Education

• PhD, Operations Management, Emory University
• BS, Operations Management, Accounting and Finance, Indiana University

Professional Activities

Hao Ding conducts research that applies causal inference and machine learning methods to healthcare operations, socially responsible operations and digitalization.

His paper on gender inequality in research productivity during the COVID pandemic lockdowns was selected as a finalist for two separate best paper research awards and was covered by NBC and Fox News media outlets. In this study, Ding and his co-authors found that female faculty members’ productivity dropped by 13% compared to their male counterparts in the 10 weeks after the lockdowns started in spring 2020. They also discovered that this loss of productivity was even worse for female assistant professors who were just starting their academic careers and for female professors at top-ranked schools.

Ding’s paper was one of four finalists for the 2023 INFORMS DEI Best Student Paper Award and one of five finalists for the Best Manufacturing & Service Operations Management (M&SOM) Paper award.

Tackling two other pressing societal issue, he investigates the intensifying nursing crisis in the United States through the lens of nursing productivity, as well as the rise of telemedicine for triaging, diagnosing, and prescribing treatments. While numerous studies have explored the impact of conventional telemedicine approaches, such as messaging and information exchange between physicians and patients, the potential of newer forms of telemedicine to replace in-person interactions remains less examined in the literature. Working with physicians, he analyzes the effect of an Asynchronous Telemedicine (AT) adoption.

While working on his doctorate in operations management at Emory University, Ding worked as a data scientist for start-up company Roadie.

At Auburn, he is teaching Data Management and Acquisition.

Originally from China, Ding came to the United States in 2013 to earn his bachelor’s degree at the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University. Since then, he has traveled to all 50 states. He also enjoys camping and playing competitive badminton with the Emory University club team, which placed fourth in a recent national collegiate competition.