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Preventing, detecting, and responding to new infectious diseases, either natural or human-made, is a national public health priority. NIGMS has responded by initiating two programs to encourage researchers to develop computational models that improve the detection, control, and prevention of emerging infectious diseases, including those relevant to biodefense. The Institute has also held two meetings on the topic of modeling infectious diseases. Descriptions of the initiatives and reports from the meetings are available below.
Pilot Projects for Models of Infectious Disease Agent Study (MIDAS)
Request for Applications RFA-GM-05-011 (a reissue of RFA-GM-03-008 which was previously published in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts, March 13, 2003)
Project Launch: May 1, 2004
MIDAS, composed of collaborative research groups and one informatics group, develops user-friendly computational models of host-pathogen interactions, disease epidemiology, forecasting systems, and response strategies. These models will assist policy makers, public health workers, and other researchers to understand and respond to new infectious disease outbreaks.
These research groups seek to understand processes such as the evolution and population dynamics of pathogen spread, host response, and drug resistance. The goals are to predict events including when and where new infectious diseases will emerge, what will happen in response to therapeutic interventions, and how ecological changes will impact the fitness of a disease agent or the course of an epidemic. We encourage investigator-initiated research projects involving interdisciplinary collaborations.
Meetings
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