Biological and Biomedical Science

Infectious disease surveillance: NCSA is working with regional hospitals on a tool that provides early detection of possible bioterrorism events or disease outbreaks using primarily real-time chief-complaint-based data. The team is also investigating the use of less specific data sources, such as absenteeism and sales of over-the-counter medications.

Medical informatics: NCSA has provided computational resources to the Models of Infectious Disease Agent Study (MIDAS) community and has discussed the community's need for a comprehensive cyberenvironment. In collaboration with Martin Kulldorff at Harvard University NCSA began work on a framework to simplify advanced outbreak detection research and practice; the center also helped a team from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention mine surveillance data and develop a malaria-risk mapping application.

Molecular biology: Biomolecular researchers at NCSA and the University of Illinois have constructed and validated a Mean Field Langevin Dynamics model for the calculation of large-scale domain formation and phase changes in membranes, based on input from molecular dynamics simulations.

National Microbial Pathogen Data Resource (NMPDR): This Bioinformatics Resource Center provides the advanced bioinformatics environment needed to identify genetic polymorphisms correlated with pathogenicity, drug resistance, morbidity, and infectivity. NCSA is responsible for NMPDR training and outreach efforts.