The Pandemic Systems Group
The Pandemic Systems Group is a multi-disciplinary, multi-institutional research group established to advance the understanding of pandemics from a human systems perspective.
We develop infectious disease intelligence grounded in the study of interacting human systems, including epidemiological, evolutionary, environmental, social, political and economic systems.
Heterogeneous Model Integration for Infectious Disease Intelligence
Heterogeneous Model Integration for Infectious Disease Intelligence ( HeMI : IDI ) is an interdisciplinary project seeking to apply the engineering System-of-Systems (SoS) concept to the grand challenge of integrating models across disciplines and scales. This project introduces a new paradigm (SoS) for infectious disease modeling.
This project is funded by an NSF Predictive Intelligence for Pandemic Prevention Phase I Development Grant (PIPP Phase I). Our Phase I activities will culminate in the development of a vision paper outlining the SoS approach to infectious disease model integration. Focusing on Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) and SARS‑CoV‑2 as study systems, we are conducting six interdisciplinary demonstration projects applying SoS thinking to problems at the intersections of biology, computer science, social science, and engineering.
During Phase I, we are engaging in workforce enhancement through the training of undergraduates, graduate students, and postdoctoral associates. Broader impacts of our project include the development of innovative and translational modeling approaches with relevance to various US mission agencies (e.g. USDA, EPA, NIH, and CDC) and global organizations (e.g. WHO, FAO, OIE, UN), as well as the creation of extensible, open-access computer code and data pipelines for integrative infectious disease modeling.
Latest Updates
New Poster on XAI
February 12, 2024
New poster by Kelly, Ghadami, Drake, and Epureanu on using Explainable AI for understanding key factors in disease transmission, presented at the 2023 MIDAS Network meeting. PDF
Knowledge Graphs for HPAI
February 01, 2024
New poster by Robertson, Graeden, Castellanos, David Rosado, Drake, and Han: “Knowledge Graphs for Scalable Data Integration: A Case Study of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI).” Presented at the 2023 MIDAS Network meeting. PDF
New Member
January 08, 2024
We welcome new postdoctoral associate Kerri-Ann Anderson to the HeMI:IDI team. Anderson’s past research utilized mathematical and computational models of cultural evolution to simulate the evolution of vaccine belief-behavior interactions. She is currently working to incorporate evolving health decision-making strategies into dynamical models of disease transmission and health-behavior adoption. Anderson holds a Master of Mathematical Sciences in Mathematical Biosciences from Ohio State University and a PhD in Biological Sciences (Cultural/Behavioral Evolution) from Vanderbilt University.
Poster on Social Tipping Points
December 01, 2023
New poster by Sarkar, Drake, and Rohani on behavior-induced tipping points in infectious diseases transmission, presented at the 2023 MIDAS Network meeting. PDF