A computational modelling framework for identifying smart vaccination strategies

Medicago是一家临床阶段的生物制药公司，它开发了一种非常创新的生产方法，有可能在从流感毒株中识别出基因序列后3周内开发出用于测试的疫苗，从而在疫情爆发期间很早就可以对人群进行大规模疫苗接种。该公司想知道需要多少剂量的疫苗，以及在流感大流行的情况下，应该采用什么样的分配策略来最大限度地提高全民接种疫苗的效益。我们将采用一种基于代理人的建模方法，纳入有关人口概况、健康指标、疾病特征以及新疫苗技术生产和有效性参数的信息，以确定所需的疫苗剂量和分配率 在疫苗生产能力和交付的限制下。我们将与Medicago沟通该项目的成果，这将使他们能够预测和提高Medicago的疫苗生产能力，以便Medicago与其全球客户之间进行有效的沟通。除了减轻大流行病对加拿大经济的负面影响外，Medicago还将利用这项技术提高其市场份额，并在国内和国际上更具竞争力。因此，它将为加拿大经济做出贡献，随着这项技术的改进，它将为加拿大创造就业机会和增长提供机会。该项目为HQP学员提供了一个极好的机会，利用尖端技术和方法进行世界级的研究，同时也获得了涉及应用驱动问题的校外工业经验。

Medicago, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, has developed a very innovative production method, which has the potential to enable the development of a vaccine for testing within 3 weeks of the identification of genetic sequences from an influenza strain, allowing for large-scale vaccination of the population very early during an outbreak. The company would like to know how many doses of vaccine is required and what distribution strategies should be used to maximize population-wide benefits of vaccination in the event of an influenza pandemic. We will apply an agent-based modelling approach to incorporate information on population profiles; health indicators; disease characteristics; and novel vaccine technology production and effectiveness parameters in order to determine the required number of vaccine doses and distribution rates under constraints of vaccine manufacturing capacity and delivery. We will communicate the outcomes of this project with Medicago, which will enable them to project and improve Medicago's vaccine production capacity, so that effective communications can take place between Medicago and its customers worldwide. In addition to mitigating the negative effects of a pandemic on the Canadian economy, Medicago will use this technology to improve its market share and to become more competitive nationally and internationally. It will thereby contribute to the Canadian economy, and as this technology improves, it will provide opportunities for job creation and growth within Canada. This project provides an excellent opportunity for HQP trainees to leverage cutting edge techniques and methodologies for performing world-class research, but also to gain off-campus industrial experience involving applied-driven problems.