Alex Vespignani All Experts

Sternberg Distinguished Professor of Physics, Computer Science and Health Sciences

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a.vespignani@neu.edu

Alex Vespignani In the Media

Alex Vespignani for Northeastern

Can the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo be stopped?

The second-largest Ebola outbreak on record has been raging in the Democratic Republic of Congo for over a year. The use of disease-forecasting models and distribution of an experimental vaccine have helped, but civil unrest in the area makes containing the outbreak a challenge.
- by Laura Castañón August 14, 2019
Tracking an epidemic requires computer models. But what if those models are wrong?

Researchers at Northeastern have found that one of the basic assumptions used in disease modeling simply isn’t realistic. Now they’re looking at how epidemics travel through various layers of a population to find a better way to track a disease.
- by Laura Castañón November 19, 2018
How long is an Ebola survivor contagious? One case is causing scientists to rethink the answer.

A new report shows that a Liberian woman who survived a case of Ebola in 2014 may have infected her family a year later. The finding could complicate things for scientists such as Northeastern professor Alessandro Vespignani, who study how diseases spread during an outbreak.
- by Laura Castañón - contributor August 13, 2018
How Big Data and the science of science can revolutionize discovery

Northeastern network scientists Albert-László Barabási and Alessandro Vespignani want to "push the pedal" on science and its benefit to society. In a paper published Thursday in the journal Science, they described lessons learned from a literature review of the science of science.
- by Allie Nicodemo March 5, 2018
Researchers use Twitter to track the flu in real time

An international team led by Northeastern’s Alessandro Vespignani has developed a unique computational model that uses Twitter to project the spread of the seasonal flu in real time. With it, public health agencies can plan ahead, allocating medical resources and launching preventative care campaigns.
- by Thea Singer May 5, 2017
Researchers tracking Ebola’s spread win first Aspen Institute Italia Award

[alt blurb:] Northeastern professor Alessandro Vespignani led an international collaborative effort to track the spread of Ebola in Liberia. The Aspen Institute award, Vespignani says, “is intended to foster the idea of science without borders, science as a global endeavor. Its themes align closely with those of Northeastern.”
- by Thea Singer October 27, 2016
Underreporting of Zika is rife; researchers project epidemic’s spread

A team led by Northeastern professor Alessandro Vespignani responded to a “call to arms” to model the spread of the Zika virus, revealing the disparity between the number of reported cases and the number of projected cases of this largely asymptomatic disease. The results will help countries in the Americas plan a response.
- by Thea Singer August 2, 2016
Northeastern researchers examine the Zika pandemic

As the Zika virus continues its inexorable spread, a panel of faculty members discussed how they—and by extension we—can be part of the global solution.
- by Thea Singer April 11, 2016
What social media data could tell us about the future

Can a flow of information across Twitter signal when a momentous event is about to occur? Northeastern’s Alessandro Vespignani and an interdisciplinary group of scientists developed a method to find out. Their findings represent an initial step in constructing models to detect trouble before it’s too late.
- by Thea Singer April 7, 2016
World-renowned scholars launch Northeastern’s Network Science Institute

The Network Science Institute, home of the nation’s first doctoral program in network science, brings together an interdisciplinary team of renowned Northeastern scholars to plumb the structure and function of systems and develop intervention strategies to improve the health and security of people around the world.
- by Thea Singer November 6, 2015

Alex Vespignani All Experts

Alex Vespignani In the Media

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NPR

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Reuters

Alex Vespignani for Northeastern

Can the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo be stopped?

Tracking an epidemic requires computer models. But what if those models are wrong?

How long is an Ebola survivor contagious? One case is causing scientists to rethink the answer.

How Big Data and the science of science can revolutionize discovery

Researchers use Twitter to track the flu in real time

Researchers tracking Ebola’s spread win first Aspen Institute Italia Award

Underreporting of Zika is rife; researchers project epidemic’s spread

Northeastern researchers examine the Zika pandemic

What social media data could tell us about the future

World-renowned scholars launch Northeastern’s Network Science Institute

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