International Clinics on Infectious Disease Dynamics and Data (ICI3D Program)

描述(申请人提供)：数学和模拟是传染病控制中的基本工具，使决策者能够在实施控制政策之前探索控制政策，解释趋势，并预测新出现的威胁。该项目借鉴了我们在南非组织和开办传染病动力学课程的多年经验，并建立在早期诊所奠定的基础上，通过促进与最有前途的学生在他们的研究生涯中发展的反复互动来实现这一目标。拟议的计划包括两个不同但重叠的传染病动力学和数据国际诊所，以及一个互补的研究学者交流计划。流行病数据有意义建模诊所(MMED)每年在南非举行，目标是量化科学家，包括数学家、统计学家、计算机科学家和选定的 传染病流行病学家。参与者通过将数学模型与流行病学数据相结合，参与有关传染病动力学的有意义的问题。我们教参与者使用数据来构建最简单或最清晰的模型，以回答给定的问题，而不是建立与数据无关的复杂数学模型。传染病数据动态方法诊所(DAIDD)将在佛罗里达大学每年举行一次，目标是对研究传染病感兴趣的公共卫生研究人员和人口生物学家。教学重点将集中在病原体传播的复杂动态如何影响研究设计和数据收集，以解决传染病研究中的问题。参与者将为其感兴趣的系统制定书面研究提案，并将在寻找开展其拟议研究所需资源方面得到指导。国际疾病动力学和数据研究学者交流计划(I3D)将允许选定的临床参与者与临床教师进一步接触。该计划将资助学者在教职员工的家乡机构花6周时间进行一项经批准的研究项目。来自非洲的i3D学者将与北美机构的教师合作，美国i3D学者将与非洲机构的教师合作。I3D学者计划将补充两个年度诊所，为两大洲之间的合作研究提供近乎连续的流动。 公共卫生相关性：当前传染病控制和预防中的许多重要问题--例如消除艾滋病毒/艾滋病的检测和治疗方案的潜力以及消除沙眼的战略的制定--最好通过传染病动力学的数学模型、精心设计的现场试验以及对观察和实验数据的仔细分析来理解。国际传染病动力学和数据诊所(ICI3D)计划将为来自美国和非洲的初级研究人员提供一个独特且亟需的机会，以开发进行此类研究所需的工具集，并跨学科边界交流他们的问题、方法和发现。拟议的项目将直接支持来自美国和非洲的150多名初级研究人员，并通过参与有意义的流行病学数据建模诊所间接支持另外150-200名非洲研究人员，该诊所将由南非流行病学建模和分析中心(SACEMA)和非洲数学科学家研究所(AIMS)直接支持。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Mathematics and simulation are essential tools in infectious disease control, enabling decision-makers to explore control policies before implementing them, interpret trends, and predict emerging threats. This project draws on our years of experience organizing and running courses on infectious disease dynamics in South Africa and builds on the foundation laid by earlier Clinics by promoting repeated interaction with the most promising students as they develop in their research careers. The proposed program comprises 2 distinct but overlapping International Clinics on Infectious Disease Dynamics and Data and a complementary research scholars exchange program. The Clinic on the Meaningful Modeling of Epidemiological Data (MMED), to be held annually in South Africa, targets quantitative scientists, including mathematicians, statisticians, computer scientists, and selected infectious disease epidemiologists. Participants engage with meaningful questions about infectious disease dynamics by integrating mathematical models with epidemiological data. We teach participants to use data to inform the construction of the simplest or clearest models appropriate to answer a given question, rather than on the development of complex mathematical models unrelated to data. The Clinic on Dynamic Approaches to Infectious Disease Data (DAIDD), to be held annually at the University of Florida, targets public health researchers and population biologists interested in studying infectious diseases. Instruction will focus on how the complex dynamics of pathogen transmission influence study design and data collection for addressing problems in infectious disease research. Participants will develop written research proposals for their systems of interest and will receive guidance in seeking out the resources necessary for carrying out their proposed research. The International Disease Dynamics and Data Research Scholars Exchange Program (I3D) will allow selected Clinic participants to engage further with Clinic faculty. The program will fund scholars to spend 6 weeks working on an approved research project at the faculty member's home institution. I3D scholars from Africa will work with faculty at North American institutions, and American I3D scholars will work with faculty at African institutions. The I3D scholars program will complement the two annual clinics to provide a near-continuous flow of collaborative research between the two continents. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Many important current problems in infectious disease control and prevention - such as the potential for test-and-treat programs to eliminate HIV/AIDS and the development of strategies for trachoma elimination - are best understood through a combination of mathematical models of infectious disease dynamics, well-designed field trials, and careful analysis of observational and experimental data. The International Clinics on Infectious Disease Dynamics and Data (ICI3D) program will provide a unique and much needed opportunity for junior researchers from the US and Africa to develop the toolsets necessary to conduct this type of research and to communicate their questions, methods, and findings across interdisciplinary boundaries. The proposed project will directly support over 150 junior investigators from the US and Africa and indirectly support an additional 150-200 African researchers through their participation in the Clinics on the Meaningful Modeling of Epidemiological Data, which will be directly supported by the South African Centre for Epidemiological Modelling and Analysis (SACEMA) and the African Institute for Mathematical Scientists (AIMS).