Event Recap: Invitation to a Model Workshop

BY GINA MANTICA

The impact of public health interventions on a population can be difficult to test through real-life experiments, due to the amount of time it takes to implement new policies and evaluate their effects. But simulation models enable researchers to create and implement public health interventions in a virtual setting so they can analyze their effects more rapidly. Researchers at the Hariri Institute are using simulation modeling to predict the efficacy of interventions for police violence, suicide, indoor pollutants and more in the real world.

On August 30, 2021 the Hariri Institute hosted the workshop “Invitation to a Model”. The workshop was a part of the Focused Research Program (FRP), Simulation Modeling for Population Health, and brought together eight researchers from across BU’s Charles River and Medical campuses to identify research opportunities for applying simulation modeling.

Ruby Barnard-Mayers, a second year PhD student in Epidemiology, presented on work using a model to investigate the efficacy of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine in preventing cervical cancer in girls with perinatally-acquired HPV infection. Jonathan Jay, an Assistant Professor in Community Health Sciences, spoke about creating a model to look at the impacts of different interventions for reducing police violence. Tammy Jiang, a fourth year PhD student in Epidemiology, discussed developing a model to identify risks and effective interventions for suicide among veterans. Wesley Wildman, a Professor in Philosophy, Theology, and Ethics, presented an artificial intelligence model to examine the efficacy of difference interventions for suicide based on individuals’ personalities, histories, and environments. Neha Gondal, an Assistant Professor in Sociology, talked about creating a model to analyze how the beliefs, anxieties, and actions of caregivers affect children’s oral health. Nafisa Halim, a Research Assistant Professor in Global Health, discussed a model for examining how relationship violence during pregnancy affects childbirth outcomes. M. Patricia Fabian, an Associate Professor in Environmental Health, presented a simulation model to predict indoor pollutants and energy consumption in Massachusetts houses. Andrew Reid Bell, an Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies, talked about creating a model to examine how groups of people might change their behaviors after exposure to heat, disease, pollution, and more. The researchers then came together to discuss how they can combine their expertise to overcome methodological challenges.

The world’s population continues to grow, and so does the number of public health problems. The speed at which policymakers can implement reliable public health interventions depends on how efficiently researchers can test their effectiveness. Simulation modeling enables researchers to better understand the role of complex human behaviors on the production of health and disease while taking into account contextual factors that contribute to health disparities. At the Hariri Institute, faculty members across disciplines are converging to both identify what models work best for solving public health problems and address the uncertainty in those models.

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