In this Collective Learning Meeting (CLM), Kenneth Cooper (kencoopersd@gmail.com) and Raafat Zaini (rzaini@wpi.edu) will present:

Cytokine Storms: Simulating the Immune System Response to Covid-19

Short Description: This research uses modeling and simulation to understand better how the immune system responds to Covid19 and how the often fatal phenomenon of a “cytokine storm” develops. In addition, it seeks to identify ways to intervene to prevent this deadly condition from occurring.

We are interested in finding leads to subject matter experts to guide further work. Any feedback from the audience would be highly appreciated.

Biographies:

Ken Cooper has been a leader in the field of system dynamics modeling for over 40 years, originally studying under Jay Forrester at MIT.

Ken is a two-time Edelman Laureate for his modeling work, an award that recognizes the world’s best applications in all management science practice areas.

Ken has led modeling and consulting assignments for executives at Raytheon, MasterCard, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, IBM, Ford, Lockheed Martin, the NFL, and others. He is a pioneer in the realm of project modeling, having analyzed over a quarter-trillion dollars of projects. Ken is the original developer of the “rework cycle”.

Several years ago Ken turned his focus away from business consulting to focus on human biology. His work led to the first clinical trial ever approved based on analyses from a computer simulation model. Ken’s recent work has focused on the epidemiology and the biology of Covid-19.

Raafat Zaini is a research scientist at the Social Science and Policy Studies department at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI). His published research in modeling dynamic systems spans organizational design, dissent, change, strategy, and cognitive learning. Raafat worked as a researcher at the MIT Sociotechnical Systems Research Center and consulted for the Advance Management Group and others. In addition, he reviews for academic journals and conferences, including the Academy of Management, Management Communication Quarterly, and the system dynamics society.

Raafat is a co-founder of the weekly Collective Learning Meeting peer mentoring group(CLM). He also served as president of the WPI System Dynamics club. He is a policy council member, AVP marketing and communication of the system dynamics society, and a member of the learning committee actively working to provide more accessible learning resources to the society members.

Raafat has more than twenty years of industry experience. He holds a B.S. in mechanical engineering, M.S. in aeronautical and industrial engineering, and Ph.D. in system dynamics and organizational behavior.

We will record this presentation.

If you are interested in presenting your work, please contact Christine Tang (ctang@wpi.edu).

Call-in details: https://bit.ly/CLM-2021-05-28