IJAHP News and Events: Karpak/M. Gabriela Sava finalist of the 2020 MCDM junior researcher 

best paper award 

 

 
 
 

International Journal of the 

Analytic Hierarchy Process 

364 Vol. 12 Issue 2 2020 

ISSN 1936-6744 

https://doi.org/10.13033/ijahp.v12i2.778 

M. Gabriela Sava Finalist for the 2020 MCDM Junior Researcher  

Best Paper Award  

 

Birsen Karpak 

Associate Editor, IJAHP 

Distinguished Professor, Youngstown State University 

 

In April 2020, M. Gabriela Sava received the great news that her paper 

“An analysis of the sensitivity and stability of patients’ preferences 

can lead to more appropriate medical decisions,” published in Annals 

of Operations Research  was selected as a finalist for the 2020 MCDM 

Junior Researcher Best Paper Award. The paper was in collaboration 

with Dr. Luis G. Vargas and Dr. Jerrold H. May from University of 

Pittsburgh and Dr. James G. Dolan from University of Rochester 

Medical Center. The award honors junior academic researchers and 

practitioners who work in the area of multi-criteria decision-making 

for their excellence, creativity and innovation. Gabriela was nominated 

for this prestigious award by the Associate Editor of the IJAHP, Dr. 

Birsen Karpak from Youngstown State University. 

 

M. Gabriela Sava was born in Romania, finished her undergraduate 

studies at Bucharest University of Economic Studies in 2008, and in 

2016 graduated with a PhD in Business Analytics and Operations from 

Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business, University of 

Pittsburgh. Since 2016, she has been an Assistant Professor at the 

College of Business, Clemson University and a Faculty Scholar at Clemson School of 

Health Research (CUSHR). 

 

Methodologically, Gabriela’s current research focuses on the use of sensitivity and 

stability analysis of multi-criteria decision models and on the use of data mining methods 

for improving resource allocation in preventive healthcare services. The paper nominated 

for the award is part of one of her research projects that focuses on designing a 

personalized approach that supports patient-healthcare provider communication in the 

selection of an appropriate alternative for colorectal cancer screening. To quantify the 

necessary level of personalization for each medical encounter between the patient and 

healthcare provider, she developed a new sensitivity and stability analysis for the 

Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP)/Analytic Network Process (ANP) models. The new 

methodology can identify how additional medical information can change the patient’s 

preferences without additional elicitations, and how the healthcare provider can utilize 

the findings to tailor the discussions during the medical encounter. The work on this 

project was financially supported by a one-year accelerate grant from Clemson 

University. 

 

We wish Gabriela the best of luck with the final presentation for this award that will take 

place during INFORMS Annual Meeting in Washington D.C, November 8-11, 2020.   

 

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10479-018-3109-3
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10479-018-3109-3