atNorth (atNorth) in collaboration with Intel® is providing it’s HPCFLOW HPCaaS platform free of charge to the University of Geneva’s Global Institute of Health in order to develop a stochastic network model that simulates the spread of COVID-19.
Stochastic network model helps identify COVID-19 transmission parameters
The stochastic Network model is helping the institute’s scientific team identify parameters of the viral transmission that has baffled epidemiologists since the outbreak of COVID-19 last year.
Global Institute of Health researchers team’s findings are expected to guide governments’ efforts in implementing restrictions that strike a better balance between freedom of movement and protecting their citizens.
The end goal of the research is to facilitate less restrictive measures and thereby reduce any economic downturn resulting from the pandemic, while providing effective safety measures that protect people’s health.
Better viral insights in time for second wave
With the second wave of COVID-19 underway, the institute’s team of scientists have a much better understanding of the virus than during the first wave when most forecasting models were based on assumption.
“Our simulation model has provided us with more in-depth understanding of the spread of COVID-19 and the effect of different mitigation measures” Olivia Keiser, Head of Division of Infectious Diseases and Mathematical Modelling at University of Geneva and Scientific Group Leader at the institute, said.
“This will help us to support governments and other stakeholders and, hopefully, get better understanding of how the pandemic spread can be minimized”.
ADC’s services are crucial in gaining actionable data
The scientists were able to leverage a five-node/480 Cores HPC cluster based on Intel® Xeon® Platinum Scalable processors hosted and run at the carbon-free data centers of ADC in Iceland.
The team is currently in the first phase of using machine learning to analyze thousands of texts containing COVID-19 data to gain actionable insights. We’ll update you on the progress as information becomes available.
ADC, in partnership with Intel®, is proud to support the scientific community as it works to minimize the impact of the pandemic around the world.
About the Institute of Global Health
The Institute of Global Health was founded in 2014 in place of the former Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine at the University of Geneva’s Faculty of Medicine. The institute focuses on research that develops academic global health initiatives around the globe. It leverages Geneva’s unique role as a host to major global health actors, including the World Health Organization and UNAIDS, among others, and permanent UN representations of more than 140 countries.