The Centre for Social Sciences Research (CSSR) and the  Institute for Democracy, Citizenship and Public Policy in Africa  (IDCPPA) at the University of Cape Town invite you to join us for a lunchtime seminar on 26 March 2024 at 12:45pm. The seminar will be presented by Prof. Mark Laurie.

About the Seminar:

Measuring mobility and social interactions to improve pandemic prediction

Human interaction is a critical component of infectious disease spread and pandemic prevention and prediction requires precise measurements on how and under what contexts people interact. Yet most data on mobility and social mixing is derived from outdated and biased methodologies. In this talk, Lurie will discuss his new (US) National Science Foundation grant called MAPPS – Mobility Analysis for Pandemic Prediction. The project aims to use innovative techniques to more accurately map social movements and interactions – key variables necessary for the accurate modelling of disease dispersion and prevention

Speakers

Prof. Mark Lurie was born in Cape Town and educated in the US. He is Professor of Epidemiology at Brown University School of Public Health and an honorary associate professor at UCT. An infectious disease epidemiologist, Lurie has studied the impact of migration on the spread of HIV in South Africa. Recently he has used his experience measuring mobility related to HIV to understanding mobility and social mixing in the context of pandemic prediction and prevention.

 26 March 2024
 12:45 - 14:00 SAST
  CSSR Seminar Room, 4.29 Robert Leslie Social Science Building, UCT

Hosted by the Centre for Social Science Research and the Institute for Democracy, Citizenship and Public Policy in Africa