Infection
Northeastern chosen as home for new infectious disease detection center
Northeastern University in Boston has been chosen as the home of a center to detect and prepare for the next outbreak of infectious disease.The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is giving Northeastern $17.5 million over the next five years to head “EPISTORM: The Center for Advanced Epidemic Analytics and Predictive Modeling Technology,” according to the university.Alessandro Vespignani, who will lead EPISTORM, said he hopes the center will serve as “a National Weather Service for epidemics and epidemic threats.”EPISTORM will lead a consortium of 10 research institutions, health care systems and private companies that will use tools, including wastewater surveillance, AI and machine learning, and other predictive analytics to help the U.S. make more informed decisions during future outbreaks of infectious diseases, especially in rural areas.Boston University is among the consortium’s academic members, along with Indiana University, the University of Florida and the University of California at San Diego.Other members include Boston-based Concentric Ginko Bioworks, Maine-based Northern Light Health, MaineHealth, the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle and the Los Alamos National Laboratory near Santa Fe, New Mexico.The center’s activities are also being supported by the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, Maine Department of Health and Human Services and Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists.
Northeastern University in Boston has been chosen as the home of a center to detect and prepare for the next outbreak of infectious disease.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is giving Northeastern $17.5 million over the next five years to head “EPISTORM: The Center for Advanced Epidemic Analytics and Predictive Modeling Technology,” according to the university.
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Alessandro Vespignani, who will lead EPISTORM, said he hopes the center will serve as “a National Weather Service for epidemics and epidemic threats.”
EPISTORM will lead a consortium of 10 research institutions, health care systems and private companies that will use tools, including wastewater surveillance, AI and machine learning, and other predictive analytics to help the U.S. make more informed decisions during future outbreaks of infectious diseases, especially in rural areas.
Boston University is among the consortium’s academic members, along with Indiana University, the University of Florida and the University of California at San Diego.
Other members include Boston-based Concentric Ginko Bioworks, Maine-based Northern Light Health, MaineHealth, the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle and the Los Alamos National Laboratory near Santa Fe, New Mexico.
The center’s activities are also being supported by the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, Maine Department of Health and Human Services and Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists.
