Infectious Disease Modeling an Analytics for Health Action: The landscape at the cusp of an AI revolution.

ABSTRACT
While infectious disease modeling holds significant scientific interest, it is increasingly seen as a discipline focused on directly inform public health action. The use of models to inform health practice go back to its origins, but this focus has grown in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to the establishment of networks, hubs and established pathways for moving modeling and analytics into practice. However, it has also led to criticism, and highlighted fundamental shortcomings in our methodology. In this talk, I will give an overview of my perspective on the interface between infectious disease modeling and analytics and health action, and what the most important next steps are to advance the field.

SHORT BIO
Justin Lessler is a Professor in the Department of Epidemiology at UNC Chapel Hill, and one of the co-directors of the Atlantic Coast Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics and Analytics (ACCIDDA) which serves at the coordinating center . He specializes in researching the dynamics and control of infectious disease, with particular interest in SARS-CoV-2, influenza, cholera, and emerging infections. Justin works on the development and application of statistics, dynamic models, and novel study designs to better understand and control infectious disease.