The Data Institute for Societal Challenges (DISC) hosted the "Surveillance Revolution: Transforming Pandemic Prevention" Speaker Series, funded by the NSF Predictive Intelligence for Pandemic Prevention (PIPP) grant (Grant #2200299). This grant aims to enhance early detection, surveillance, and response to zoonotic diseases with pandemic potential by integrating technologies such as Breathomics, wastewater monitoring, and AI-driven epidemiological modeling. The primary goal is to transition from traditional disease monitoring to a predictive, preventative model, enabling earlier and more accurate responses. These technologies bridge gaps in pathogen detection and response by incorporating multiscale data from animals, humans, and the environment, supporting a proactive approach to health surveillance. This lecture series highlighted ongoing research and strategies for addressing challenges in zoonotic disease surveillance, data integration, and predictive modeling. It underscored the importance of technological innovation with community and industry collaboration to mitigate future pandemics. The series included four lectures, with the final one scheduled for November 18, 2024.
The first speaker, Dr. Brian Dixon, a Professor at Indiana University and Interim Director at the Regenstrief Institute's Center for Biomedical Informatics, as well as a Health Research Scientist for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, focused on the One Health approach to antimicrobial resistance, particularly in food-producing animals like beef cattle, highlighting critical research gaps. The second speaker, Dr. Shaun Grannis, Vice President of Data and Analytics at Regenstrief Institute and a Professor of Family Medicine at Indiana University School of Medicine, discussed the importance of data integration and predictive modeling in public health surveillance. He also covered vaccine effectiveness, long COVID-19 research, and the use of large language models to enhance health surveillance.
The third speaker, Dr. Juergen Richt, Director of the NIH Center on Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases and Director of the Center of Excellence for Emerging and Zoonotic Diseases (CEEZAD) at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, addressed high-consequence zoonotic pathogens, such as African Swine Fever, SARS-CoV-2, and animal influenza viruses. His presentation included experimental infections of livestock with the H5N1 avian influenza virus, focusing on its effects on dairy cows. He highlighted the potential for H5N1 to replicate in cows' mammary glands, which could pose transmission risks through milk, with significant implications for both animal and public health. The final speaker, Dr. Jared Taylor, former State Epidemiologist with the Oklahoma State Department of Health, now Chief Science Officer at the Oklahoma State Department of Health and a Professor in the Department of Veterinary Pathobiology at Oklahoma State University, will address antimicrobial resistance in animal agriculture using a One Health approach, exploring the connections between human, animal, and environmental health.
