SU Hope

Raha Akhavan-Tabatabaei is professor of Operations Management & Business Analytics at Sabanci Business School. She obtained her PhD degree from Edward P. Fitts Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at North Carolina State University. Her research interest is modeling and analysis of systems and operations under uncertainty, with applications in disaster management, healthcare, production, and logistics. She is the founder and director of SU-HOpe Research Lab (Sustainable Heath and Humanitarian Operations) at Sabanci Business School. Her work is published in high ranking journals such as Information Systems Research, European Journal of Operational Research, Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Annals of OR, Transportation Science, Transportation Research Part C, Decision Analysis and Medical Decision Making. Her paper on "Curbing the Opioid Crisis: Optimal Dynamic Policies for Preventive and Mitigating Interventions” has received the Clemen–Kleinmuntz Decision Analysis Best Paper Award in 2024. She serves on the editorial board of Journal of Business Analytics and as ad-hoc reviewer for several prominent journals in the field, including EJOR, JORS, Reliability Engineering and System Safety, IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management and IISE. 

Altug Tanaltay, born in 1980 in Istanbul, completed his undergraduate studies in Political Science and Public Administration at Middle East Technical University in 2003, followed by Master of Science degrees in 2007 in Management of Marketing and Logistics from Galatasaray University, and in Information Technologies from Sabanci University. After his professional employments, in 2008, he began working as an Instructor at Sabanci University, Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Computr Science and Engineering Program where he trained numerous undergraduate, graduate students, and professionals on Software Engineering and Information Systems, along with providing consultation for complex software systems and projects. Earning his PhD from Sabanci Business School in 2023, his research, leveraging methodologies from Machine Learning, Natural Language Processing (NLP), and Computational Statistics, has been primarily focused on extracting and analyzing insights from high-volume online communications, digital branding communicationi and disaster management in digital contexts. He seeks to advance both the academic and practical applications of AI and data science in business and social contexts while continuing his research and teaching as a faculty member at Sabancı Business School. 

My name is Ali Navaei, and I am a PhD student in Business Analytics and Operations Management at Sabancı Business School. My research background lies in humanitarian operations and healthcare supply chains, with a focus on mathematical modeling and data-driven optimization. I am currently aiming to deepen my expertise in these domains by integrating emerging analytical approaches to develop innovative and impactful insights within this context.

Ali Navaei is a PhD student in Business Analytics and Operations Management at Sabancı Business School. He holds a bachelor's degree in Industrial Engineering from K. N. Toosi University of Technology and a master's degree in Industrial Engineering from the University of Tehran. His research background lies in humanitarian operations and healthcare supply chains, with a focus on mathematical modeling and data-driven optimization. He is currently aiming to deepen his expertise in these domains by integrating emerging analytical approaches 

After graduating from Business Administration from Marmara University and completing my master’s in management at Boğaziçi University, I have worked over 18 years as an internal auditor, risk manager, compliance executive and procurement lead in several industries including consulting, FMCG, manufacturing and education. I am currently working on my dissertation, which is focusing on the supply side of Humanitarian Supply Chains. Using empirical methods, I study both individual and corporate donation patterns in order to understand how they contribute to the Material Convergence phenomenon, which is the discrepancy of supply and demand in humanitarian supply chains.

I am Ekin, a third-year double major student in Industrial Engineering and Management at Sabancı University. I am currently working as a researcher at SU-HOpe. Over the past two years, I have gained valuable experience working on initiatives that aim to improve disaster preparedness and response.

Mahour Abbaspour Khiabani is a PhD student in Management (Business Analytics and Operations Management) at Sabancı Business School, focusing on healthcare operations. Her research applies stochastic modeling, optimization, and decision analytics to design equitable and efficient healthcare systems. Building on her background in mechanical engineering and industry experience in international project and sales management, Mahour integrates analytical rigor with practical insight to address complex, data-driven problems. Her current work develops dynamic decision models for diagnostic resource allocation in breast cancer care, aiming to bridge the gap between policy design and real-world practice to improve access, equity, and outcomes in health systems.

Nilüfer Sayın is a PhD student in Management specializing in Business Analytics and Operations Management. She holds a background in Mechanical Engineering and an MBA from Sharif University of Technology. Her research focuses on Corporate Social Responsibility in disaster contexts.

Parinaz Kiavash is a Ph.D. student in Business Analytics and Operations Management at Sabancı Business School. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering and a Master’s degree in Executive Management. Her research focuses on managing humanitarian crises and optimizing humanitarian supply chains, particularly the demand side. She explores how social media data can be leveraged to understand and predict needs during disasters, aiming to improve the responsiveness and efficiency of humanitarian operations.