UW Faculty Members Receive NSF Grant for Rural Epidemiology Study

A $457,000 grant from the National Science Foundation will allow three University of Wyoming faculty members to create a system that can predict disease outbreaks in real time for states in the Mountain West region.

Department of Mathematics and Statistics Professor Long Lee (principal investigator), Department of Criminal Justice and Sociology Associate Professor Jennifer Tabler (co-principal investigator) and Wyoming Geographic Information Science Center Associate Professor Chen Xu (co-principal investigator) received the funding for their study of rural epidemiology.

Their study, “Empirical analysis of a data-driven multiscale metapopulation mobility network modeling infection dynamics and mobility responses in rural states,” uses mathematics, computer technology, geography and social science.

“We were thrilled to receive this grant and the opportunity to tailor methodologies within epidemiology to rural environments, while also having the resources to mentor and train students,” Tabler says.

Lee, Xu and Tabler will use existing cellphone mobility data, the American Community Survey and other U.S. Census resources to create a map of how people move around in rural places. With this map, they seek to understand and correct the unique bias associated with mobility data for rural regions.

The team also will explore whether the mobility patterns of people in rural areas were impacted during the COVID-19 pandemic -- and how these changes in mobility potentially shape how illness spreads.

They’ll also look at how pandemic measures might make health and social problems worse in rural areas. This study will help government health experts come up with better and fairer ways to deal with epidemics in rural areas in the future.

To learn more about this project, email Tabler at jtabler@uwyo.edu.