Center for Transformative Infectious Disease Research (CTIDR)

Cornell University, Ithaca NY

Investigators

Abstract

Some of the greatest human health impacts from infectious diseases are influenced by weather events and seasons, which can shape when and where outbreaks occur, influence the abundance of disease vectors, and affect the survival and transmission of pathogens. Billions are at risk annually from rainfall-dependent malaria, and viral pathogen spillover events and spread of vector-borne diseases (VBD) are increasing due to extreme weather events. In response to these urgent threats, Cornell University has created the Center for Transformative Infectious Disease Research (CTIDR). To have the greatest health impacts, we must change research and practice paradigms from reactive focus on response to outbreaks to proactive understanding of the complex social and environmental conditions that promote risk of outbreaks. We hypothesize that community-engaged research integrating human, reservoir and vector behavior, weather, land-use, human and animal health, and vector/pathogen genomic evolution datasets, will enable creation of predictive epidemiological models and future generation and rigorous testing of preventative interventions. Improved understanding of these relationships will also facilitate current preparation/response. Working toward these goals, we integrate dimensions of building research capacity and performing transdisciplinary research in every element of CTIDR. Administrative Core (Travis, PI): will facilitate routine meetings; administer a pilot grant competition with preference for Early-Stage Investigators (ESI) to generate preliminary data and test feasibility for future studies; and organize transdisciplinary training for ESIs, post-doctoral and graduate student trainees to broaden their skills and network for future predictive infectious disease research. Living Evidence Applied Data Modeling Core (Hayden-ESI; SmithESI; Bento-ESI, co-leads): will integrate seemingly disparate datastreams spanning different disciplines and leverage transdisciplinary modeling expertise to enable researchers to combine weather, land-use, animal and human health, and genomic data, thereby disentangling generalizable patterns from context-specific relationships in disease dynamics. Community Engagement Core (Meredith-ESI, lead): will engage with every project to enable/perform community-informed research that is relevant and can effect long-term positive change. Project 1 (Plowright, lead): hypothesizes that weather extremes and land use changes result in wildlife stress, increasing both viral shedding and interaction with humans, facilitating viral spillover events (paramyxo-, corona-, and filoviruses). Project 2 (Goodman-NI, lead): hypothesizes that an integrated framework for a community-based early warning system for weather-sensitive VBD can promote human health, building upon existing remote sensing with new focus on mosquito-borne viruses and tick-borne pathogens (Anaplasma, Rickettsia, Coxiella), including genomic analysis for hotspots of selection. Center function is supported by world-class transdisciplinary research environments and institutional commitment to community engagement and impact.