Sunday, December 8, 2024
12/8/2024
Project Abstract The proposed project, "Epistorm: Center for Advanced Epidemic Analytics and Predictive Modeling Technology," responds to the critical need for enhanced epidemic modeling and analytic tools, as underscored by the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite advances in epidemic modeling and analytics, issues persist around data and model quality, accessibility, and accurate representation of diverse population groups, potentially exacerbating health inequities. Addressing these challenges necessitates the transformation of high-quality data into meaningful insights for equitable decision-making and policy formulation. The Epistorm center aims to address these challenges by capitalizing and innovating on breakthroughs in machine learning, data access, and computational capacity. The center's work addresses the mandated Component 1: Outbreak Analytics and Disease Modeling Public Health Response and the Component 2 Centers for Innovation in Outbreak Analytics and Disease Modeling. In Component 1 the center targets the construction, calibration, and validation of disease-specific models contributing to actionable forecasts and scenario analyses, alongside the development of behavioral data collection tools for use during public health emergencies (Outcome 1.1). The second component focuses on a set of innovation activities that use advanced modeling and AI/ML to define a new generation of analytic tools and modeling platforms, ensuring comprehensive data integration from diverse sources such as wastewater, genomic data, and mobility data. The Component 2 outcomes are threefold: enhanced simulation-based analytics support for global health threats (Outcome 2.1), the creation of advanced tools for real-time situational awareness (Outcome 2.2), and the capability of simulation tools to consider behavioral data, small communities and diverse population groups to address health inequity (Outcome 2.3). Additionally, Epistorm places a strong emphasis on educational strategies, pr oviding trainees with hands-on experiences (Co-op internships and collabathons) in public health responses and analytics projects, thereby fostering career pathways within public health systems (Outcome 2.4). In sum, the Epistorm project ambitiously tackles existing challenges in epidemic modeling and analytics, offering innovative, practical, and equitable solutions to enhance decision-making and policy formation during health emergencies.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).
