Geisel Students Deliver Strong Performance at National Data Health Science Case Competition
Students from the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth delivered a strong showing at the 7th Annual Big Data Health Science Case Competition, held virtually February 6–8, 2026, ahead of the National Big Data Health Science Conference. In its seventh year, the competition attracted 32 teams from 17 universities across the United States. Geisel entered six teams and, for the third time in four years, placed among the top five finalists.
With participation sponsored by the Office of Student Life and the Health Sciences MS programs, this year’s competition centered on the theme “From Algorithm to the Clinic: Designing a Usable Clinical Decision Support Interface and Electronic Health Records Integration Strategy.” Over an intensive 32-hour period spanning two days, teams worked through preliminary and final rounds to develop innovative, data-driven solutions.
A panel of 18 judges composed of representatives from industry, government, and academia evaluated each team’s presentation. Judges praised the students for their creativity, analytical rigor, and professionalism.
“There is hope. Even I, with all of my experience and expertise, could not come up so quickly with the solutions these teams developed under pressure and in a short time,” one judge said.
Another judge shared, “It was a truly rewarding experience, and I’m grateful to have been part of such an impactful and well-executed event.”
This year’s competition was especially meaningful for Geisel because of its interdisciplinary representation. “It was especially exciting this year because we had representation from Geisel’s MS, MD, and MPH programs,” said Chandlee Bryan, Career Resources Manager at Geisel. “The three team members on Geisel’s winning team, The Confounders, were Amal Siddiqui, residential MPH candidate, Class of 2026; Raman Mohan, residential MPH candidate, Class of 2026; and Sylvie Rousseau, MS in Implementation Science candidate, Class of 2027.”
Students reflected on what the experience meant to them both personally and professionally. Rousseau said, “From the perspective of my studies in Implementation Science, I found this case competition very enlightening. Having a simulated dataset and a complex medical problem to examine allowed me to practice empathizing with stakeholders at different levels of the system. It built my confidence and enthusiasm for data science in the context of healthcare and showed me the role of Implementation Science within a multidisciplinary environment.”
Siddiqui noted that the competition “pushed me to think more critically about the importance of interpretability in healthcare analytics. Doing the work revealed how analytical choices drive real clinical and policy implications in regard to outcomes, patient preferences, and cost.”
For Mohan, the competition underscored the value of collaborative, patient-centered problem solving. He said, “This competition was an incredibly meaningful experience because it challenged me to focus on what truly works in real-world healthcare settings. It reinforced how important shared decision-making and patient-centered design are, particularly when patients face complex trade-offs and uncertainty. I want to give a shoutout to my teammates for their hard work during this competition and thank Dartmouth for exposing students to opportunities like this.”
Geisel congratulates all students who participated and thanks the judges for their time and engagement. Through applying rigorous analytics to practical healthcare challenges, Dartmouth students continue to exemplify excellence in interdisciplinary collaboration and innovation.
Written by: Mia Soucy
POSTED 3/4/2026 AT 02:06 PM IN #Award #2026 #data science #competition
GET IN TOUCH
To arrange a media interview, please contact:
geisel.communications
@dartmouth.edu