DART Annual Meeting

The annual meeting for the DART Project took place over two days, April 18-19, 2024, in Oxford. Attendees included project team members, partners, and representatives from our funder, Wellcome, who convened to review progress, address challenges, and plan for the upcoming year.

Principal Investigator Sarah Sparrow kicked off the meeting with an overview of project milestones and the agenda. This was followed by Dr. Felipe Colón-González from Wellcome, who shared updates on their funding priorities, emphasizing a focus on infectious diseases and climate change.

Each project team member presented their work over the past year. Highlights included:

• Mobility Team: Demonstrated that the d-ERP model could simulate human mobility data at the administrative level-2 with acceptable limitations.
• Climate Team: Showcased the application of several models to enhance the resolution of weather data, aligning it more closely with our forecasting needs.
• Forecast modelling Team: Presented analyses and findings from Ho Chi Minh City dengue incidence time series data. Updated everyone on the current framework being used to train a time series forecasting model with Machine Learning algorithms. Gather feedback on drawbacks of current approach and next steps.

This meeting marked the first presentation from the Stakeholder Engagement Team. They outlined plans to involve targeted audiences in the development phase to ensure the project tools are well-adapted to their needs.

Notably, this was the first in-person meeting for most team members since the kickoff meeting in December 2022. This facilitated valuable discussions on challenges encountered, particularly in integrating diverse data types from meteorology, epidemiology, virology, entomology etc. While most data are open, some require access authorization. The team emphasized the need for a clear workflow to integrate these data types effectively into the forecasting model.

The morning of the second day was dedicated to discussing the data platform, aiming to streamline the integration process and enhance the overall project efficiency.

In the afternoon, the team reviewed and revised the project timelines. Based on the achievements of the past year and the addition of new tasks, adjustments were made to ensure realistic deadlines and effective resource allocation. This session allowed the team to set clear, actionable goals for the upcoming year, ensuring that all aspects of the project are on track and aligned with the overall objectives.

Overall, the meeting reaffirmed the project's commitment to advancing understanding in the interconnected fields of climate change and infectious diseases, setting a positive and structured path for the year ahead.