Dr. Shi Chen has received a MIDAS* grant

Dr. Shi Chen has received a grant entitled “Data Mining and Transfer Learning for COVID-19 Modeling” from the MIDAS* network.

The goal of Dr. Chen’s project is to develop a data-driven workflow (from data mining of neglected sources to deep learning) to complement the currently used, yet nearly a century old, disease modeling paradigm (i.e., mechanistic SEIR-type model) and provide an alternative solution to the complex epidemiological system such as the current COVID-19 pandemic. This research will extract key topic contents, especially attitude towards non-pharmaceutical interventions (e.g., mask-wearing, social-distancing, stay-at-home order, etc) and intention to comply with these interventions, and hope to link these insights from social media with actual disease dynamics across socio-cultural backgrounds. In addition, Dr. Chen will investigate how different socio-cultural backgrounds (e.g., east Asia v.s. West) shape public discourse of COVID-19 on social media platforms (especially Sina Weibo v.s. Twitter), which could provide alternative and additional information on epidemic dynamics.

*MIDAS (Models of Infectious Disease Agents Study) network is an interdisciplinary collaborative effort to improve global preparedness and response against infectious disease threats. The COVID-19 Urgent Grant Program is made possible through NIH NIGMS supplemental funding to support ongoing COVID-19 research. Dr. Chen is faculty member in the School of Data Science and Department of Public Health Sciences.