS and for Naval Research Logistics (2003-2005). In 2020, he was awarded the prestigious INFORMS Impact Prize for playing a leading role in developing and disseminating a new highly impactful paradigm for the identification and mitigation of risks in global supply chains.
He is an INFORMS Fellow and MSOM Distinguished Fellow and the recipient of the 2020 INFORMS Koopman Award given to an outstanding publication in military operations research; Ford Motor Company 2015 Engineering Excellence Award; 2014 INFORMS Daniel H. Wagner Prize for Excellence in Operations Research Practice; 2014 INFORMS Revenue Management and Pricing Section Practice Award; and 2009 INFORMS Revenue Management and Pricing Section Prize.
His Ph.D. students have accepted faculty positions in leading academic institutes including University of California Berkeley, Carnegie Mellon University, Columbia University, Duke University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Harvard University, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, University of Michigan, Purdue University and Virginia Institute of Technology.
He was the founder of LogicTools which provided software solutions and professional services for supply chain optimization. LogicTools became part of IBM in 2009. In 2012 he co-founded OPS Rules, an operations analytics consulting company. The company became part of Accenture in 2016. In 2014, he co-founded Opalytics, a cloud analytics platform company focusing on operations and supply chain decisions. The company became part of the Accenture Applied Intelligence in 2018.

Christopher S. Tang (UCLA)
Chris has published 6 books, 30 book chapters, over 100 online blogs, and 180 research articles in global supply chain management. He has also published over 50 articles in public media, including Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Barron’s, Bloomberg Law, Fortune, and Los Angeles Times. He received his B.Sc. (First class honours in Mathematics) from King’s College, London, M.A (in Statistics), M.Phil. (in Administrative Science), and PhD (in Management Science) from Yale University.

Sridhar Tayur (Carnegie Mellon University)
He is the founder (and served as CEO) of the software company SmartOps [acquired by SAP] and is the founder of a social enterprise, OrganJet. SmartOps is the subject of a Darden Case (distributed by HBS) and OrganJet of an HBS Case. Through his RAGS Charitable Foundation, he made a $1 Million donation to Carnegie Mellon University, a $1 Million donation to Cornell University and has also endowed an Institute Chair at IIT-Madras. He has funded independent film festivals and ward-winning documentaries. He is an INFORMS Fellow, a Distinguished Fellow of MSOM Society and has been elected to the National Academy of Engineering.
Government Speakers

Tammy R. Beckham, DVM, PhD (U.S. Food and Drug Administration)
Most recently, Tammy was working with the Cooperative Biological Engagement Program (CBEP), Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), Department of Defense at Fort Belvoir in Virginia. In this role, she was responsible for managing a comprehensive international science engagement and diplomacy portfolio in the European and Central Command regions. In addition, she led a comprehensive Agency wide effort to restructure and enhance the CBEPs global training portfolio.
She has published more than 20 research articles, testified before the House Committees on Homeland Security and Agriculture and delivered numerous presentations domestically and abroad.
Tammy received her doctor of veterinary medicine (Magna Cum Laude) and PhD in biomedical science degrees from Auburn University. She also holds a master's degree in music from the University of Cincinnati.

Maryann D’Alessandro (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

John Fredenberg (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services)

Bryan Heartsfield (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services)
Prior to joining the CDC, Bryan served as the Deputy Director of Emergency Management, King County, WA and as the Health Medical and Operations planner for Seattle and King County Public Health. He has a distinguished military career as an officer in the United States Army Medical Service Corps serving in a variety of assignments throughout the United States, Southeast and Southwest Asia. Bryan is a 1992 graduate of Truman State University with a degree in Public and Community Health and is a 2000 graduate of Embry Riddle with a degree in Operations.
Sponsors
This event is sponsored by Hopkins Business of Health Initiative.