The Centers for Disease Control has awarded the Indiana University School of Medicine a $2.6 million initial contract with the possibility of nearly $10 million in funding over 5 years to accelerate the real-time ability of local, state and regional entities to share data and information to enhance rapid response to and management of potentially catastrophic infectious disease outbreaks and other public health emergencies.
The funding will allow researchers from the Regenstrief Institute Inc. to build upon their groundbreaking work in health information exchange and biosurveillance to develop innovative public health informatics solutions to combat outbreaks of such public health hazards as anthrax, plague or numerous other infectious diseases. The Indianapolis-based group is one of only three chosen by the CDC for this work.
Leading the CDC supported work, which will look at diseases potentially spread naturally or by bioterrorism, are Regenstrief research scientists J. Marc Overhage, M.D., Ph.D. and Shaun Grannis, M.D.
"Our selection to participate in this important effort recognizes Indiana's established leadership in using health information technology for public health improvement," said Dr. Overhage, director of medical informatics at the Regenstrief Institute and president and CEO of the Indiana Health Information Exchange. "With this award we will be expanding upon Regenstrief's work with the Marion County Health Department and Indiana State Department of Health and scaling it up to a national level." Dr. Overhage is the Regenstrief Professor and professor of medicine at the IU School of Medicine.
"This work represents an opportunity to improve the health of our community and disseminate best practices to the nation," said Dr. Grannis, a Regenstrief Institute informatician and an assistant professor of family medicine at the IU School of Medicine.