The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has awarded the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security a five-year, $23.5m grant to launch an epidemic preparedness project as part of the CDC’s multisite Outbreak Analytics and Disease Modeling Network.
The project, ‘Toward Epidemic Preparedness: Enhancing Public Health Infrastructure and Incorporating Data-Driven Tools’, aims to establish large-scale partnerships with traditional and nontraditional public health stakeholders across the US.
The CDC curated the Center for Forecasting and Outbreak Analysis in 2021 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the project’s first year, the team will cooperate with partner organisations to understand decision-makers’s information needs and explore how modelling and analytics can help improve decision-making during public health emergencies.
Caitlin Rivers, project lead, epidemiologist, and assistant professor in the department of environmental health and engineering, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Johns Hopkins Whiting School of Engineering, said: “Through collaborative partnerships and the deployment of data-driven tools, we aim to empower public health professionals, decision-makers, and communities across the country to proactively respond to emerging health threats.”
Working with colleagues across the Bloomberg School and Johns Hopkins University, including the Johns Hopkin’s Center for Teaching and Learning, the project will also train public health students, practitioners, and modellers to use modelling and analytics tools for the full spectrum of epidemic responses.
Crystal Watson, project lead, risk assessment and preparedness expert, and associate professor in the Department of Environmental Health and Engineering, said: “Building analytical and communication skills is vital for aiding policymakers in gathering, understanding, and acting on evidence during health crises.”
The project will also engage with diverse groups, including state and local public health departments, elected leaders, public health decision-makers and meteorologists.
Tom Inglesby, director of the Center for Health Security, said: “We are committed to working with our partners to establish systems, processes, and collaborations for integrating modelling and analytics into the management of routine and seasonal respiratory viruses as well as potential infectious disease emergencies.”
The Center for Health Security is one of 13 other organisations that accumulate the Outbreak Analytics and Disease Modelling Network.