Emergency Preparedness & Response
Insight Net aims to establish a network of organizations, systems, and subject matter experts who are response-ready to support state, tribal, local, and territorial State, Tribal, Local, and Territorial health departments (STLTs) jurisdictional partners with advanced outbreak analytics, disease modeling, and technical support during a public health emergency. Our centers have been working to accomplish this by establishing infrastructure for response activities, such as staffing plans, rapid analysis and data collection protocols, and data use agreements; fostering partnerships with STLT jurisdictions, and identifying key areas of focus in public health.
Innovation in Modeling & Analytics
Our network seeks to drive innovation and application of infectious disease modeling and analytics to utilize the best approaches for predicting and understanding the dynamics of infectious diseases in our country. We have centers focused on innovating tools and methods, testing and integrating tools, and implementing to support decision-making.
Forecasting & Scenario Projection
Several Insight Net centers are developing models to provide short-term forecasts and long-term scenario projections for various pathogens. Forecasting models are designed to predict the current or short-term future trajectory of a disease, providing unconditional estimates of what will happen on the scale of weeks to months. In contrast, scenario modeling produces longer-term projections that aim to compare outbreak trajectories under different assumptions governing key features of interventions, pathogens, and populations that drive disease dynamics. Both forecasts and scenario projections help to provide insight on what trends to expect from a disease’s trajectory, in order to inform decisions around response and intervention.
Machine Learning & Artificial Intelligence
Many centers have ongoing work leveraging machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) methods for various applications. These applications include, but are not limited to, developing forecasting models, addressing issues in data coverage, and modeling disease rates at finer geographic scales. Machine learning and AI provide immense opportunity to use diverse data sources to provide insights at greater scale, detail, and more rapidly than has been previously possible. A cross-center working group is in place to exchange information and resources among groups working in this area.
Innovation in Data
The network is working to use all available data to power rapid, robust, and impactful outbreak analytics and disease modeling outputs. To accomplish this, we have centers identifying and utilizing novel data sources, establishing infrastructure for data access, synthesizing data from multiple sources to produce innovative analytic products, and increasing availability of these products.
Data Standards
To facilitate interoperability and sharing resources across the network, we have a cross-center group working to establish standards for data and outputs. This group aims to identify guidelines to facilitate FAIRness (FAIR: Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) in epidemiological data and have conducted a survey to identify the data available at each center.
Wastewater Surveillance
Several centers have activities contributing to wastewater surveillance and data utilization for analytics and modeling. This includes developing dashboards for wastewater data, optimizing wastewater monitoring networks, and incorporating wastewater surveillance data into predictive models. A cross-center working group meets to ensure shared resources and collaboration on ongoing work with wastewater surveillance across the network.
Social Contact Surveys🔗
Social contact data is a core component of models for infectious disease spread. Through distributed efforts across multiple centers, Insight Net is working toward understanding and quantifying how people physically interact across the US. To accomplish this, these centers are conducting social contact surveys and collecting primary data. In an effort to facilitate the exchange of methods, resources, and knowledge regarding social contact studies, the centers conducting these studies are developing standards for these systematically collected behavioral data relevant to directly-transmitted pathogens.
Supporting STLTs & Building Capacity
We are working to ensure modeling & analytics can be applied to real-world situations and to support public health decision-making. To do this, Insight Net has numerous efforts aimed at guiding STLTs in the use of modeling, providing analytic support, training STLTs and the modeling community, and supporting communication of outputs and risk assessment.
Modeling Guidance
Insight Net is working to establish standardized and effective guidance on how STLT organizations can use and implement infectious disease models for the needs in their organizations. The network works to provide this guidance through a cross-center working group, which is developing a set of best practices for using models to guide public health action. We also have established the Insight Net Community Forum, a platform for individuals from public health and academia to seek technical support with infectious disease modeling and analytics directly from some of the leading experts in the field.
Modeling Support
One central focus of Insight Net is to provide direct support through partnerships between the centers and STLTs. As part of Insight Net’s 13 centers, nearly 100 STLT organizations have been established as direct partners, spanning 30 US states, 2 US territories, and one tribal nation, with support consisting of a multitude of projects and efforts. STLTs interested in analyses or model outputs can reach out to our network for support.
Training
To build capacity among STLTs and future investigators in infectious disease modeling and analytics, our network is also focused on providing training to multiple audiences, ranging from degree-seeking students, to STLT epidemiologists and technical professionals, to decision and policy makers. These trainings include academic courses and programs, online courses, in-person short courses, and activities to embed junior modelers within STLTs. We have a cross-center working group that is working to consolidate training activity information to avoid duplication, identify gaps, and share resources throughout the network.
Communications & Risk Assessment
Without effective communication, there can be limited understanding of and value added by infectious disease modeling and analytics. Our centers have ongoing work to build effective communication with their STLT partners and the broader public aiming to provide risk assessments that help provide insight into overall risk from an outbreak in the early stages when data may be limited.