A new Centre of Research Excellence (CRE) will be established at the Melbourne School of Population and Global Health with a vision to reduce morbidity and mortality associated with epidemic diseases. Awarded $3 million from the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), the centre’s research aims to improve public health responses to epidemic infectious diseases.
The Australian Centre for Epidemic Forecasting and Analytics (ACEFA) will achieve their vision by developing the workforce, advanced analytic methods, and translational research initiatives to embed robust and timely epidemic analysis into public health decision-making.
The Centre team includes researchers from institutions across Australia: Monash University, University of New South Wales, Australian National University, James Cook University, University of Adelaide, Curtin University, and Defence Science and Technology Group.
Dr Freya Shearer, lead of the Infectious Disease Dynamics Unit at the Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, will direct the CRE with the following public health goals:
“The Australian Centre for Epidemic Forecasting and Analytics is an exciting opportunity to transform how model-based evidence supports the public health response to a range of infectious diseases in Australia, consolidating and building on our collaborations and research methods that played a critical role in responding to COVID-19,” Dr Shearer said.
To ensure that the knowledge gained from the Centre’s methodological research is translated into public health outcomes, three Centre-led national initiatives will be established to help situate model evidence within decision-making processes:
ACEFA will enable the development of more tailored and adaptive response policies for major established and emerging infectious diseases in Australia.
