Annual UMN Interdisciplinary Health Data Competition
Where we invite graduate students to
Collaborate, Innovate, Compete by Transforming Healthcare with Data Science
Congratulations to the winning teams of the 2026 health data challenge!
Awarded first place and a prize of $3,000 is Team 4: (L-R) Yuanlin Feng, School of Public Health & Lingjie Su, College of Science and Engineering (not pictured: Sinian Zhang, School of Public Health) with judges Prof. Pinar Karaca-Mandic, UMN and Prof. Jash Jain, ISB, Erin Hulbert, Optum and Heather Britt, Wilder Research
Project Title: "Safety-Net Hospital Value Frontier: When Less Money Doesn’t Mean Less Quality"
Team 4 developed a Safety Net Value Index to measure hospital value across quality, equity, and financial sustainability. Their findings demonstrated that operational factors, particularly nursing investment and staffing, are stronger drivers of success than funding levels alone. By integrating advanced analytics and machine learning, the team created a practical benchmarking and risk prediction toolkit with real-world applicability.
Awarded second place and a prize of $1,500 is Team 11: (L-R) Nafeesa Rizwan, School of Public Health; Lear Fu Lee and Zhixuan Zhan, Minnesota Carlson
Project Title: "Finding the Value Frontier Under Medicaid Funding Stress - Evidence from U.S. Safety-Net Hospitals"
Team 11 examined how uncompensated care and funding pressures push safety net hospitals away from optimal performance. Their analysis highlighted systemic equity challenges and proposed a policy framework aimed at stabilizing financial resources and strengthening care capability. Their work focused on addressing structural barriers rather than only hospital-level efficiency.
Awarded third place (a tie) and a prize of $1,000 is Team 1: (L-R) Emily Peterson and Sam Benson Devine, Minnesota Carlson; Andrew Meyer, Medical School; Yehan Wang, Minnesota Carlson
Project Title: "The Safety Net Value Frontier: Operational Excellence Under Constraint"
Team 1 explored how safety net hospitals can deliver high-value care despite financial constraints by improving operations and process reliability. They demonstrated that patient outcomes and experience can improve through better patient flow, standardized care pathways, and stronger data use. Their conclusion: excellence is achievable even in resource-limited environments.
Awarded third place (a tie) and a prize of $1,000 is Team 5: (L-R) Mounika Polamreddy, Minnesota Carlson; Sam Maston, School of Public Health; Ashwini Manokar and Dhairya Lunia, Minnesota Carlson
Project Title: "Defining Value in Healthcare: A Data-Driven Analysis of the "Value Frontier"
Team 5 used machine learning to identify hospital archetypes and define the healthcare value frontier. They demonstrated that true value comes from efficiently converting resources into better outcomes and margins rather than simply spending more. Their work translated complex data into clear operational insights on utilization and performance.
Awarded first place and a prize of $3,000 is Team 4: (L-R) Yuanlin Feng, School of Public Health & Lingjie Su, College of Science and Engineering (not pictured: Sinian Zhang, School of Public Health) with judges Prof. Pinar Karaca-Mandic, UMN and Prof. Jash Jain, ISB, Erin Hulbert, Optum and Heather Britt, Wilder Research
Project Title: "Safety-Net Hospital Value Frontier: When Less Money Doesn’t Mean Less Quality"
Team 4 developed a Safety Net Value Index to measure hospital value across quality, equity, and financial sustainability. Their findings demonstrated that operational factors, particularly nursing investment and staffing, are stronger drivers of success than funding levels alone. By integrating advanced analytics and machine learning, the team created a practical benchmarking and risk prediction toolkit with real-world applicability.
Awarded second place and a prize of $1,500 is Team 11: (L-R) Nafeesa Rizwan, School of Public Health; Lear Fu Lee and Zhixuan Zhan, Minnesota Carlson
Project Title: "Finding the Value Frontier Under Medicaid Funding Stress - Evidence from U.S. Safety-Net Hospitals"
Team 11 examined how uncompensated care and funding pressures push safety net hospitals away from optimal performance. Their analysis highlighted systemic equity challenges and proposed a policy framework aimed at stabilizing financial resources and strengthening care capability. Their work focused on addressing structural barriers rather than only hospital-level efficiency.
Awarded third place (a tie) and a prize of $1,000 is Team 1: (L-R) Emily Peterson and Sam Benson Devine, Minnesota Carlson; Andrew Meyer, Medical School; Yehan Wang, Minnesota Carlson
Project Title: "The Safety Net Value Frontier: Operational Excellence Under Constraint"
Team 1 explored how safety net hospitals can deliver high-value care despite financial constraints by improving operations and process reliability. They demonstrated that patient outcomes and experience can improve through better patient flow, standardized care pathways, and stronger data use. Their conclusion: excellence is achievable even in resource-limited environments.
Awarded third place (a tie) and a prize of $1,000 is Team 5: (L-R) Mounika Polamreddy, Minnesota Carlson; Sam Maston, School of Public Health; Ashwini Manokar and Dhairya Lunia, Minnesota Carlson
Project Title: "Defining Value in Healthcare: A Data-Driven Analysis of the "Value Frontier"
Team 5 used machine learning to identify hospital archetypes and define the healthcare value frontier. They demonstrated that true value comes from efficiently converting resources into better outcomes and margins rather than simply spending more. Their work translated complex data into clear operational insights on utilization and performance.
The Healthcare Value Frontier
What:
7th annual UMN Interdisciplinary Health Data Competition, where graduate students from diverse disciplines collaborate to tackle real-world healthcare challenges using data science. Participants are asked to explore datasets, develop innovative solutions, and present their insights to sponsors and judges. Cash awards are presented to the top three placing teams!
When:
- Registration for 2026 has closed. See you next year!
How:
Presented annually by BACH, with generous support in 2026 from: Research Computing (Distinction Sponsor) and Office of Academic and Clinical Affairs (Distinction Sponsor)
Competition Information:
Distinction Sponsor
Meet the Competition Steering Committee
Associate Professor
School of Public Health, Division of Health Policy & Management
Assistant Professor
Center for Nursing Informatics, School of Nursing
Professor & Associate Head, Department of Pharmaceutical Care & Health Systems
College of Pharmacy
Assistant Professor
School of Public Health, Division of Health Policy & Management
Associate Professor & Founding Chief, Division of Computational Health Sciences, Department of Surgery
Medical School
Assistant Professor, Strategic Management & Entrepreneurship
Carlson School of Management
Xian Dong Eric Jing Professor
Department of Information & Decision Sciences, Carlson School of Management
Associate Professor & Director, Division of Dental Public Health
School of Dentistry
This competition is a joint effort by the following:
Register to Participate
Registration: Is closed for the 2026 Competition.
Questions?
Email [email protected] with questions.
Sponsorship
Interested in becoming a sponsor? Contact [email protected] to learn more.
About the Host
The Business Advancement Center for Health (BACH) launched at Minnesota Carlson in 2022 to reimagine healthcare and works to close gaps in health equity.