A Preemptive Strike on Future Pandemics
A BU-led research team publishes new findings that show how detecting and correctly assigning deaths can help mitigate the impact of pandemics By Maureen Stanton, Hariri Institute COVID-19 caused catastrophe and chaos across the globe. According to some disease forecasters, the world could face another COVID-like pandemic within 10 years. To improve our response to […]
BU Interdisciplinary Team Wins DOE Grant for Biopreparedness Research
By Chloe Patel, Hariri Institute for Computing Boston University researchers affiliated with the Hariri Institute, College of Engineering, and School of Public Health, have received a subaward from a $12 million U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) grant awarded to a coalition of DOE National Laboratories led by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). This funding, […]
Reflecting On One Year of MPOX Response Event Highlights
Story by BU Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases (CEID) CEID hosted a hybrid event, “Reflecting on One Year of MPOX Response,” in partnership with BU’s Hariri Institute for Computational Sciences & Engineering on August 17th. The panel discussion, which was moderated by CEID Director, Dr. Nahid Bhadelia, featured opening remarks from Dr. Ashish Jha, Dean […]
Faculty across five BU research centers work together to prevent future pandemics
A multidisciplinary team of researchers were awarded funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to develop models that predict disease emergence and spread, and to devise pandemic mitigation strategies. BY GINA MANTICA A multidisciplinary team of researchers at Boston University will work towards predicting and preventing future pandemics as part of a new $1 million […]
Why simple can be better when determining how to allocate pandemic resources
Boston University researchers developed a model to project COVID-19 quarantine housing needs in congregate settings ten days in advance. BY GINA MANTICA It’s difficult to plan ahead when SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is so unpredictable. But, there is now a straightforward method for predicting one of the resources needed to slow the spread […]
How can simulation modeling inform public health?
Researcher shares the roles, goals, and challenges of epidemiological models. BY GINA MANTICA To mitigate a virus, epidemiologists need to understand how it spreads. One way researchers investigate viral transmission is through modeling in a simulated environment. Modeling takes into account not only data about the virus, itself, but also information about people’s behaviors that […]
“AI is here”: AI in Healthcare Symposium Recap
BY ALEX JOHNSON On October 18 the Hariri Institute hosted a virtual symposium on AI in Healthcare: Mitigating Disparities, Biases, and Misinformation, co-sponsored by the Center for Information & Systems Engineering, the School of Public Health, and the College of Communication Division of Emerging Media Studies. This event brought together all different kinds of experts, from […]
YouTube Bans Anti-Vaccine Misinformation: Experts React
BY GINA MANTICA At the onset of the pandemic, YouTube revamped its community guidelines to prohibit content containing COVID-19 misinformation. Just yesterday, YouTube announced in a blog post that it will no longer allow misinformation about any vaccines that are approved and confirmed to be safe and effective by health authorities. These new guidelines include […]
COVID-19 risk factors change over time in Massachusetts communities
BY GINA MANTICA As COVID-19 cases increase across the country again, public health officials grapple with how to direct their time, energy, and resources to stop the spread of the coronavirus. But targeted interventions require an understanding of which local communities are at the greatest risk for contracting the disease. A team of researchers from […]
How changes in contact tracing could prevent the spread of a new SARS-CoV-2 strain
Just this weekend, Massachusetts confirmed the presence of the more contagious strain of SARS-CoV-2, known as B-117. And without enough COVID-19 tests and contact tracers, current contact tracing methods might be insufficient in preventing its spread throughout the Commonwealth. But bidirectional contact tracing, or tracking positive COVID-19 cases both to newly infected individuals and back to their original source, can be twice as effective as current methods.