Epidemic Spreading

The exhibition »BarabásiLab. Hidden Patterns« investigates the patterns revealed through data and network science, among other things in the medical field. Kicking off the program accompanying the exhibition, Vittoria Colizza, Dirk Brockmann, Marta C. González and Albert-László Barabási will talk about the COVID-19 pandemic.

How, why and where does COVID-19 spread and how can we learn to live safely together in post-pandemic communities? Why did the response and the information environment around the world vary so much, and what impact is that having? In this panel four specialists will explain the pandemic's causes and effects and elaborate different containment strategies.

Dirk Brockmann, professor for theoretical biology at the Humboldt University of Berlin, hypothesized that the disease unfolded stronger in individualistic countries than it did in more collectivistic nations. As head of the department for epidemiology at the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) and as political consultant Brockmann will give practical insights into prevention strategies in Germany and abroad. In the fight against coronavirus, Vittoria Colizza and her team at France's National Institute for Health and Medical Research (INSERM) are working in coordination with 25 other international academic partners to evaluate the cross-continental spread of the virus in Europe and Africa. Marta C. Gonzáles will reveal insights on collective human behavior with a focus on human mobility and the special demand in urban areas that might support measures in the future for more effective containment strategies in dealing with COVID-19. Albert Laszlo Barabási who made research projects on human mobility in New York will give insights on monitoring the spreading of a virus in urban areas.

The event was held in English.