For our next talk, in the Digital Phenotyping seminar series, we will hear from Dr Luca Ferretti, Career Development Fellow of the Pandemic Sciences Institute, University of Oxford, Wednesday 25 September, 2:00pm – 3:00pm, at the Big Data Institute (BDI).
Title: Towards precision epidemiology: digital measurements of SARS-CoV-2 transmission risk and real-time drivers of epidemic dynamics
Date: Wednesday 25 September 2024
Time: 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm
Venue: BDI/OxPop, Seminar Room 0; followed by refreshments in the atrium
Abstract: Digital contact tracing is a public health tool developed and deployed worldwide during the COVID-19 pandemic. Contact-tracing apps measure proximity and duration of close contacts, allowing individuals who have been exposed to SARS-CoV-2 to be rapidly notified when cases are confirmed. These apps could also be used as a novel measurement tool for precision epidemiology, revealing individual and population determinants of transmissions. We analysed digitally recorded exposure measurements of 7 million contacts from the NHS COVID-19 app used in England and Wales, disentangling the contributions of proximity and duration of exposure to the risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission. The app’s capabilities for precision epidemic surveillance at scale also offered unprecedented near-real-time insights into epidemic dynamics, giving early indications of changes in the reproduction number Rt and showing whether these were driven by daily changes in contact rates, infectiousness, and type of exposures. These digital tools open a new road to precision epidemiology.
Bio: Luca Ferretti is a Career Development Fellow of the Pandemic Sciences Institute of the University of Oxford. His research revolves around models and methods to analyse and understand the epidemiological and evolutionary dynamics of viral pathogens, with a focus on major threats to human and animal health: HIV, SARS-CoV-2, flu, ASFV, FMDV. Dr. Ferretti’s seminal work on digital contact tracing and COVID-19 epidemiology at the beginning of the pandemic provided the key evidence and the epidemiological rationale for the development of contact-tracing apps around the world. He has actively supported the deployment and evaluation of the highly successful COVID-19 NHS app within the NHS Test&Trace program, produced the first large-scale evidence of the epidemiological impact of exposure notification apps, and supported the development of contact-tracing apps in many countries. He is passionate about designing, improving, implementing and evaluating public health interventions in preparation for future outbreaks, including novel options for precision epidemiology and epidemic management and control.
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