News Room

A collection of press releases, audio content and media clips featuring INFORMS members and their research.

Unmasking Human Trafficking: New AI Research Reveals Hidden Recruitment Networks
News Release

BALTIMORE, MD, May 24, 2025 – Most anti-human trafficking efforts focus on breaking up sex sales; however, new research in the INFORMS journal Manufacturing & Service Operations Management is turning its attention to where trafficking truly begins – recruitment. Using machine learning to analyze millions of online ads, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have uncovered patterns that link deceptive job offers to sex trafficking networks. By mapping the connections between recruitment and sales locations, the study reveals a hidden supply chain – one that can now be exposed and interrupted earlier in the trafficking process.

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New U.S. drug prices doubled amid a shift toward treating rare diseases
Media Coverage

Drugs being explicitly developed to treat rare diseases are getting more expensive.

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Human air traffic controllers keep flyers safe. Should AI have a role?
Media Coverage

Old technology is behind the recent ongoing delays and cancellations at Newark Liberty International Airport, but newer technology will be an important part of the solution.

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Resoundingly Human Podcast

An audio journey of how data and analytics save lives, save money and solve problems.

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Jeff Cohen
Chief Strategy Officer
INFORMS
Catonsville, MD
[email protected]
443-757-3565

INFORMS in the News

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How Can You Manage Negative Facebook Comments?

How Can You Manage Negative Facebook Comments?

Associations Now, March 12, 2021

Odds are that you’re going to be more likely to deal with haters than fans on a Facebook page, according to a study. But smart moderation tactics can help defuse issues before they get out of hand.

NC's Focus On Data Has Helped State Shrink the Racial Vaccine Gap - Somewhat

NC's Focus On Data Has Helped State Shrink the Racial Vaccine Gap - Somewhat

Greensboro, March 8, 2021

North Carolina is among the best-performing U.S. states when it comes to distributing vaccines evenly among Black and white residents. That’s partly because the state is by far the best at collecting demographic data. About 11% of North Carolina’s Black population has received at least one shot, compared with 17% of the state’s white residents, the Bloomberg Vaccine Tracker shows. That puts North Carolina in fourth place for the smallest spread between the two groups among states with the most comprehensive data sets. Other states might be doing as well or better than North Carolina in terms of equality, though huge numbers of incomplete records obscure the national picture.

Why Are Vaccines Still in Short Supply?

Why Are Vaccines Still in Short Supply?

NNY 360, March 7, 2021

The U.S. government has invested billions of dollars in manufacturing, used a wartime act dozens of times to boost supplies and yet there’s still not enough COVID-19 vaccine on the way to meet demand — or even the government’s own goals for national immunization. President Joe Biden, in remarks at the National Institutes of Health this month, said the nation is “now on track to have enough supply for 300 million Americans by the end of July.” But at the current rate of production, Pfizer and Moderna will miss their targets of providing at least 100 million doses each by the end of March, let alone 200 million more doses each has promised by July.

'Vaccine Purgatory:' Uncertainty, Angst Cloud New COVID Vaccine Scheduling System in Portland Area

'Vaccine Purgatory:' Uncertainty, Angst Cloud New COVID Vaccine Scheduling System in Portland Area

Oregon Live, March 7, 2021

Portland resident Richard Clarke, 70, isn’t sure if he’s officially registered to enter a weekly COVID-19 vaccination lottery for appointments available at the Oregon Convention Center. He said after registering at getvaccinated.oregon.gov, he hasn’t received an email or a text confirming that he’s in the pool of eligible residents -- even though the state has publicly said everyone who registers will. He also called 211 to verify, but the representative wasn’t able to give him an answer. Clarke said he’s also uneasy because contrary to what state and local officials announced more than a week ago, the state website still says, “This tool does not allow you to schedule a vaccination appointment.”

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