Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy
| Abbreviation | CIDRAP |
|---|---|
| Formation | 2001 |
| Purpose | "to prevent illness and death from infectious diseases through epidemiologic research and the rapid translation of scientific information into real-world practical applications and solutions" |
Director | Michael T. Osterholm |
Parent organization | Academic Health Center |
| Affiliations | University of Minnesota |
| Website | cidrap.umn.edu |
The Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP) is a center within the University of Minnesota that focuses on addressing public health preparedness and emerging infectious disease response. It was founded in 2001 by Michael Osterholm, PhD, MPH, in order to "prevent illness and death from infectious diseases through epidemiological research and rapid translation of scientific information into real-world practical applications and solutions".[1]
Primary activities
News Publishing
CIDRAP’s news publishing division writes news stories and maintains information on influenza, bioterrorism, and new hot topics.
The CIDRAP News team, through the CIDRAP Web site, provides daily news updates on emerging infectious diseases, such as pandemic influenza, bioterrorism, food safety, avian influenza, and emerging topics. Along with news articles, the site provides overviews on various infectious disease topics, as well as lists of recent selected literature for each topic. CIDRAP's daily news service has more than 5,000 current newsletter subscribers and 3,000 Twitter followers.
Public Health Practices (PHP)
Public Health Practices (PHP) is a curated compendium of tools, strategies, and downloadables created by US health agencies and partners to prepare for and respond to the health consequences of disasters and emergencies.
Practitioners can search the one-stop shop of real-world resources by hazard, strategy, partners, geography, groups being served, agency, tool, language, and key word. PHP encourages peer-to-peer exchange of practices by accepting submissions to the site, showcasing examples in theme-based email newsletters, and hosting social media channels for practitioners.
Public Health Practices features:
- More than 400 practices addressing a wide range of hazards
- Successful coalitions and details about what made them possible
- Stories on how projects were created
- Communication materials in 40 languages to download or adapt
- A search tool that allows users to apply filters to narrow results as needed
- A simple submissions process to encourage practitioners to share their work
- Peer-to-peer information exchange via social media
BioWatch
CIDRAP has served as a partner in the federal BioWatch air-monitoring program. This program is responsible for the constant monitoring for potential bioterrorism-related agents in cities throughout the United States.[2] Through its contract with the Department of Homeland Security, CIDRAP provides support for the development of national outdoor and indoor guidance documents, a national epidemiology communications network, and a suite of related program and reference documents.
Influenza Training
The Center of Excellence for Influenza Research and Surveillance has developed an online training portal that provides e-learning modules on topics related to avian influenza and influenza in general.
CIDRAP Comprehensive Influenza Vaccine Initiative (CCIVI)
In December 2009 a grant by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation started the CIDRAP Comprehensive Influenza Vaccine Initiative. The primary goal of CCIVI was to review all aspects of 2009-2010 H1N1 influenza vaccine preparedness and response and to review the scientific and programmatic basis for the current seasonal influenza vaccine efforts. The final report, published October 15th, 2012, is a review of more than 12,000 peer-reviewed publications, documents, transcripts and notes dating back to 1936 and interviews and follow up with 88 experts in influenza vaccine research, development, and use.[3]
Minnesota Center of Excellence for Influenza Research and Surveillance (MCEIRS)
MCEIRS, established by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and CIDRAP in April 2007, was one of six NIH-supported centers[4] in the United States. The activities of the center, including research and surveillance both domestically and abroad, were focused on the detection, epidemiology, and transmission of avian influenza (AI) viruses with pandemic potential. The primary goal of MCEIRS was to enhance the understanding of how AI viruses evolve, adapt, and spread among animal and human populations.[5] The center closed in April 2014.
Notes
- ↑ "Biological Threat Agents Information". Federation of American Scientists. Retrieved December 22, 2011.
- ↑ "BioWatch program aims for nationwide detection of airborne pathogens". Center for Infectious Disease Research & Policy. February 26, 2003. Retrieved December 22, 2011.
- ↑ Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy. "The Compelling Need for Game-Changing Influenza Vaccines: An Analysis of the Influenza Vaccine Enterprise and Recommendations for the Future". CIDRAP. Retrieved 15 October 2012.
- ↑ "Centers of Excellence for Influenza Research and Surveillance (CEIRS)". National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Retrieved December 22, 2011.
- ↑ "Minnesota Center of Excellence for Influenza Research & Surveillance". Center for Infectious Disease Research & Policy. Retrieved December 22, 2011.