Novel and Nontraditional Data Streams: Where Do They Fit into Biosurveillance Action?

Authors

  • Laura Streichert International Society for Disease Surveillance, Brighton, MA, United States
  • Aaron Kite-Powell MIT Lincoln Laboratory, Lexington, MA, United States
  • Timothy Dasey MIT Lincoln Laboratory, Lexington, MA, United States
  • Richard Hopkins International Society for Disease Surveillance, Brighton, MA, United States; University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
  • Courtney Corley Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, United States
  • Steve Bennett Department of Homeland Security, National Biosurveillance Integration Center, Washington, DC, United States

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5210/ojphi.v6i1.5139

Abstract

This panel convenes an interdisciplinary group of nationally recognized experts in biosurveillance (BSV) to provide their perspectives on integrating novel data sources into standards of practice for various BSV functions by public health agencies at different levels. The discussion will focus on the utility of novel, electronic data sources (e.g., social media) that originate outside of traditional healthcare and public health channels. An audience response "clicker" system will be used to foster audience engagement. In alignment with the 2013 ISDS conference theme, the desired outcome is to identify priorities for research and evaluation that will advance BSV science and practice.

Author Biographies

Laura Streichert, International Society for Disease Surveillance, Brighton, MA, United States

Laura Streichert, PhD, MPH is Executive Director of ISDS with broad-based experience in public health research, practice, and policy, especially in the areas of disease surveillance and prevention. Her expertise is in working across disciplines and agencies to advance the dissemination and implementation of knowledge and strategies for translating research into public health practice and action. She is an experienced educator and facilitator.

Aaron Kite-Powell, MIT Lincoln Laboratory, Lexington, MA, United States

Aaron Kite-Powell, MS is an epidemiologist with the MIT Lincoln Laboratory. Prior to this, he was a surveillance epidemiologist with the Florida Department of Health, where he was responsible for project management, coordination of system and data source development, system testing, monitoring and analysis, training, and coordination with Florida's state and county health department users. Aaron's expertise is in implementing syndromic surveillance systems and in connecting big-picture perspectives with ground-level approaches to advancing surveillance practice.

Timothy Dasey, MIT Lincoln Laboratory, Lexington, MA, United States

Timothy Dasey, PhD is the Leader of the Informatics and Decision Support Group at MIT Lincoln Laboratory, which is developing information science technologies and systems for several application domains, including various homeland security domains, chemical and biological defense, and transportation systems. Tim's group is currently developing evaluation methods and tools for the Biosurveillance Ecosystem program at the Defense Threat Reduction Agency. Among the BSVE purposes is mining multiple internet-based data streams for disease-related information.

Richard Hopkins, International Society for Disease Surveillance, Brighton, MA, United States; University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States

Richard Hopkins, MD, MSPH has over 35 years of experience in applied epidemiology and is a national leader in public health surveillance practice. Dr. Hopkins has worked as an epidemiologist in five states and at CDC as Director of the Division of Public Health Surveillance and Informatics. He is currently a Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Florida and serves as President of ISDS.

Courtney Corley, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, United States

Courtney Corley, PhD is a Health Security and Informatics Research Scientist at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. His research centers on the development of transformational analytics, which provide analytical insight at interaction speed on unstructured and semi-structured data streams. Dr. Corley's research and project management activities focus on One Health and national security solutions in support of non-governmental organizations and the U.S. Departments of Energy, Health and Human Services, Defense, and Homeland Security.

Steve Bennett, Department of Homeland Security, National Biosurveillance Integration Center, Washington, DC, United States

Steve Bennett, PhD is the Director of the National Biosurveillance Integration Center (NBIC) in the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Office of Health Affairs where he leads an integrated team of scientific, public health, veterinary, policy, and information technology experts charged with enabling early warning and shared situational awareness of acute biological events. Dr. Bennett has extensive experience and expertise in developing approaches, strategies, and methodologies for risk assessment and providing decision support for stakeholders.

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Published

2014-03-09

How to Cite

Streichert, L., Kite-Powell, A., Dasey, T., Hopkins, R., Corley, C., & Bennett, S. (2014). Novel and Nontraditional Data Streams: Where Do They Fit into Biosurveillance Action?. Online Journal of Public Health Informatics, 6(1). https://doi.org/10.5210/ojphi.v6i1.5139

Issue

Vol. 6 No. 1 (2014)

Section

Panel Presentations

License

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