Emory University receives $17.5 million to work with CDC as ‘innovation performer’ on outbreak forecasting

Emory University announced on Tuesday, Sept. 19, that it will be working with the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to develop an outbreak response network that will support experts during public health emergencies. Emory University will be one of 13 funded partners to work alongside the CDC’s Center for Forecasting and Outbreak Analytics (CFA) to develop the network.

For its role as an “innovative performer” in the network’s development, the Atlanta-based university received a total $17.5 million in funding. To complete the task, Emory University researchers will need to “support the development of a pipeline of new analytical methods, tools and platforms for modeling efforts that will ultimately inform public health decision makers.”

“We are honored that a collaborative team of Emory researchers from across our Rollins School of Public Health, School of Medicine and College of Arts and Sciences was selected to contribute to this critical endeavor,” Emory provost Ravi Bellamkonda said. “We are grateful to the CDC for giving Emory this opportunity to build upon our extensive achievements in seeking and applying innovative solutions with transformative real-world benefits. It speaks to Emory’s exceptional strength in outbreak preparedness and health sciences in general.”

When completed, the outbreak response network will be a first-of-its-kind national resource for outbreak analytics, disease modeling and forecasting for public health emergencies.

“Each of the grantees will help us move the nation forward in our efforts to better prepare and respond to infectious disease outbreaks that threaten our families and our communities,” Dylan George, director of CDC’s Center for Forecasting and Outbreak Analytics, explained. “We are committed to working alongside these outstanding partners to achieve our goal of using data and advanced analytics to support decision-makers at every level of government.”