University of Minnesota Hosts 6th Annual Interdisciplinary Health Data Competition

The Business Advancement Center for Health (BACH) at the Carlson School of Management successfully hosted the sixth annual Interdisciplinary Health Data Competition, bringing together students from across disciplines to explore real-world healthcare challenges through data analysis.

This year’s competition, themed “Healthcare Provider Deep Dive: Connecting Quality, Payment, and Social Context,” engaged 62 students across 18 interdisciplinary teams from 13 colleges and schools within the University of Minnesota. Each team incorporated perspectives from at least two different schools, reinforcing the competition’s mission to foster interdisciplinary collaboration.

Participants utilized curated datasets from data partner, Mimilabs, integrating provider demographics, quality performance metrics, Medicare utilization data, and public health indicators to develop innovative, data-driven solutions. The competition was evaluated by a panel of 20+ faculty members and industry experts, with finalists presenting their findings to a distinguished judging panel.

Competition Winners

• 1st Place ($4,000): “Barriers to Equity & Closing the Gap – Improving MIPS to Promote Health Equity” by Wanlin Hu, School of Public Health (SPH); Yuka Saito, College of Science and Engineering (CSE); Subin Jang, SPH, and Crystal Zhuang, Carlson School and Law School
• 2nd Place ($2,000): “Geographic Disparities in Rheumatoid Arthritis Prevalence, Costs, and Quality of Care Among US Adult Medicare Beneficiaries” by Ingrid Rodriguez Aragon, Medical School; Tonushree Dutta, CSE, and Sourav Kumar Ghosh, CSE
• 3rd Place ($1,000): “Bridging the Digital Divide. A Pathway for Small Practices in Promoting Interoperability” by Ethan Cannon, SPH, and Jake Harmon, College of Liberal Arts

• Honorable Mention: “Social Vulnerability Impacts on Cancer Screening Rate: A Bayesian Multi-level Analysis of Community Health Indicators and Healthcare Access” by Pegah Farrokhi, College of Pharmacy, and Majid Bagheri Hosseinabadi, SPH

   

Finals judges included Heather Britt, executive director, Wilder Research; Hayley Borck, managing director, Data Science Initiative, UMN; Dr. Yubin Park, CEO, Mimilabs (data partner), and Dr. Benjamin Lynch, director, MN Supercomputing Institute, UMN.

The event was made possible through the generous support of the University of Minnesota Research & Innovation Office (RIO), Research Computing, the University of Minnesota Data Science Initiative, and the Office of Academic Clinical Affairs.

BACH extends its gratitude to all students, faculty, and industry partners who contributed to another successful competition. By harnessing data science to address pressing healthcare challenges, these students continue to make a meaningful impact on the future of healthcare.

BACH is a UMN Carlson School of Management center focused on reimagining health and healthcare.