The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has awarded $17.5 million to Clemson University Department of Public Health Sciences researchers to support and enhance outbreak detection and response in South Carolina and beyond.
The DMA-PRIME initiative, which aims to inform public health organizations and decision makers about infectious disease preparedness, response, mitigation, and elimination in South Carolina through the use of data-driven approaches, will forecast infectious disease cases, create decision-support toolkits, and improve communication with them.
In particular, DMA-PRIME will create and put into use cutting-edge early warning systems to recognize and forecast the severity of disease outbreaks, enabling medical professionals to promptly prioritize emergency response activities.
Lior Rennert, an associate professor in the department of public health sciences and the director of the Center for Public Health Modeling and Response, is spearheading this initiative. The Clemson Rural Health, Prisma Health, University of South Carolina, and the Medical University of South Carolina will be close partners in this endeavor. The South Carolina Emergency Management Division (SCEMD) and the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC) are two more partners.
According to University President Jim Clements, “Clemson University is a national leader in public health preparedness and community engagement.” Being a land-grant university, we have a close relationship with the health and welfare of our local communities. We are happy that Clemson has received a $17.5 million grant from the CDC to expand on the public health frameworks and collaborations we currently have in place. We will improve the lives of people in South Carolina and beyond by bolstering our communication and preparedness systems through the DMA-PRIME initiative, spearheaded by Dr. Lior Rennert.
Rennert stated, “As we build upon analytic frameworks and public health partnerships cultivated during the COVID-19 pandemic, the goals of DMA-PRIME are ambitious but feasible.” “With the help of the CDC, we are able to improve the quality of our research and expand the reach of public health response and preparation throughout South Carolina.”
The project will incorporate cutting-edge analytical techniques to enhance and inform infectious disease outbreak mitigation, preparedness, response, and elimination over the five-year grant period. Rennert stated that pinpointing communities in need of extra assistance during public health emergencies and particular areas to concentrate resources on is a crucial component of this endeavor.
In South Carolina’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, “Dr. Rennert played a vital role,” according to College of Behavioral, Social, and Health Sciences dean Leslie Hossfeld. “This initiative, with support from the CDC, will continue to shape public health policy, advance our college’s mission of promoting health in individuals and communities across the country,” the statement reads.
The Centers for Forecasting and Outbreak Analytics (CFA) of the CDC has funded 13 initiatives at partner institutions, including DMA-PRIME, to collaborate with them in creating the Outbreak Analytics and Disease Modeling Network (OADN).
Three areas of support will be provided by grantees to the network: innovation, integration, and implementation. In its capacity as a CDC-designated Center of Integration of Outbreak Analytics and Disease Modeling into Practice, DMA-PRIME will create and apply innovative methods for outbreak forecasting and detection, as well as carry out state and local pilot projects to assess the methods’ applicability in actual settings.
According to Dylan George, director of the Center for Forecasting and Outbreak Analytics, “each of the grantees will help us move the nation forward in our efforts to better prepare and respond to infectious disease outbreaks that threaten our families and our communities.” “To achieve our goal of leveraging data and advanced analytics to support decision makers at every level of government, we are dedicated to collaborating with these exceptional partners.”
The College of Behavioral, Social and Health Sciences (CBSHS) was founded in July 2016 and is a land-grant university for the twenty-first century. To further its mission of “building people and communities” in South Carolina and beyond, CBSHS combines work in seven disciplines: political science, psychology, public health sciences, nursing, communication, sociology, anthropology, and criminal justice.
