On January 24th, 2023, Jose Carbonell Caballero attended and participated in a virtual event titled “BY-COVID industry event – Better data management for better pandemic preparedness, disease surveillance and outbreak control” was held. The event was organized under the EU project BeYond-COVID (BY-COVID), which aims to provide comprehensive open data on SARS-CoV-2 and other infectious diseases across scientific, medical, public health and policy domains. The event was a 2-hour virtual forum and aimed to identify opportunities for data-driven innovation in infectious diseases, join a network of specialists, and explore potential collaborations with the BY-COVID project.

Better Data Management for Pandemic Preparedness

The main topics discussed at the event were repurposing data and software tools for a faster future health crisis response and novel technologies and innovative projects tackling global disease burden developed during the pandemic. One of the speakers, Jose Carbonell Caballero, a recognized researcher at the Barcelona Supercomputing Centre, discussed the use of high-performance computing environments and multiscale simulations to model COVID-19 infection. He provided insights on how these technologies could be leveraged to improve the understanding of the spread and progression of the virus, and how they can aid in the development of more effective treatment and control strategies.  

His talk also highlighted the importance of using open and novel methodologies combining multiscale cellular models and HPC to fight against COVID-19, and how these resources can be repurposed for a faster and more accurate response to future health crises.

Overall, the event aimed to bring together a diverse group of experts to identify opportunities for data-driven innovation in infectious diseases and explore potential collaborations with the BY-COVID project.

The event was the first of a series of events, and the audience had the opportunity to hear about examples of public-private collaborations, introduce themselves and their innovative projects through flash talks. The program also included break-out room discussions focused on the industry experience and needs in data-driven innovation in infectious diseases. The event ended with a wrap-up and discussion of what is next for the BY-COVID project.

Find out more about BY-COVID events and related activities