Amy Cohn, Arthur F. Thurnau Professor of Industrial and Operations Engineering and Faculty Director of the Center for Healthcare Engineering and Patient Safety (CHEPS), has been appointed as Michigan Medicine’s Chief Transformation Officer.
Through her role at CHEPS, Professor Cohn has fostered opportunities for IOE students and faculty to work on dozens of projects with Michigan Medicine over the past decade, demonstrating the value of bringing an engineering perspective to challenges in healthcare.
Cohn’s work at the intersection of healthcare and engineering laid a foundation for collaborative connections between Michigan Engineering and Michigan Medicine to tackle some critical pandemic-related challenges. “I’m excited to continue working with my engineering and healthcare colleagues in my new role to foster even more relationships between the College of Engineering and Michigan Medicine,” said Cohn.
In her new role, Cohn reports directly to Dr. Marschall S. Runge, Dean of the University of Michigan Medical School and CEO of Michigan Medicine. According to Runge, “Professor Cohn will be able to identify institutional challenges that span across the health system and medical school and don’t necessarily fit in any one silo.”
“Bringing an engineering perspective to complex issues not only helps Michigan Medicine, but also provides IOE students with the unique opportunity to learn throughout the problem solving process,” said Runge.
As Chief Transformation Officer, Professor Cohn will cross the boundaries between engineering and medicine to help Michigan Medicine and healthcare systems across the nation. “IOE students will continue to play a major role in addressing these challenges, helping them to prepare them for impactful roles in healthcare once they graduate,” said Cohn, who plans to continue to integrate experiential learning and impact in her new role.
