A University of Maryland Grand Challenges Grant funded research project led by Dr. Augustin Vintzileos of the Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center is investigating the relationship between atmospheric conditions and the virulence of COVID-19, with the aim of developing a prototype forecasting system for infectious disease.
This multidisciplinary research has brought together expertise in virology, epidemiology, and climate sciences, and has involved collaborations with researchers at the University of Nebraska Medical Center and the School of Medicine at the University of Maryland Baltimore.
Based on research findings thus far, Dr. Vintzileos will deliver a presentation at the Annual Meeting of the American Geophysical Union in December 2024 in Washington, D.C., and has also submitted an abstract for the Annual Meeting of the American Meteorological Society in January 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Recently, a new strain of the SARS-CoV-2 virus increased the number of COVID-19 cases. Dr. Vintzileos and his research team are incorporating this new data to fine-tune their environmental criteria.
The research team expects to have the prototype forecasting system ready by December 2024. Once the prototype is developed, it will be tested in real time during the Spring, Summer, and Autumn of 2025.
For more information, visit: https://research.umd.edu/early-warning-covid