Announcements
The University of Washington Departments of Biostatistics and Statistics have teamed up with the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center to involve UW students in efforts to prevent and treat HIV and other infectious diseases such as malaria, influenza, and tuberculosis.
Elizabeth Halloran, UW professor of biostatistics and a senior researcher at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, said it’s crucial that the US boost its testing capacity even for people with mild or no symptoms. Studies show that undetected cases drive the growth in epidemics as people who don’t feel severely ill often continue to go about life, infecting those they interact with.
A new study from an international team of experts – including a University of Washington School of Public Health biostatistician – examines the effect of travel restrictions on the spread of the novel coronaviru
The coronavirus has an estimated transmission rate of 2.5 or higher, said Elizabeth Halloran, a professor of biostatistics at the University of Washington School of Public Health, in Seattle. "It's going to be difficult, even if it does go down somewhat seasonally in the summer, to bring that down necessarily below 1," Halloran said. "We're looking at a very contagious infection."
“Basically, if I infect one other person or more ... then the epidemic can take off. If I infect less than one person and everybody infects less than one person, then the epidemic will decline,” said Elizabeth Halloran, a disease researcher at the University of Washington.
The use of biomarkers measured in urine, blood, or other biospecimens could strengthen assessments of diet, says Ross Prentice, PhD, member of the Cancer Prevention Program in the Clinical Research Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Seattle, Washington. Prentice is also a UW professor of biostatistics.
The article discusses UW Professor of Biostatistics and Fred Hutch researcher Elizabeth Halloran’s Science paper on COVID-19 modeling and preventative measures to limit transmission.
The true number of infections will only be known with better and more routine testing, said Betz Halloran of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and UW Professor of Biostatistics.“It’s crucial to help slow the epidemic” because then more people can self-isolate, she said.