Duke CFAR + MISM Mini-Symposium

Name: The Models of Infectious Disease Agent Study (MIDAS) Coordination Center: Supporting a Community of Infectious Disease Modeling Researchers
Start: 2026-04-30T14:00:00-04:00

Speaker

Harry Hochheiser, PhD

Abstract: Since 2004, the Models of Infectious Disease Agent Study (MIDAS) has been an NIGMS-supported community of researchers focused on the development and evaluation of mathematical techniques for modeling outbreaks of infectious diseases. The MIDAS Coordination Center (midasnetwork.us) was established in 2019, when MIDAS transitioned from a small group of researchers funded through specific programs to a community open to anyone working in the field. The Center's mission is "to advance science to improve global preparedness and response against infectious disease threats through research, training, promotion, and service." Throughout the height of the COVID-19 emergency and since, the MIDAS Coordination Center has curated data, supported community efforts such as the COVID-19 Scenario Modeling Hub, coordinated working groups, hosted events including a webinar and annual meetings, and conducted research into the application of data science principles to infectious disease modeling. Updates on these and related efforts will be provided, along with comments on challenges associated with research community coordination. Bio: Harry Hochheiser, PhD is Professor in the Department of Biomedical Informatics at the University of Pittsburgh's School of Medicine. He holds appointments in Pitt's Intelligent Systems Program, Clinical and Translational Science Institute, and UPMC Cancer Center. He is also director of Pitt's Biomedical Informatics and Artificial Intelligence Training Program. Dr. Hochheiser's research program focuses on making clinical and public health information more useful and comprehensible, through research projects funded by the NCI, NINDS, and NIGMS. Location: Hock Plaza - Room #214 (CRTP Classroom) Zoom: https://duke.zoom.us/j/98485317684 Meeting ID: 984 8531 7684 ---- This seminar series is organized by the Center of Multiscale Immune Systems Modeling (MISM), funded by NIAID/NIH (U54AI191253).

AI in HIV Panel:

Naseem Alavian, MD, MPH – Assistant Professor of Medicine, Infectious Diseases

Lance Okeke, MD, MPH – Associate Professor of Medicine, Infectious Diseases

Nrupen Bhavsar, PhD – Associate Professor in Surgery, Surgical Sciences

Moderator: Taylor Krajewski, PhD – Assistant Professor of Biostatistics & Bioinformatics

Michael Hudgens, PhD

Title: Counting viruses: Estimating the size of the latent HIV reservoir

Abstract: We will discuss statistical methods for quantifying the latent HIV reservoir in anti-retroviral therapy suppressed individuals. In particular, we will focus on the quantitative virus outgrowth assay (QVOA), a type of serial limiting dilution assay which is used to estimate the number of infectious units per million (IUPM) resting CD4+ T cells. A simple, free publicly available R software package and web tool to analyze serial limiting dilution assay data will be described. We will also consider methods for quantifying the size of the reservoir when additional viral RNA sequence data is available. Bio: Dr. Michael Hudgens is a Professor and Chair of the Department of Biostatistics at UNC-Chapel Hill. He also serves as the Director of the Biostatistics Core of the UNC Center for AIDS Research. He has experience in collaborative research and statistical methodology development related to studies of infectious diseases. Professor Hudgens has co-authored more than 300 peer-reviewed papers in statistical journals such as Biometrics, Biometrika, JASA and JRSS-B as well as biomedical journals such as the Lancet, Nature and New England Journal of Medicine. He currently serves as an Associate Editor for Biometrics and JASA. He is an Elected Fellow of the American Statistical Association and has taught graduate-level biostatistics courses at UNC for 20 years.

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This symposium was organized by the Duke University Center for AIDS Research (CFAR), an NIH‑funded program (5P30 AI064518) and the Center of Multiscale Immune Systems Modeling (MISM), funded by NIAID/NIH (U54AI191253).

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Additional Location Information

Meeting ID: 984 8531 7684