All day
Breakfast with SFI
Wednesday, October 22, 2014
9:00 a.m. Breakfast
9:30 a.m. Talk
HomeAway, Inc.
11800 Domain Blvd.
Suite 300
Austin, Texas 78758
Big Data and the Race to Stop Global Pandemics
Lauren Meyers
Science Board, External Professor, Santa Fe Institute; Professor, Department of Integrative Biology, The University of Texas at Austin
Infectious diseases claim millions of lives every year. Although the burden is borne primary by the developed world, the specter of a global pandemic is something we must take very seriously. Over the last two years, we have witnessed the emergence of a deadly new H7N9 avian influenza in China and the MERS coronavirus in Saudi Arabia, the persistent scourge of HIV, the appearance of dengue fever and chikungunya in the continental US, and the terrifying expansion of ebola in Africa. Time is of the essence as public health agencies race to contain new outbreaks before they emerge on a global scale. Yet many occur when and where we are least equipped to detect and control them. Digital disease detection—the use of social media and internet search data to catch and track outbreaks—may buy us life-saving time. Tweets, blogs, and Wikipedia hits reveal what's ailing the world's population at much higher resolution and closer to real-time than our 20th century disease surveillance systems.
Professor Meyers will discuss global pandemics, the current threats of ebola and influenza, and how big data and modern computing are helping to fight contagion.
Seating is limited and by invitation only.
Please click here to register and reserve your place or call the Office of Advancement at 505.946.3678 by October 17.