Upcoming Webinar: August Literature Review and Presentation on Seasonal Synchronization of Influenza

The ISDS Research Committee will be hosting its bi-monthly Literature Review this Thursday, August 26th at 12:00 pm EST. 

In addition to the regularly scheduled review session, there will be a presentation by Elena Naumova, PhD, on her recent publication entitled "Seasonal Synchronization of Influenza in the United States Older Adult Population."  Dr. Naumova is a professor in the Department of Public Health and Community Medicine and the Director of the Tufts Initiative for the Forecasting and Modeling of Infectious Diseases at Tufts University School of Medicine. 

The first half hour of the call will consist of the regularly scheduled review of notable publications in the last two months, followed by Dr. Naumova's presentation at 12:30 pm EST.

To access the list of recent publications, please contact us.

Register for the webinar here.  

Call for Proposals for Session Addressing Data Quality at the 2010 Annual Conference

The Scientific Program Committee is seeking proposals for a special conference session addressing data quality. The purpose of the session is to highlight methodologies and “best practices” used to monitor data quality. Examples include:

• Using indicators to identify problems with data quality (e.g., essential data quality checks that should be routinely employed to monitor data quality);
• Tools (e.g., visualizations, dashboards) developed to audit data quality;
• Techniques for anticipating changes to data quality when data sources or data elements change over time;
• Procedures for resolving data quality challenges. 

Proposals should be brief (no longer than 1 page, 12 pt font) and are due no later than September 3^rd, 2010*. The format of the session (e.g., panel of speakers, oral presentations, discussion forum, poster presentations, working group) will be chosen based on the number of quality submissions received. Proposals for this session will be reviewed by the Scientific Program Committee, and you will receive notification of a decision by October 15, 2010.

 *For full submission guidelines, please visit the ISDS website.  

Upcoming Book Release: "Biosurveillance: Methods and Case Studies"

This entry is being cross-posted from Biosurveillance 2.0, a blog by Taha Kass-Hout, MD, MS, who recently announced the upcoming release of his new book, Biosurveillance: Methods and Case Studies.

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My new book on Biosurveillance is scheduled for release on September 17th, 2010. The book:

• Provides a synopsis of current state-of-the-art practices as well as a starting point for the development and evaluation of new methods
• Covers applied research and complete case studies in biosurveillance that focus on local, regional and national implementation
• Presents techniques from other fields, such as intelligence and engineering
• Explores future innovations in biosurveillance, including advances in analytical methods, modeling, and simulation
• Addresses policy and organizational issues related to the construction of biosurveillance systems

“While having its roots in 21st Century infectious disease threats to health on a grand scale, biosurveillance has come to encompass a broader scope of the science and practice of managing population health-related data and information so that effective action can be taken to mitigate adverse health effects from urgent threats. This expansive scope is reflected in the diverse collection of reports and perspectives brought together in this text, Biosurveillance." — From the Foreword by Daniel M. Sosin, MD, MPH, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Table of Contents

• Timeliness of Data Sources, Lynne Dailey, PhD, MPH, BSc.
• Simulating and Evaluating Biosurveillance Datasets, Thomas H. Lotze, Galit Shmueli, Lotze, Shmueli, Yahav Inbal Yahav, and Robert H. Smith
• Remote Sensing-Based Modeling of Infectious Disease Transmission, Richard K. Kiang, Farida Adimi, Radina P. Soebiyanto
• Integrating Human Capabilities into Biosurveillance Systems: A Study of Biosurveillance and Situation Awareness, Cheryl A. Bolstad, Haydee M. Cuevas, Jingjing Wang-Costello, Mica R. Endsley, Walton John Page, and Taha Kass-Hout
• The Role of Zoos in Biosurveillance, Julia Chosy, PhD, Janice Mladonick, and Tracey McNamara, DVM
• HealthMap, Amy L. Sonricker, MPH, Clark C. Freifeld, Mikaela Keller, PhD, John S. Brownstein, PhD
• The Role of SMS Text Messaging to Improve Public Health Response, Elizabeth Avery Gomez, Ph.D.
• Using Prediction Markets to Forecast Infectious Diseases, Philip M. Polgreen, MD, MPH, and Forrest D. Nelson, PhD
• The Role of Data Aggregation in Public Health and Food Safety Surveillance, Artur Dubrawski
• Introduction to China’s Infectious Disease Surveillance System, Jin Shuigao and Ma Jiaqi
• Biosurveillance and Public Health Practice: A Case Study of North Carolina’s NC DETECT System, S. Cornelia Kaydos-Daniels, PhD, MSPH; Lucia Rojas Smith, DrPH,, MPH; Amy I. Ising, MSIS; Clifton Barnett, MSIS; Tonya Farris, MPH;, Anna E. Waller, ScD; and Scott Wetterhall, MD, MPH
• Aberration Detection in R Illustrated by Danish mortality monitoring, Michael Höhl and, Anne Mazick
• User Requirements toward a Real-Time Biosurveillance Program, Nuwan Waidyanatha and Suma Prashant
• Using Common Alerting Protocol to Support a Real-Time Biosurveillance Program in Sri Lanka and India, Gordon A. Gow and Nuwan Waidyanatha
• Navigating the Information Storm: Web-Based Global Health Surveillance in BioCaster, Nigel Collier, Son Doan, Reiko Matsuda Goodwin, John McCrae, Mike Conway, Mika Shigematsu, and Ai Kawazoe
• A Snapshot of Situation Awareness: Using the NC DETECT System to Monitor the 2007 Heat Wave, David B. Rein
• Linking Detection to Effective Response, Scott F. Wetterhall, MD, MPH, Taha A. Kass-Hout, MD, MS , and David L. Buckeridge, MD, PhD

By reading this book, I hope you reap from it lessons and insights to apply in your work for a lifetime.
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