CDC To Invest $26 Million in Advanced Outbreak Forecasting and Analytics

On October 26, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced $26 Million in funding to develop next-generation infectious disease forecasting and analytics.

The agency will provide $21 million to support research and development of advanced infectious disease models and analytical tools. The awards will support three years of work at five leading academic institutions: University at Albany, State University of New York; Johns Hopkins University; Stanford University; the University of Utah and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

The CDC also announced $5 million to support collaborations with the National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy to further advance federal infectious disease modeling capabilities. These funds will support rapid-response research projects and provide access to high performance computing resources.

These investments are part of a broader effort to improve the nation’s ability to use data, modeling, and analytics to improve pandemic preparedness and response. Funding for these projects comes from the American Rescue Plan of 2021.

The funded work will:

• Develop new methods and resources for analyzing infectious disease data to support public health decision-making.
• Create tools and programs to train the next generation of infectious disease modelers.
• Understand and develop evidence-based strategies to combat health inequities in outbreaks.

These awards are the first investments by CDC’s Center for Forecasting and Outbreak Analytics (CFA).

“These investments will improve the nation’s ability to forecast infectious-disease outbreaks and to better inform local leaders on how to respond,” said, Dylan George, CFA’s Director for Operations. “We are excited to work with the renowned experts on these needed projects.”

Other activities by CFA will include providing modeling and analytical capabilities to federal, state, tribal, territorial, and local partners. The new Center will also provide timely and accessible information to the public. CFA is expected to formally launch in early 2022.