The Weitz Group’s work in modeling Covid-19 was recently featured in Quanta Magazine. Prof. Weitz and his collaborator Johnathan Dushoff were interviewed for the article to discuss their work estimating the reproduction rate of Covid-19, as well as the larger role mathematical modeling plays in scientific research. The piece featured papers recently published in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface and PNAS.
Prof. Weitz serves on Covid-19 panel after Georgia Tech recognizes Dr. Anthony Fauci with Ivan Allen Jr. Prize
Dr. Anthony Fauci was recently awarded Georgia Tech’s Ivan Allen Jr. Prize for social courage, an award given annually to those who uphold their morals despite risk to their personal and professional lives. After Dr. Fauci virtually received his award and gave his remarks, Atlanta experts on Covid-19 served on a panel to reflect on the pandemic. Prof. Weitz was one of three panel members, serving alongside Dr. Carlos Del Rio, Distinguished Professor of Medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Emory, and Pinar Keskinocak, PhD, William W. George Chair and Professor of the School of Industrial and Systems Engineering at Georgia Tech. You can watch the whole ceremony here.
Covid-19 Risk Calculator Featured in The New York Times, BBC News, and more
The Covid-19 risk calculator created by our team has been featured in a number of news items as the holiday season approaches. See our research in the news below, and check out the paper detailing the calculator in Nature Human Behavior!
- BBC News
- National Public Radio: WABE Atlanta
- The Washington Post
- Reuters
- Wired Magazine
- Business Insider
- The Guardian
- The New York Times
- WABE News Roundup
- Bloomberg News
- LA times
- The Boston Globe
- WebMD
- Time magazine
- Atlanta Magazine
Prof. Weitz joins The Hill Society’s Conversations on the Hill
Professor Weitz joins Institute President Ángel Cabrera other Georgia Tech leaders to discuss Georgia Tech’s response to Covid-19. Watch the video here.
PNAS paper featured in Science Magazine
Our paper exploring an awareness-driven behavior model of Covid-19, recently published in PNAS, was featured in Science Magazine. Professor Weitz was interviewed for the feature.
“Epidemics don’t necessarily have a single peak after which the risk subsides,” said Joshua Weitz, Patton Distinguished Professor of Biological Sciences and founding director of the Interdisciplinary Ph.D. in Quantitative Biosciences at the Georgia Institute of Technology. “People’s behaviors are both influenced by and influence epidemic dynamics, potentially driving plateaus, and oscillations in incidence.”
“If people are aware of the severity of the epidemic, they may change their behavior, and if they change their behavior, there will be fewer severe outcomes,” Weitz went on to describe. “But if awareness is short-term, individuals may tire of public health regulations and the virus will come roaring back. Instead of a single peak in cases, there can be plateaus or oscillations balanced between cautious behavior and relaxation.”
