MITIGATE FLU
Multidisciplinary InvesTIGATion to Ease inFLUenza
Mission
The overall goals of this research are to determine how behavioral and environmental factors affect transmission and to identify the most effective interventions for reducing transmission in child care and school settings. The research center is designed to transform our understanding of influenza virus transmission through a multidisciplinary approach that integrates data from three projects: (1) development of innovative sensors and assays to detect viruses in the air and on surfaces, (2) reimagined studies of transmission in animals, and (3) modeling of transmission in child care centers.
We will innovate detection of influenza in the environment and interpretation of these measurements. The final products of this effort will be accurate and rapid platforms for influenza virus detection within indoor air and on fomites, as well as mechanistic descriptions of influenza virus fate in the indoor environment.
We will apply a powerful experimental tool set, including viral genetics in the ferret model, to unambiguously define the efficiency of each mode of transmission, the impact of environmental and behavioral factors on transmission efficiency, and effectiveness of non-pharmaceutical interventions to reduce transmission.
Our goal is to integrate epidemiologic analyses and detection studies to build our understanding of influenza transmission in child care centers, a high-transmission environment where the interconnected contributions of host and environmental drivers of transmission can be measured in detail.