Yao Li

PhD Candidate, Operations Management, Northwestern University

I am on the 2025–2026 academic job market.

I am a final year PhD Candidate in Operations Management at the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, advised by Professor Jan A. Van Mieghem, with Professor Itai Gurvich, Professors Robert Bray and Professor Lauren Xiaoyuan Lu on my thesis committee.

My research explores how platform operations and emerging technologies shape supply chains and service systems, with a particular focus on e-commerce fulfillment, antitrust implications of platform integration, and the role of AI in operational learning. I combine analytical modeling, empirical methods, and simulation to study competition and efficiency in modern operations. Beyond platforms, I have also worked on healthcare operations, developing data-driven scheduling models and digital twins for clinical and hospital systems, as well as early work in economic forecasting published in the Journal of Forecasting.

Research Interests/Methodologies: Platform Operations, e-Commerce, Logistics, Machine learning and AI, Data-Driven Analytics, Service Operations, Healthcare Operations.

Contact: yao.li [at] kellogg.northwestern.edu

Upcoming Talks

2025 YinzOR Student Conference, Pittsburgh, PA
Date: August 29, 2025 · Time: 4:50–6:30 PM · Room: 3801 Swartz Center
Title: Fulfillment by Amazon as a Strategic Lever: Anticompetitive or Welfare Enhancing?

INFORMS Annual Meeting, Atlanta, GA
Date: October 26, 2025 · Time: 1:15 PM – 2:30 PM · Room: Bldg B Lvl 3 B309
Session: MSOM: Supply Chain Invited Session Title: Fulfillment by Amazon as a Strategic Lever: Anticompetitive or Welfare Enhancing?

CIST 2025, Conference on Information Systems and Technology 2025, Atlanta, GA
Date: TBD· Time: TBD· Room: TBD.
Session: TBD. Title: Fulfillment by Amazon as a Strategic Lever: Anticompetitive or Welfare Enhancing?