Computing Diseases

Forecasting Flu | 1/25/13
A technique that predicts when cities may experience the highest number of flu cases could aid preparedness efforts.

Getting a Better Grasp on Flu Fundamentals | 11/26/12
Studying the molecular structure of the flu virus and modeling how flu infection can spread are aiding efforts to keep people from getting sick.

Q&A: Michelle Lee, High School Epidemiologist | 12/13/11
Teenager Michelle Lee modeled the spread of an invasive skin bacteria among high school athletes.

Computing the Contagious | 9/9/11
Three new projects enlist the help of computers to help keep dengue fever, tuberculosis, H1N1 influenza and other contagious diseases under control.

Virtual Populations Get More Real | 5/18/11
Mapping where people likely live within a virtual population helps modelers more realistically simulate the spread of infectious diseases.

Solving the Sleeping Sickness 'Mystery' | 2/21/11
Modeling tsetse fly distribution in Kenya may aid efforts to stop the spread of a deadly disease.

How Contagious Diseases Spread through Communities | 12/20/10
Tracking interactions at a high school reveals new insights into the role of social networks in disease spread.

Modeling H1N1: Then and Now | 9/23/10
Computational modelers continue to simulate how the H1N1 flu could spread.

Census Data Aids Disease Simulation Studies | 3/31/10
Did you know that filling out your census card will also help computer scientists model how diseases spread in the United States?

Q&A: Jeffrey Shaman on Seasonal Flu and Humidity | 2/23/10
New modeling work indicates that absolute humidity is the main driver of seasonal flu outbreaks during the winter.

The Science of Simulating Disease Spread
Part 3: The Future of Infectious Disease Modeling | 1/7/10
In the final part of the series, Irene Eckstrand discusses some of the future challenges of infectious disease modeling.

Part 2: Modeling the 2009 H1N1 Pandemic | 1/4/10
In the second part of the series, Irene Eckstrand explains how researchers develop and use disease spread models to help us prepare for and manage outbreaks.

Part 1: Why We Model Infectious Diseases | 12/28/09
In the first of a three-part series, modeling expert Irene Eckstrand discusses how modeling can help us understand and manage new infectious diseases.

Research on a Mission: Five Years with MIDAS | 9/3/09
MIDAS director Irene Eckstrand talks about helping modelers and policymakers understand disease spread and containment.

Disease Modeling Efforts Gain New Ground | 9/3/09
To help the nation—and the world—understand and prepare for contagious outbreaks, new research groups join the Models of Infectious Disease Agent Study.

First Look: Policy Informatics | 8/24/09
Some computer modelers are giving their disease-spread simulations to policymakers to help them decide how to intervene in an outbreak.

Disease-Spread Modeling Gets Help from Facebook | 6/11/09
Researchers survey Facebook users to better understand how their decisions influence—and are influenced by—disease outbreaks.

10 Reasons to Model | 1/7/09
From explaining concepts to finding the simple within the complex, modeler Joshua Epstein offers ten reasons scientists make computer simulations.

Following Flu | 6/11/08
A new modeling technique called antigenic cartography traces flu's global spread, including its likely responsiveness to vaccine.